Helping to Dedicate Saginaw County’s New Governmental Center – June 1972: The Saginaw County Lawyers Auxiliary

“15-member committee will coordinate the dedication ceremonies for the new $7 million courthouse.  

Saginaw County Commission chairman [sic] Mrs. Audra E. Francis said Tuesday that County Treasurer Raymond L. Dankers will be  the committee’s general chairman.”

“Members of the special committee are: Commissioner Harry W. Browne, D -14th district; Thomas Township Sup. Norman R. Bell; Lewis (Mickey) E. Warren, executive director for the Saginaw Chamber of Commerce, County Controller Julius Sutto and County Sherrif Robert E. Loubert.

Also are on the committee are: William H Phillips and Mrs. James B. Dye, representing the Westside Civic Association; Jospeh G. Francisco and Jack Harrigan, representing the county bar association; Mrs. Robert Chaklos and Mrs. John A. Picard, representing the lawyers’ wives auxiliary.

Ralph Stroebel of the Saginaw Historical Society, Mrs. Frederick D. Lynch Jr., president of the League of Women Voters, and Thomas Jarabec [sic], Commander for the Saginaw County Veterans Council, also are the committee.” The Saginaw News, February 9, 1972.

While the groundbreaking for Saginaw County’s 1972 courthouse was an event organized and hosted by the Board of Supervisors – soon to become the Board of Commissioners, planning for the dedication of the completed structure engaged a cross-section of the building’s future denizens and users. They organized a three-day event. Components ranged from the presentation of a Saginaw County flag* - hand-sewn by members of the Saginaw County League of Women Voters - to a concert by the rock band Chopper. The diversity of offerings was a fitting tribute to a building proclaimed to have:

“marked the passing of era for the county, a moving into a metropolitan era where county government began to take on added importance to meet the demands of a more suburban, growing Saginaw County.” The Saginaw News, June 2, 1972.

Other dedicatory events included: an invocation by the Rev. James P. Wilson, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, opening the time capsule from the 1884 cornerstone, drawings for educational scholarships and much more.  Each day there were tours of the new building led by members of the Saginaw County Lawyers Auxiliary; a group founded in 1955 – 70 years ago. When the group celebrated a milestone two decades ago, the paper reported:

“’Members of the Saginaw County Lawyers Auxiliary haven't put the finishing touches on how they will celebrate the group's 50th anniversary.  The recognition likely will come without fanfare,’ said Patricia ‘Trish’ L. Luplow, president in 1997-98. The auxiliary is an arm of the County Bar Association. ‘In the past, we had a luncheon and had photographs of past presidents,’ Luplow said. ‘We're still putting it together.’  Luplow is the wife of attorney Thomas R. Luplow. Although the members formed the auxiliary in the spring of 1955, they will formally celebrate the anniversary in September. ‘The purpose of the organization is to promote the interests of the Bar Association, to provide a social climate for members - who are wives of attorneys - and to contribute to community progress and improvement,’ said Debra A. Shek, whose husband is Peter S. Shek. She served as president in 1998-99.

The group organized with 74 members. Its first luncheon was June 22, 1955, at what was then the Bancroft Hotel. The auxiliary has 126 paying members.”  The Saginaw News, May 30, 2005.

This link will take you to additional history about the Saginaw County Lawyers Auxiliary and background about Guilty of Entertaining in the First Degree, the recipe book published by the organization from which this week’s recipe came.

*Yet another link. This one will take you history of Saginaw County’s official flag.

The Recipe: Joe Meur’s Escargot

While it is quite unlikely that escargot was featured at any of the public events celebrating the dedication of the courthouse, this dish is from the cookbook published by the Saginaw County Lawyers Auxiliary, Guilty of Entertaining in the First Degree; it is an alternative to the hot dogs and potato salad that will star in so many of this holiday weekend’s celebrations.

1 C. consommé

[1 Bay leaf]

3/4 C. butter, softened

1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 C. wine (white)

1 - 2 Tbs. chopped onion

1 - 2 Tbs. chopped parsley

[24 canned escargot -snails]

Salt to taste

Simmer consommé and white wine with bay leaf and snails for 5 min. Place snails in shells or mushroom caps. Fill with butter mixture.

Place in 400° oven for approximately 5 min. or until bubbles. Serve with French bread for dipping in sauce.

Jessalyn Sturtz

From: Guilty of Entertaining in the First Degree

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CTK Notes:

-As the CTK team was unable to locate its snail – we mean escargot—shell collection, we served them on mushroom caps.

-Certain members of the CTK team are addicted to escargots de Bourgogne. This recipe is for a slightly less rich preparation. We are serious - proportionally, there is slightly less butter to snail ratio than in the classic escargot de Bourgogne. This recipe is quite wonderful, and we are tempted to continue our experimentation. (We have enjoyed a related preparation at the Earle in Ann Arbor – they add Pernod.)

***The CTK notes were written prior to preparing the escargot. The preparation is much closer to a classic escargot than we anticipated. It is a great recipe; however, the use of mushroom caps needs to be refined. We ended up with wonderfully tasting partially cooked mushroom caps. We anticipate that people will want to eat them--we did. The next time we will precook the caps for a few minutes.

-And if you really don’t want to use escargot, check online for vegetarian options.

-If you are not familiar with the history of Joe Meur restaurants: https://joemuer.com/