Sausage that made Sheboygan Famous: The Rise of the Bratwurst

Since 1953, August brings Bratwurst Day, a celebration of sausage and of our collective German heritage. The brat is a social food in Wisconsin where Germans first introduced it to the New World. We have brat fries on weekends like folks have BBQs in the south and Chicago has its deep dish pizza. It is part of a deep food tradition. Nearly 47% of all Sheboygan County residents claim German ancestry. We have the townships of Rhine and Mosel. We have the Gesangverein Concordia German chorus, D'Werdenfelser Schuhplattlers German folk dance group, the Sheboygan Turnverein (Turners) and Mission House (Lakeland) College started by a band of devout Lippe-Detmolders. And we have the bratwurst. Few things identify one's German heritage more than making sausage. Sausage was a means of survival for our German ancestors during the winter months, as well as a way to use precious meat scraps and pay homage to their porcine good luck charm. We'll revisit sausage-making in the county and remember the heyday of 1950s Bratwurst Days.