In honor of Women’s History month, this week’s book review discusses “Bold and Courageous: 25 North Country New York Women and Their Exceptional Contributions” by Daniel LaDue. The author is a retired English and Spanish teacher and librarian. A Plattsburgh native, LaDue still lives “less than a mile from his birthplace.”

It was difficult to choose which of the 25 women to highlight because all of them were strong, independent people worthy of admiration. The women in LaDue’s book include poets, educators, writers, and a judge, a physician, a musician, philanthropists, and businesswomen. In the end, I chose five remarkable women who influenced North Country culture and community.

Dr. Ruth Folijambe Copeland was the first female physician in Clinton County and the first licensed anesthesiologist in the North Country. Born in Massachusetts in 1905 to a mother who was a concert pianist and a father who was an engineer, her parents went against social norms and encouraged curiosity, logical approach to solving problems, and an interest in science. In 1927, Copeland graduated from Wellesley College and then entered Rochester’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, graduating in 1931. While continuing her medical studies, she married and had three children.

In 1943, when WWII changed the social and career structure requiring women to work in jobs traditionally held by men, Copeland moved her family to Peru, NY taking over the town’s medical practice and serving as the Peru school physician. After her retirement and for the rest of her life, Copeland continued her athletic endeavors, participated in many hobbies, and was interested in new discoveries in the medical field. Dr. Copeland died in Plattsburgh in 1995.

Lucy Agnes Hudson was a virtuoso violinist and concertmaster of the Plattsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She was born in Plattsburgh in 1894. The PSO was founded in 1911 by her father, Charles, and his brother, Joseph. Hudson and her siblings were multi-instrumentalists who contributed to the rich Plattsburgh culture of music. In the 1920s, Hudson and her brother were part of a trio who played live music for silent films. She conducted her first concert in 1935 as director of the PSO and was influential in running the Hudson School of Music which operated from 1880-1973. The Hudson family influenced many local musical groups, providing a rich history of music that Plattsburgh still enjoys today. Lucy Hudson died in her hometown in 1976.

Eula Roberts Otis, Clare Keller Warn, and Veronica “Ronnie” Gilmet Jette helped the famed michigan culture evolve in Plattsburgh. Although they didn’t invent this Greek-inspired meat sauce, they all created their own versions that became part of this region’s food lexicon. Each woman contributed unique culinary experiences that helped create the legendary michigan.

Otis lived in Fint, Michigan in 1923 and learned the recipe for a Greek meat sauce. She and her husband, Garth who was from Chazy, opened a stand on the Lake Shore Road in the summer of 1927. They opened several shops in Plattsburgh, selling michigans and hot lunches for fifteen cents. She kept her sauce formula secret, but other proprietors opened up shops using their own take on the sauce. In 1934, Eula’s Red Hot Shoppe closed and Nitzi Rabin bought it. Eula Otis died in 1976.

Clare Keller Warn created her own special secret sauce and called her michigans “Texas Red Hots.” She opened Clare and Carl’s Texas Red Hots in 1943 while her husband was fighting in the war. Why “Texas Red Hots”? No one knows. But visiting this quaint establishment became a summer tradition for many Plattsburgh residents. Clare Keller Warn died in 1987.

Veronica Jette opened Ronnie’s Michigan Stand in West Plattsburgh in 1958 for the first time on the Thursday after Easter which became a traditional opening day and closing on Columbus Day in the original location. In 1987, Ronnie retired and sold the stand. The name and the sauce recipe have remained the same. Veronica Jette died in 2004.

LaDue’s research and interviews of people who knew each woman teach us how “a life well-lived” can greatly enhance an entire community for generations. This lesson seems to deserve consideration during women’s history month in 2024.