New Glarus is an oasis of Swiss heritage in the middle of Green County's rolling corn fields. When Heide and I lived there for about eight years, we picked up on some of the nuances of the place. It is a small village with a zig-zagging main street. There are a bunch of bars and eateries for such a small community. The big tour buses haul in the gray-haired crowd. The Swiss and Germans love to put art, murals, and writing under the eves of building roofs. So, people often walk around with their heads looking up.
I worked with the ambulance for years, and Heide got involved with the Library. So, we got to know a bit about the place beyond the gray-hairs that visit the area every weekend. I did get to meet some of the gray-hairs while working on the ambulance because while constantly looking up they sometimes get run over. Not to mention their age-related medical conditions that kept us busy.
We always got a kick out of the reality, that few locals would eat at any joints in the village - "too expensive." But, for Heide and I, living there was like living constantly in a resort area. We ate at the many eateries constantly. One of the mainstays we visited from time to time was The
New Glarus Hotel Restaurant. It is a rambling old building in the center of the village. The origin of the building is pre Civil War.
The
Hotel Restaurant has had a Friday Night fish fry buffet for years. You have to be cognizant that it is very filling, so you might want to think about passing the love around and planning to eat there just once in a while and not every week. Lately, it will run you $13.50 for the buffet, but keep in mind the options are abundant and they have a dandy salad bar that comes with the deal. They have a great tasting cheese spread and an assortment of crackers.
The salad bar boasts pickled beets, boiled egg pieces, smooth house dressing, tasty cole slaw mildly tart, and all the other usual salad bar suspects.
I got there at 5:00 p.m. when the buffet starts so I asked for a seat on the balcony overlooking the downtown area. A nice breeze was coming through the window at my table. A basket of warm rolls came with my meal. A couple had a spackle of Rosemary in them. The waitress brought me a whole pot of coffee for my table.
The buffet that night featured deep breaded Tilapia; fried Cod; fried Haddock; fried Shrimp with sauce; broasted chicken; boiled Cod; cheesy spinach; Alpine maccaroni; baked beans;and potato wedges. Each item had its own heated covered pan. I have always been partial to the fried Cod and the fried Shrimp. There will be a big bowl of tarter sauce and another of lemon slices waiting at the end of the buffet.
If you linger long enough, the Friday night polka band will begin to entertain the gray-hairs that file in the place early in the buffet presentation. If you have older relatives from the polka era, make sure you get them over to New Glarus at least once before it is too late.
The
New Glarus Hotel Restaurant is still cool with Cool Dadio. Call (608) 527 - 5244; or, (800) 727 - 9477
for more information or visit their Web site at www.newglarushotel.com .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Private Evan Abraham Bixler, 21, of Racine, Wisconsin, died on Friday, December 2006, from wounds received in Hit, Iraq while participating in security operations. He was in Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, out of Baumholder, Germany. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that at the time of his death he was the fourth military service person from Racine County to have died in Iraq. And, he was the third Wisconsin military service person to die in that particular month. The paper went on to say Bixler was a 2003 graduate of Washington Park High School in Racine. He was known to have had a passion for joining the military; at earlier attempts he was denied entry into the Army for medical reasons. He later received a medical waiver to enlist. Private Bixler was sent to Iraq on November 1st, 2006. Evan was said to have had a good sense of humor and was an inspiration to his comrades. In a subsequent article, the Journal Sentinel mentioned Bixler was best friends with Army Specialist Eric Poelman, 21, who grew up in Mount Pleasant and was killed in June 2005 in Iraq. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 18 notes that at the time of his death Evan Bixler was survived by his parents, Kevin and Lisa Bixler; his sister, Amy Theresa Bixler; grandparents, John and Carol Neufeld; and, his girlfriend Naomi Jacob. Evan Bixler was the 66th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
98,171 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,722 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,427 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1311 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
823 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,964 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
8,394 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
144 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
