Was it bc I grew up on a dairy farm, or where I was (Upstate NY - the real upstate, not the Catskills) that lead to many kinds of cheese in our house?
We always had cheddar to eat with crackers and American slices for sandwiches or burgers. Often, my dad's favorite as well - blue cheese (YUCK!!).
Now, even though DH is lactose intolerant, we have an assortment of cheese in the refrigerator at all times. Many hard cheeses do not have lactose in them - cheddar, aged swiss, manchego, etc. One way to tell for sure is to look at nutritional info. Lactose is a sugar (carbohydrate), so if there are no carbs, it does not have lactose. Some shredded cheddar has a small amount of carbs, but it is usually from the anti-caking agent added to prevent it sticking to itself. Butter is also lactose free.