The postcards I bought at Mars Cheese Castle style the name Mars’ Cheese Castle. The tall sign in front of the place, highly visible along I-94 in southern Kenosha County, Wisconsin, omits the apostrophe, but it doesn’t forget the Stars and Stripes and the Packers G flag.

There’s been a Mars Cheese Castle for years, but only a few years ago, the place was redeveloped. The old store didn’t look anything like a castle. The new store looks like a castle that a child might draw, provided he included a parking lot.

Befitting a tourist attraction of some stature along I-94, Mars Cheese Castle offers a wealth of cheese, brats and other meat, beer, and gewgaws and gimcracks. We were in the market for a gimcrack or two, namely a souvenir shot glass (Lilly has decided to collect them) and a souvenir spoon (Yuriko has long collected them). We were able to find both at not-too-outrageous prices.

The old store had, on its roof, a statue of a cartoon mouse with some cheese. That particular design element is missing from the new store, but the mouse didn’t go away. He’s inside the store now, and from the looks of him, repainted after years out in the Wisconsin weather.

A friendly family man took our picture. I took his in turn with members of his family. Note the top of the mouse’s head. That’s no ordinary cheese. That’s a cheesehead hat.

The sign on the cheese says:

WIN $100 WITH YOUR SELFIE

Get the most points by 8/7/15

Retweet/Share = 2 points   Like = 1 point  Comment = 1/2 point         

#SayMarsCheese  @MarsCheeseCastle

A literal sign of the times. We didn’t take any selfies, and the contest was over anyway. I think a better prize would have been a 100-lb. cheese wheel, but that’s mainly because I like the idea of cheese wheels.