Wisconsin’s Forgotten Cheese Bandage Empire | Green Bay News

In 1921, the Wisconsin Dairy Laboratory began as the Wisconsin Cheese Bandage and Supply Company, churning out 15,000 cheese bandages daily—and later 200 gallons of rennet per day—to fuel Wisconsin’s booming cheese industry. Operating from a historic St. Clair Street building once a stable and bank, they processed calf stomachs downstairs in smelly, noisy heat, while upstairs, workers stitched bandages by foot-powered machines. Their products shipped nationwide and abroad to France and Mexico, with salesmen in panel trucks and even the owner making deliveries. But as big corporate cheese companies rose, smaller operations like theirs faded. Even the owner’s father tried lending a hand, but consolidation won. The lab shut down in 1970, leaving its St. Clair Street building empty—a quiet monument to Wisconsin’s vanished dairy heyday. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/2f9b767ad731f6a5