Post Messenger Recorder -

What started as a two show, one year performance of the Heidi play, held in conjunction with New Glarus’ 120th Anniversary in 1965, turned into something much bigger by the time the second performance was completed and the cast did their curtain call.

Members of New Glarus’ 120th Anniversary Committee thought it would be a good idea to have at least one event for children during the gala three-day weekend marking the founding of New Glarus. The resulting full house crowds for the two-night performance quickly gave the Heidi group the inspiration to continue the Heidi play on a yearly basis, under the banner of the Heidi Festival.

Little did anyone expect that the birth of the Heidi play on Friday night, July 30th, would turn into a half century long tradition in New Glarus. The 120th Anniversary Celebration event sheet had the following: “Premier performance of Johanna Spyri’s touching Swiss classic of a little Swiss girl’s life in the Alps. Featuring a New Glarus area cast.”

The directors-founders of the Heidi play quickly went to work obtaining performance rights to the play from the Anchorage Press of Anchorage, KY. The play was adapted for the stage by Lucille Miller, and the production fee was $15.00 per performance, payable to Anchorage Press.

Well-formed committees, publicity, directors, stage and casting crews, local carpenters to build the necessary scenery and mountain cabin all went to work to ensure success. And what a success it turned out to be for the viewing public.

A July 27, 1965, Monroe Evening Times article told of the upcoming 120th celebration. “Star attractions on both Friday and Saturday nights will be the performances of a four-act, 90-minute adaption of Johanna Spyri’s mountain classic entitled, “Heidi.”

“The dramatic adaptation, which is slated to become an annual event, will be presented at 8 p.m. on both nights in the High School gymnasium.” An accompanying photo shows Beth Elmer as Heidi, Steve Disch as Peter, Willy Ruef as Grandfather, Marie Vetterli as Peter’s mother, and Mrs. Delmar (Betty) Zentner as Peter’s grandmother.

None of the newly minted actors and actresses had ever performed previously, and no doubt there were many cases of butterflies in the stomach as the curtain opened for the first time on that late July night. But oh did they perform, and perform very well, much to the applause and delight on the hundreds of people who filled the non-air conditioned school gym on that premier night.

The recent passing of Willy Ruef, who played the part of the Grandfather, a gruff, elderly Swiss mountain man, makes one wonder how a gentle soul with a favorite teddy bear personality could suddenly change into a cantankerous old man. But Willy did just that on stage, and did the personality shift quite easily.

Talking with many of the actors and actresses who graced the Heidi stage with Willy, all tell the same story of a man who was a very kind and loving actor, who played his part very well for four decades.

Barb Anderson played the part of Dete for four years before turning over her part to the next actress to take the part. For Anderson, her days with Heidi were not done when she spoke her last line for the final time. She said she served on the Heidi board “seemingly forever.”

Her fondest memories of Willy were both his stage ability as well as being a helping hand with each year’s new actresses and actors. “Willy worked all day long, then closed up the shop and headed for nightly practices several nights a week for several weeks before the annual show.”

Anderson remembers so well the summer she was in summer school at Whitewater and drove back to New Glarus three nights each week to attend practices. She said that Willy was great for the new players as he knew all their lines and would help prompt them through their parts.

And, at the end of the season, the cast would always hold a cast party that included the entire family of each actor/actress. “Willy and Annette always hosted the party.”

Lou Ann Wild-Colby played the party of Clara, the young crippled girl. Wild-Colby reflected on those years. “I was in 4th grade the first year. Willy would have to lift me up in one scene. It was easy for him the first year. But by the third year, he had much more difficulty lifting me up because I had grown quite a lot since that first year.”

“We had no expectations that first year. There were many long, hot nights in the school gym as we practiced. At first we used live animals instead of props. That was quite an experience, cats in a basket would climb out and walk around the stage, and one year the live goat caused a few problems,” Wild-Colby said. “Willy,” she said, “was just great to work with.”

She also said that Verla Babler, a teacher at New Glarus Grade School, did the casting and “picked four of us, Steve Disch, Jon Burnard, Beth Elmer and myself, out of her class to act in the first Heidi.”

Marie Vetterli, who took to the Heidi stage for 39 years, remembers those days with joy. “We were like family. We came back year after year to take our parts. We had many people in town volunteering for the many things that needed to be done.”

“The material for all the costumes came from Wieser’s Embroidery Factory, Mrs. Fred Meyer and Lennys Luchsinger sewed all the costumes. Everyone worked together to make each year a success.”

“Willy was a super nice guy. The Heidi’s all loved him.” Vetterli also related a couple of funny stories that took place during the performances. Vetterli played the part of Peter’s blind mother. “One year the goat jumped out of the pen and came over to me when I was trying to feel for the doorway into the mountain cabin when the goat started nibbling on my apron strings.”

Willy, his brothers, Hugo, Walter, Fred, and sister, Freida, and their parents came from Switzerland in 1951, to begin farming at the former Bahler farm, directly across the street from New Glarus Motors. The Ruef family was a part of the last substantial immigration from Switzerland to Green County.

In addition to Willy’s many hours and years of service to the Heidi play, he also served on the New Glarus EMS for 15 years. His wife, Annette, reflected on those years. “Willy would have a pager with him at the meat market so he could take daytime ambulance calls. They also gave me a pager so that when Willy’s pager went off I could run down to take care of the store.”

The Ruef family became the epitome of volunteerism of the sort that is what kept small towns like New Glarus so unique.

The Ruef family is hosting a Celebration of Life for Willy on Saturday, April 29th, from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m., at Tofflers in New Glarus. The family requests no flowers.