Widmer’s Cheese is a Staple of the Local Food Industry

Widmer’s Cheese Cellars has been a part of the local food industry here in Dodge County and the surrounding area for over 103 years.
“We take a lot of pride in being a part of the community and providing a source of nutritious food for people to eat,” said Joey Widmer. “We have also hired many people from the local communities over our 103 years, which helps the local community.”
In 1905, John O. Widmer migrated from Switzerland at the age of 18. At that time, to get a visa, you had to have a job lined up with an American sponsor, plus recommendations from the country you were coming from, as well as a clean record.
His sponsor was the Kohli family, who had a cheese factory just outside of Kekoskee on Hwy Z, where he made cheese as an apprentice. (The building is still there and used as a home.)

In 1909, John went back out to Ellis Island to pick up his Swiss girlfriend, Mary, when the ship came in, but they would not let her off the ship because she had no visa.
The only way to get her off the ship was to marry her in order to make her a citizen, so they got married on the deck and honeymooned in New York, then continued their journey as cheesemakers.
In 1922, John purchased the cheese factory in Theresa. By that time, he had two sons (John Jr., age 7, and Ralph, age 6) with two more kids, James and Ruth, coming in the years after the purchase of the factory.
The Widmers raised their children above the plant and taught the kids how to make cheese.
In the 1950s, Widmer incorporated the business with his three sons, who ran the business until he passed away in 1970.
The second generation of cheesemakers, John Jr. raised his six children above the plant, with them all working in the plant at one time or another, and Jim also raised his two daughters above the plant.
In 1982, third-generation cheesemaker Joe Widmer purchased 33% of the company shares and worked alongside his uncles, John Jr. and Jim.
In 1997, Joe and his wife, Penny, purchased the remaining 67% of the company stock and they raised their two children, Joey and Hannah, in the living quarters above the plant until they built a short distance from the plant.
Today, Joey has taken over as President of Operations at the plant, working with his mother, Penny, and sister, Hannah, at the factory, with Joe in a semi-retired role, still doing some sales and consulting.
The journey of the cheese-making process has changed through the years, but Widmer’s connection to the local farmers and community has remained strong.
When John Widmer bought the cheese factory in 1922, the farmers delivered the milk by either horse-pulled wagons or sleds in winter.
The cheese factory in future years bought their own milk cans and bought a truck to pick up the milk from area farms.
The factory washed the cans, loaded them on the truck, and returned them to the farmers when he picked up his next day’s milk.
Each farmer had an ID number, and it was painted on each can so Widmer knew where to drop them off and pick up the fresh milk.
The cheesemakers had to make cheese 365 days a year, or the milk would spoil and couldn’t be used, but then in the 1950s, refrigerated bulk tanks came out for both the farms and the larger tanks used in the cheese factory.
The bulk tanks put an end to the milk cans and cheesemakers now had to buy bulk-tank milk trucks with a pump to suck milk from the farmers’ tanks.
The cheesemakers could now take at least part of the day off, but the farmers had to continue to milk their cows 365 days a year.
Years ago, when farms were much smaller, it would take 50 farms to get enough milk to fill the vats, but as the years went on, smaller farmers dropped out, and over the years, the farms got bigger and bigger.
“There were still the nice small family farms with the red barns, which were a great place to raise a family as they all learned their work ethic,” said Joey. “In the years after, many of these red barn farmers dropped out either because they were retiring with no one to step in or due to overregulation, which they could not afford to keep up with.”
One of the most important aspects/ingredients of quality cheese is high-quality milk.
“We value our local farms tremendously because of the hard work they do in order to provide our factory with high-quality milk,” said Joey. “Without our local farmers, we would not be where we are today in terms of longevity and quality.”
“When my great-grandfather (John Sr.) started the business in 1922, there were over 50 farms that we picked up milk from, and there were also many small cheese factories in Dodge County, with the approximate count around 140,” said Joey. “We now work with three local farms that are generational farms.”
The three farms that Widmer’s works with are the following: Christian Family Farm LLC, Theresa, Bodden Farm, Theresa, and Budjon Farm, Lomira, with a 15-mile radius around the cheese factory.
“We source most of our cheese-making ingredients from companies in Wisconsin,” said Joey. “We also sell our cheese at many local groceries and businesses within Dodge County and throughout Wisconsin.”
Widmer’s makes four different varieties of cheese, which include Brick, Colby, Cheddar, and Butterkase.
Within the Brick category, Widmer’s makes an Aged Brick and Mild Brick.
Brick cheese is a Wisconsin original that was invented in Dodge County in the 1870s by a Swiss immigrant named John Jossi. The original cheese he made was the Aged Brick, which is a washed rind European-style cheese.
The washed rind makes the cheese more pungent with a stronger flavor and aroma. What’s unique about Brick cheese is that it gets its name from the fact that you use an actual brick to press the cheese and mold the curds into a block.
Colby cheese is another Wisconsin original invented in the Village of Colby, and it is a cheese that is similar to cheddar except it is a more mild and bland cheese with a curdy texture.
“Our flavored Colbys include Vegetable Colby, Caraway Colby, and Jalapeno Colby,” said Joey.
Widmer’s has a variety of cheddar cheeses from Jalapeno, Mild and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and over 15-years-old aged cheddar.
“Most notably, we started making a Matterhorn Alpine-Style Cheddar in 2019 that won a few awards, including 2023 Best of Class for cheddar aged six months to one year,” said Joey. “The Matterhorn Alpine-Style Cheddar is a blend of our original recipe passed down through four generations and along with added alpine-style cultures.”
“We started making Butterkase cheese in March 2023, and it is a softer, creamy cheese that has rich melt-in-your-mouth, buttery characteristics in plain, smoked, and chives flavors,” said Joey.
The Butterkase took first place at the 2024 World Dairy Expo Contest for Semi-Soft Cheese.
Widmer’s has a group of valued employees who have helped the cheese factory over the past years.
Head Cheese Maker/Production Supervisor/Licensed Cheesemaker is Dustin Wallendal, currently enrolled in the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker program through the UW-Center for Dairy Research. “Dustin makes great cheese but is also talented in being mechanically inclined by fixing a lot of our equipment at the factory,” said Joey.
Licensed Cheesemaker/Head of Sanitation is John Christopherson. “John helps make great cheese and is extremely reliable and loyal,” said Joey.
Head of Retailer is Sharon Batzler (Babes). “Sharon is great with customers and always knowledgeable about our cheese and offerings,” said Joey.
Licensed Cheese Makers are Brian Ash and Cody Jones. “They assist in making great cheese and are always willing to lend a helping hand,” said Joey.
Packaging Supervisor/Quality Control is Lee Dreikosen.
Cheesemaker/Packaging/Warehouse Assistant is Beck Schulz.
Order Fulfillment & Shipping is Dennis Davison.
Packaging/Warehouse is Brett Machmueller.
Main Milk Hauler is Mark Lifke.
“We want to include a mention for all of our part-time and seasonal workers,” said Joey. “We also want to thank all of our past workers for their contribution to helping to establish Widmer’s as the business it is today.”
“We like to give back to a wide variety of local Dodge organizations and groups, even expanding outreach into the broader areas of Wisconsin,” said Joey. “We like to support the Village of Theresa, Theresa Lions Club, American Legion, Theresa Fire Department, along with countless other non-profits and charitable organizations, plus we regularly send cheese to food pantries for people in need.”
“People should visit Widmer’s to see traditional cheesemaking methods directly from our retail store with the best time between 7-10 a.m., Monday-Friday,” said Joey. “We also have a variety of our cheese to sample in our storefront with a video and picture video available upon request in the store, you won’t find many factories as nostalgic as ours.”
“Our goal is to continue producing high-quality artisan cheese in small batches using traditional cheese-making methods,” said Joey. “Our goal is to preserve the history of authentic cheese-making recipes that were passed down through four generations.”