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this is Michigan moments rediscovering
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the pioneering moments of the Great
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Lakes State this is Pinkaning Michigan
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founded on timber carried by rail and
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famously aged in golden wheels of cheese
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in the early 1900s the hum of sawmills
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echoed across Bay County jennings stave
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mill processed endless stacks of pine
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logs hauled in by horse and rail steam
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rose from tall smoke stacks wood not
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cheese was king back then but every boom
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town needs children in classrooms at the
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heart of Pinkaning stood the public
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school a stately brick building where
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students in wool and knickers and high
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button shoes posed proudly out front
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their laughter competed with the trains
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rolling in behind the depot as travelers
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stepped down onto wooden platforms
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greeted by the bustle of downtown
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next door the Pinkconing House served
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businessmen horsedrawn buggies line the
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dirt streets a sign promised oysters
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cigars and something stronger served up
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under striped awnings by WA Smith the
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proprietor main Street pulsed with
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commerce small's hardware stocked tools
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paints and plows everything a growing
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required around the corner folks grabbed
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a bite at the California Eat Shop a
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Coca-Cola sign offered cold relief from
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the heat inside black coffee and hot
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lunch waited under tin ceilings by the
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1920s the old forests were gone but
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Pinkaning had reinvented itself the town
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dairy farmers raised cows and cheese
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makers followed the craft Phoenix plant
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captured in later years marked the rise
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of Pinkaning's cheese empire wheels of
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aged Colby sharp enough to make your
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eyes water but cheese wasn't the only
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product on the line the Golden Pickle
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Company founded in 1892 packed jars of
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tangy relish and vinegar soaked
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cucumbers shipped far beyond Bay County
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even coffee drinkers found an option the
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Chory Factory processed a coffee
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substitute at industrial scale another
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sign this little town was punching above
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its weight just east of town summer
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visitors found shade and water at Hazel
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Beach cottages and boat rentals offered
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a quiet retreat 10 Lizzies kicked up
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dust along sandy roads while kids waited
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the shallows of Sagena Bay through each
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chapter logging rail dairy and beyond
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Pinkaning remained a town with grit
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drive and flavor in every sense of the
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this has been Michigan Moments offering
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bite-sized morsels of Michigan history