Michigan Month is served: Town of Plattsburgh announces celebration of local dish

Jul. 1—PLATTSBURGH — Michigan Month in the Town of Plattsburgh is now underway with hopes of making the regional cuisine an even bigger star.

"Anybody that's ever had a Michigan will attest that they find it delicious no matter how they take it, buried, unburied, so on and so forth. It's a meat sauce, on a delicious dog, there's lots of different ways to have it and every stand is perfect," Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman said at a news conference Thursday morning kicking off the second annual Michigan Month.

"Part of it is the adventure, part of it is the story and the lore and we want to encourage people to find out for themselves. Take my word for it, people should bite into it and find out for themselves."

MICHIGAN MONTH

Michigan Month was unveiled last year in the town as a way to promote the popular food item that has been associated with Plattsburgh and the North Country region for about 70 years.

The month of July features a passport program where visitors can get a Michigan at the four restaurants in town known for serving the treat — Ronnie's, Clare and Carl's, McSweeney's and Gus's Red Hots.

Once the program has been stamped at each of the four restaurants, it can be taken to the Town Hall for a free T-shirt for the first 25 who complete their passports. After 25 T-shirts are given away, those with completed passports will get a bumper sticker commemorating Michigan Month.

Passports can also be obtained at the Town Hall or the North Country Chamber of Commerce.

T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST

T-shirts will also be on sale after the first 25 are given away.

The T-shirt design was chosen in a contest that attracted dozens of entries from area people. The winning design was produced by recent Boquet Valley High School graduate Chloe Moulton of Elizabethtown in Essex County.

The design features a Michigan figure dumping a bucket of meat sauce on a delighted prone Michigan on a light brown backdrop.

"Just think of a hot dog with some sauce on it," Moulton said in describing a perfect Michigan in her mind.

HOME OF THE MICHIGAN

In addition to the passport and fanfare, the town was able to secure a grant through the William G. Pomeroy Foundation for a historical marker noting the town as the Home of the Michigan.

Cashman explained that the Hungry for History® grant program celebrates America's food history by telling the stories of local and regional food specialties across the United States. The program is designed to commemorate significant food dishes created prior to 1970 and the role they played in defining American culture and forging community identity.

Hungry for History is intended to help communities nationwide put the spotlight on their renowned locally and regionally created food dishes with historic roadside markers, which Cashman said was perfect for the Michigan.

'CELEBRATING OUR IDENTITY'

Cashman said the Greater Adirondack Ghost and Tour Company helped tracked down news articles and historical documents from as far back as about a century ago to help the town meet the requirements of the program to get the sign.

The sign has been placed on a strip of town land on Sunset Drive across from Clare and Carl's on Route 9 just south of the City of Plattsburgh. Cashman referred to the area as the "Michigan Corridor," in reference to Clare and Carl's and the former Nitzi's, two of the original Michigan stands in the area.

Cashman said the sign and the celebration of the Michigan will benefit the region in many ways.

"It's about celebrating our identity," he said.

"It's about coming together as a community. It's also about bringing people back. All this week, I've been talking with a number of individuals that knew we were leading up to Michigan Month and people have said time and time again that if they are visitors to the region, one of the things they do when they come back to Plattsburgh is celebrate with a Michigan.

"We want people to enjoy the Michigan, but we also want people to check out the Clinton County Historical Association, we want people to check out Downtown Plattsburgh, we want people to check out Lake Champlain. We are hoping that when people come into the region that they visit and make it part of a weekend experience."

BUSINESS BOOST

Monique Worley of Ronnie's Michigan Stand, which has been serving Michigans in West Plattsburgh since 1959, said they were looking forward to the celebration, which noticeably increased business last summer.

"A lot of people that had never had a Ronnie's Michigan stopped by," she said.

"We are very appreciative to the Town of Plattsburgh for having it."

MICHIGAN MILE

As part of the month-long celebration in July, the town will be hosting a Michigan Mile Fun Run and 5K at 8 a.m. on July 16 at Cadyville Park.

Entrants can register on the Town of Plattsburgh Recreation Department website. Runners are encouraged to wear Michigan or other food related costumes.

Runners will receive Michigan Mile stickers, and the first 25 to complete the race will receive a Michigan Mile medal.

Cashman said plans are still in the works for a full-fledged Michigan festival for either next year or 2024.

E-mail: jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: @jlotemplio