Hello and Happy Tuesday!

We have a super exciting announcement to make on the blog today! Around a month ago I was going through my Facebook feed and I stumbled across a page that was named, “Croghan Street Fair”. This immediately caught my attention and right away I wanted to run an idea past Darrell, I thought it would be great for Miller’s Meat Market to attend the fair as a vendor and participate in this local event, and he agreed! We think this is a wonderful opportunity to interact with our customers, and hopefully bring in more business from different areas. Our goal would be to attend events similar to this one in the future, but a little further away from home. We love meeting new people, and we are hoping to continue to reach new groups of clientele in other territories surrounding Lewis County. Croghan is a great place to see how attending events like these will go for us! We are very excited, and we’d love for you to pay us a visit on Thursday, July 29th in Croghan!

We plan to bring a number of our bestselling products with us on Thursday, so that you can purchase your favorite items right there! Some of those items will include our snack meat favorites like ring bologna, double smoked pepperoni, jalapeno & cheese bologna, pepperjack bologna, summer sausage, and old style summer sausage. We will be bringing along hotdogs, brats, and smoked bunners so you can stock up on grilling items for the weekend! Other possible items we may have would be bacon, maple bacon, kielbasa, andMoser sausage. Besides products like these, we will also be bringing along some containers of our Watson Sand and our Jerked Dry Brine so you can stock up on seasoning for all your summer barbeques.

If you are looking for a light snack at some point in your day, come and see us! We will be sampling our snack sticks and ch’arki so you can try all our new flavors! We will have all flavors of ch’arki and slims available to purchase at our table along with the other items I named. You will have to come and check us out if you want to see what other items we will have out for you to try! If you are feeling thirsty, stop by and purchase some lemonade or sweet tea to keep you hydrated!

We will be attending the street fair with our new refrigerated van, so that we can bring you fresh delicious products. This also means we will have room to bring along any pre-placed orders! If Croghan is a little bit closer to home for you, then place an order for pick up on Thursday at the street fair! You can place an order for anything from meat packages to baked goods. Send us a Facebook message to place an order for pick up in Croghan, or give the store a call at (315) 376-6253 extension 1. We will not have any fresh meat with us available for purchase so if these are items you need in your freezer, pre-order and we can bring it right to the fair with us for you to pick up!

note* Our website is millersmeatmarketny.com NOT .org. We are in the process of correcting the writing on the van.

I hope you can feel our excitement radiating from this write-up! We are excited to take part in such a fun local event, and we hope things run smoothly so we can try and do more things just like this! We would love to know if you’re going to come see us, so if you plan on attending the street fair leave a comment on our Facebook post. We are looking forward to having delicious samples for you, and a special giveaway that you can enter when you visit our table! Thursday will surely be a fun time, and we hope to see and meet you there!

Thank you for reading the blog this week!

Continue reading what we have to share every Tuesday!

We love using this blog to talk about the special things going on around our community, and this entry is no exception. There are many local churches around that host family friendly events, and fun things for community members of all ages. I know personally I am so thankful to have so many safe spaces to spend my free time, and have a blast with others that are my age! Right down the road from Miller’s Meat Market is a growing church that has very close ties to this business. If you head into the Watson area, on 6722 Kuntz Road you will see a large yellow and white tent, you can’t miss it! That is where Living Hope Ministries is currently calling home for the duration of the warm weather months. Here in this tent is where they hold Sunday morning worship services, from 9:30 to 11 A.M. However, the outreach efforts from this local church body goes past Sunday morning. Just recently, Living Hope Ministries has started to host “Community Nights” on Wednesday evenings! Any Wednesday this summer from 6:30 to 9 P.M. you can bring your family to the tent location, and enjoy a night of fellowship and fun! These events are perfect for any age, from young to old. There is plenty of space for your young ones to run around with other children and use up all their energy before its time for bed! Youth group age children will have a number of peers to get to know and play outdoor games with, or if it has been a long day for your teens already then they can just relax and chat with the other kids! As far as for adults, there would be people for you to converse with while you keep an eye on your young ones as they have fun. The current plan for each Wednesday evening get together is to have a bonfire for all attendees to gather around, and on that fire there will be some homemade kettle corn being cooked up for everyone to enjoy! It truly looks to be a fantastic time to involve community members in a night of family friendly activities, and have a safe fun evening.

Co-Owner of Miller’s Meat Market, Darrell Miller, is a part of the Living Hope Ministries church body and his family regularly attends the Sunday Morning services, the Community Nights and the youth group activities. Living Hope Ministries pastor, Todd Waugh, is an employee at Miller’s Meat Market as well. Todd and Darrell’s children are regular attendees at the youth group socials and they all love when they get to see and meet some new faces! These community nights are full of fun and fellowship, and you and your family are welcome to come join!

“Community Night” has been a big hit with those who attended the first few, and I asked some of those who went what they thought of the their evening! Here are some of the reviews I got, and I hope you decide to pay Watson a visit on a Wednesday evening and see how well you like it for yourself!

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Skyla Miller (17) - “Living Hope community night is so fun and inviting. It’s so fun to hang out and chill with a group of people who are welcoming! It is so nice to be outside by a fire, playing group games and having good food.”

Summer Miller (16) - “It was a night full of laughter and fun! You get to play games and socialize with friends and eat homemade kettle corn that they make right over the fire!!”

Stoan Miller (12) - “I like community night because we play games and have fun with friends.”

Racquel Waugh (12) - “There was a lot of fun stuff that I was able to do like play four square, volleyball, and sitting by the fire to eat some popcorn.”

Gabby Waugh (10) - “It was fun and I got to play cornhole and eat popcorn and hang out with my friends.

Slate Miller (10) - “I like playing games with my friends and eating popcorn that my dad made.”

Rain Miller (8) - “I liked playing volleyball, sitting by the warm fire, eating watermelon and the popcorn was pretty good too!”

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If you are interested in learning more about Living Hope Ministries, I encourage you to like their Facebook page so you can keep up with all the activities and services! You can also find more information on their website, livinghopeministriesny.com. If the weather is questionable come a Wednesday evening, see the Facebook page for updates and information on that nights community event. There is a great group of people who would love to meet you, and include you in these evenings of fun!

Thank you all so much for coming to read the blog on this lovely Tuesday!

We hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about this local community outreach, and maybe now if you have nothing to do tomorrow night you can take your family on a little trip to Watson.

Come again next week for some new content on the blog! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far, and have a fantastic rest of your week!

It’s crazy how we are already well into the month of June! I couldn’t be more excited for some consistent good weather, family time, outdoor barbeques, and the rest of summers festivities. Excitingly enough we have an amazing reason to celebrate right around the corner, Father’s Day! As many of you know, we had an exciting blog entry for Mother’s Day including some of your favorite local businesses, and we just had to do something special for Father’s Day as well! If you didn’t see how we celebrating Mother’s Day on the blog, go check it out! It’s the blog titled, “Mothers Day Gift Basket Giveaway”- and here you are now for our Father’s Day giveaway! We are deciding to do things a little bit differently. Instead of having just one winner like we did for Mother’s Day, we will have multiple Father’s winning a local gift card! Like last time, we had a number of local businesses agree to partner with us and donate to this giveaway. On this blog you can read about each one of those businesses, and the amazing impact they have on our community! The rules to enter are the same as our last giveaway, you must share this blog on either Facebook or Instagram, THEN comment on our post who you are entering the giveaway for. The idea is for you to enter and win it for your dad, or the man who has had a great impact on your life! Below our post on Facebook or Instagram regarding the blog, tell us a little bit about who you would give the gift card to if you won! A week from today, those who entered correctly will all have their name entered in a drawing. We will go down the list of businesses, and draw a name for each gift card that was donated! There is NOT a way to enter for a specific gift card, there will be one pool of names where we draw a name for each donated item. We have more donations, and more winners! We are so grateful that businesses near us wanted to help us bring this idea to life, be sure go like all of these businesses on Facebook, and check out their websites! Let me start introducing our generous contributors, and showing you what you could win for your Dad, Grandfather, son, or whoever you think is doing amazing it in the Dad department!

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The first business who gave a generous donation to our giveaway was TYRO Automotive, and the Mill Creek car wash. This automotive repair shop is located on the number four road in Lowville, and is well known for their great customer service. TYRO Automotive offers full service automotive repair, and also has a quick lube center that features no appointment needed oil changes & NYS Inspections. You can stop in and be served diligently when it works for your schedule! Not only can this business help you with all your car repair needs, their Mill Creek car wash also offers four types of automatic washes, or if you prefer to manually wash your vehicle yourself, there are three manual wash bays available for use! TYRO Automotive is clearly a perfect spot to fulfill your car maintenance needs, and I am so glad they were willing to contribute to our giveaway. The name we draw for the donation from TYRO’s will be receiving a $25 gift certificate to this local auto shop, as well as a coupon for a free platinum car wash! A perfect gift that any Father would love! You can stop into TYRO’s anytime between 8 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. on Monday through Friday. Saturday’s, 8 A.M. til noon, and they are closed on Sundays. Be sure to remember TYRO Automotive next time you need an oil change, NYS inspection, or have other car problems that need fixing! When your vehicle needs to be sparkled up stop into Mill Creek car wash to get the shine you want! If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the TYRO Automotive Facebook page, which is linked below. We are so glad to have such a friendly local business contribute to this giveaway!

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The second business we have participating in this giveaway is Keystone Lumber & Building Supply! This is a family owned business that has been serving our area for years. Keystone offers a complete line of building materials, along with rebar, wire mesh, concrete blocks, and insulated concrete forms for masonry projects. Their building supplies include lumber, plywood, metal roofing and shingles, windows, sheetrock, insulation, kitchen cabinets and countertop, interior and exterior doors, garage doors and vinyl siding. The useful items that keystone stocks doesn’t end there! They also offer a variety of drainage tile, leach field chambers, septic tanks, plastic culverts, hardware items, plumbing and electrical supplies, tools and fasteners. Also available are tongue and groove pine, cedar siding and decking, as well as composite decking and vinyl railing. It couldn’t be more clear that whatever you need for your building project, Keystone will have! This thriving local business is located in Glenfield, right off of route 12, and you get the supplies you need from them anytime from 7 A.M to 4:30 P.M. on Monday through Friday, or Saturdays from 7:30 to noon! Or if it doesn’t work for you to stop in, Keystone delivers to Brantingham Lake, Chases Lake, Old Forge, Boonville, Rome, Utica, Lowville, Carthage, Copenhagen, and anywhere in between! This business is always ready to serve you, and we are so glad to have them participating in this giveaway with us! Keystone Lumber & Building Supply generously donate $150 worth of items from their business! Those items include a heavy duty Milwaukee job site cooler, filled with numerous tools, and a $20 gift card! A gift that would be appreciated by any father! Enter the giveaway for a chance to win this prize, and have your Father’s Day shopping all finished! For more information about this local business, click the link below!

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Our next donation came from one of the most popular restaurants in Lowville! Jeb’s restaurant is located on Shady Ave, and is the perfect place to take Dad for a special Father’s day meal! Jeb’s is family owned and operated by Emerson and Jennifer Metzler. The Metzler’s were raised in the Lowville area and live here with their 6 children. Jeb’s opened their doors for the first time on November 4th, 2002, and they have been serving our community with fantastic food ever since. You can get great food from 11 A.M. to 9 P.M. Monday through Thursday, Friday’s they are open a little bit later and are open until 10 P.M. Weekend hours are 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. on Saturday, and 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. on Sunday! You can have lunch or dinner at this local restaurant any day of the week! There is a large menu with an array of choices, so you and your party will be sure to find something that can satisfy whatever craving you may have. Not only can you sit down for a great meal, but Jeb’s also offers take-out so you can enjoy great food while on the go! Along with regular dining, Jeb’s also has a private dining area that can be reserved for events like birthday parties, showers, rehearsal dinners! The Jeb’s staff strives to keep things as simple as possible for you, so you can enjoy whatever event you are having! I know that so many members of our community love Jeb’s, and I was so glad that they decided to donate to our giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a $50 to this spectacular local restaurant, the gift to your Father completely taken care of! We thank Jeb’s for participating in this giveaway with us, be sure to like the Jeb’s restaurant Facebook page, and check out their website that is linked below! When you’re deciding where to take Dad for dinner, give Jeb’s a try!

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Our next local contribution came from Wolff’s Body Shop! Wolff’s Body Shop is located at 9411 State Route 812, one half mile south of Croghan. This local business has been serving the area for over 50 years! Jim Wolff opened the auto body shop in 1961 after getting laid off from his mechanic job. He originally started the shop behind his home but as the business grew, the time came for brothers Tom and Ron to purchase the business from their father in 1988 and relocate to its present location. In 2000, an addition of two extra bays were added to better accommodate their expanding customer base. In January 2013, Scott Moshier, a then 12-year employee, purchased the business from Tom and Ron with the goal of continuing to provide only the highest quality repairs. This business has continued to thrive and serve the community. Also serving Wolff’ s Body Shop customers are Francis Seelman, Carl Schermerhorn, Jeremy Hoover, Richard Oakes, and Zach Pelo. These men are specialists in the auto repair field and they take great pride in the quality of their work. Wolff’s is a PPG-certified collision repair center that uses PPG waterbased finishes, and they also offer 23 1/2 hr towing service, with a wrecker and a flat bed. You can go to Wolff’s Body Shop anytime from 7:30-4:30 Monday-Friday, or by appointment on Saturday. Wolff’s decided to join us in this giveaway by donating a gift certificate for a free car detailing! Share this blog for a chance to enter that prize for your Father! We are grateful Wolff’s decided to participate, make sure you like their Facebook page and check out their website that is linked below!

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Our next contribution came from Zehr’s Flowers & Landscaping! Zehr's Flowers & Landscaping has been providing the horticultural needs for Lewis County and surrounding areas since 1984! They are a second-generation family-owned small business carrying on the tradition of amazing service. It is such a blessing to have local businesses like Zehr’s who care about serving our community to the very best of their ability. Zehr’s has a lovely Garden Center and Tree Nursery that you can visit anytime from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. on Monday through Saturday! Other than having beautiful flowers, trees, and other plants for you to purchase right at their location on the Van Amber road, they also specialize in landscaping! Zehr’s landscaping professionals are equipped to handle your residential dream garden or to engage you on your commercial landscaping needs! No matter the environment or surroundings, they will work with you to create the look that best fits your needs! The range of plants that Zehr’s can supply you with is very large, and you are bound to find what you are looking for if you stop in! We are thankful that Zehr’s Flowers & Landscaping decided to add to our giveaway, and donate a $50 gift card! Now Dad can save some money on making his outdoor space exactly what he wants! Weather you need some hanging plants, fruit trees, or mulch for the flower beds make sure you remember Zehr’s! They are eager to serve you! Make sure you have liked their Facebook page, and check out the Zehr’s Flowers & Landscaping website that is linked below!

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Another local eatery decided to join us in this Father’s Day giveaway! Boondocks Restaurant is located on Route 12 in Lyons Falls, and is another great option if you need a place to take Dad out to eat! It is a casual atmosphere serving a wide range of foods. They have options that included fresh salads, burgers, pasta dishes, sandwiches, seafood, and steak! You are bound to find something that makes your mouth water, and make you want to come again to try something else! Boondocks has a great setting with a waterfall, and small stream running through the restaurant, it is a beautiful and unique place to dine! There has also been a new event facility that is located behind the restaurant, and in front of The Edge Hotel. This space can be used for almost any event that you may need it for! Since 2010, Boondocks restaurant has been a great place to people to come and enjoy a night dining out. We are thrilled to have them be a part of this giveaway, and I know the man in your life would love a great meal in this special environment. Boondocks decided to donate a $50 gift card to our giveaway, which is the perfect gift for any Father! If you haven’t given this local restaurant a try, what are you waiting for!? Go give their Facebook page a like so you can see all their daily specials, and take a look at their website to learn more about this popular establishment!

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With this being a Father’s Day giveaway, we of course had to get a hardware store involved! Right away Buckingham Hardware was willing to contribute to our idea, and we are excited to have them on board! This store is located at the heart of Croghan, and has been serving the area since 1995. Under the leadership of owner Todd Buckingham and general manager Chad Hirschey, Buckingham Hardware has become one of the premier establishments around. In 1998, Todd introduced a second level, expanding the hardware selection. The following year he introduced a wide selection of sporting goods to the Croghan area. The Great Outdoors section of the store features all of your seasonal outdoor activities; including fishing, camping, hunting, hiking, snowshoeing, as well as vacuum packers to save your catch or prize! Buckingham’s rental department was introduced in the Spring of 2006 and has been a great success ever since. Renting out everything from carpet shampooers, sanders, and cutoff saws, to a brush cutter, stump grinder and chipper, customers can call or stop in to make a reservation or just rent it out right on the spot if the item is available. The list of services this local shop provides is clearly long, and for many people around the village of Croghan Buckingham’s is a regular stop. Buckingham Hardware has donated a $50 gift card to this giveaway, and the winner of that gift card will be one happy man! Make sure you have liked the Buckingham Hardware Facebook page, and if you want to learn more about this local business take a look at their website that is linked below! When shopping for a Father’s Day gift for Dad, I recommend checking out Buckingham Hardware!

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Our next donation came from Hanno’s Car and Dog wash! A local, family owned car and dog wash located on Utica Boulevard in Lowville! This car wash is definitely a popular one in the eyes of the locals around here, the car wash almost always has a line of people waiting to get a shiny clean car! This car wash opened up in 2003, and has been serving the residents of Lowville and others passing through ever since. This location provides automatic car wash areas, and also vacuum stations so you can make sure the inside of your car is as clean as the outside! If you find yourself at the car was quite regularly, Hanno’s Hometown car wash also has subscription programs! There is now a monthly unlimited membership program for our automatic washes. For as low as $16/month plus tax, you can wash your car everyday! All you need to do is download the EverWash app on your Smartphone and sign up. Once you get to the car wash just scan the QR code and the doors will open. Also for each additional car on your account will get 10% off, so sign your family up too! Along with the car wash, Hanno’s also has self serve dog wash stations! Multiple options and services that can get your dog clean and then dried after they get into a mess or just need some freshening up! A great stop to get your dog, and your car all cleaned up! Hanno’s Hometown Car and Dog Wash donated $25 dollars worth of car wash tokens. Whatever man you gift this too can drive around with a bright and sparkly car on Father’s day! If you haven’t liked the Hanno’s Car and Dog Wash Facebook page yet, make sure you do! You can check it out using the link below!

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I know plenty of Father’s out there with a sweet tooth! What better way to satisfy that sweet craving than with ice cream!? Good Ol’ Wishy’s ice cream shop was more than happy to donate to this giveaway. Wishy’s is an extremely popular ice cream shop, with a very large arrangement of flavors and options! It is also centered in Croghan, right down the road from Buckingham Hardware. Not only can customers enjoy soft serve at Good Ol' Wishy's but they are also offered over 35 flavors of hard ice cream. This local shop aims to appeal to all tastes and age groups. This unique shop, in the heart of Croghan, also offers customers a wide variety of cone options, milkshakes, floats (which are, as always, served in a frosted mug), old fashioned ice cream sodas, and sundaes. If you don't see what you want on the menu, you can make your own sundae choosing from a wide variety of toppings! Good Ol' Wishy's selection nearly guarantees that you won’t walk away with something you’ll enjoy! This small town ice cream shop has an old-fashioned feel, and a loyal hometown crowd who constantly visits to get something delicious. Wishy’s is a local business, loved by all, and it is so great to have them participate in this giveaway. Next door to the ice cream shop is “Spokes”- a small bike shop. The perfect place to get a bike to ride around on this summer! Spokes does repairs, but also carries equipment parts, and bikes of all kinds such as mountain, hybrid, fat tire, and road bikes. If you already have a bike, then maybe you would like to participate in the Tuesday night organized rides! There are so many ways these two businesses contribute to our community. When you stop to get ice cream, check out the neighboring bike shop too! The owner of these two local shops, Charlotte Schweitzer, has decided to donate a $25 gift certificate to Good Ol’ Wishy’s, as well as a $25 gift certificate to Spokes. It is so exciting to have these local businesses participating in this giveaway!

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Our next local contributor is known as Riverside Rustics. Take a look at the beautiful and unique furniture that they have crafted! The possibilities are almost endless, Riverside Rustics is experienced in making sturdy furniture pieces for your home, that are meant to last for a long time! Below you can see some of their work- wooden bedframes, railings, chairs, tables, vanities and more! This local business is located right in Lowville, on Bostwick street. You can pay them a visit from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Monday through Fridays, or stop by on a Saturday between 8 A.M. and noon! If you have visited our Miller’s Meat Market custom shop, then you have seen the amazing work of Riverside Rustics! We regularly receive compliments on our wooden table and stools, and we are always excited to say that they were locally made! Riverside Rustics decided to join us in this giveaway, and donated a hand crafted coat rack! This is an amazing local business, keep them in mind next time you are looking for furniture! If you aren’t yet following the Riverside Rustics Facebook page, make sure you do! Click on the link below to learn more about this business, and to see more examples of their great work! We are very thankful to have Riverside Rustics be a part of this giveaway.

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Last but certainly not least, a second landscaping business joined us in this giveaway! A great gift is to help Dad out with his lawn, and All Seasons Landscaping donated a $50 gift card to this giveaway. Winning that for your Father would be a great way to help him save some money on his outdoor areas! On State Route 12 in Lowville, is this local landscaping business that is run by Ted and Chris Bach along with Wayne and Amanda White. All four owners are very active and involved in the operation of the business. Amanda and Chris specialize with the growing and maintenance of the plants in the five greenhouses. They take pride in offering a variety of plants to make sure each customer can find something they love! Their knowledge of the plants and pleasant demeanor have gained positive customer appreciation. In addition to this, they also supervise the beautiful gift shop and help in the nursery. Not only does All Seasons have bright flowers and stunning greenery, the inside gift shop has all sorts of outdoor decorations and supplies! The perfect local shop to find a gift for Dad, something special so he can enjoy his backyard this summer! We are very thankful for the generous donation from All Seasons Landscaping, if you haven’t liked their Facebook page yet make sure you do! Check out this local business next time you need something beautiful to pretty up the outsides of your home!

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Darrell Miller decided to do something a little different and add something delicious for Dad to cook up on the grill! Miller’s Meat Market decided to contribute 2 Cowboy Cut Ribeye steaks, which as a current value of around $80! To pair with these juicy steaks, we will also add a small container of our Watson Sand seasoning, to spice up almost any meal! The winner will be able to gift a special steak to their father, that he can cook up to his own likeness! We are a local business just like the rest of these contributors, and we love collaborating with others to highlight the beauty of the businesses that have been serving our home area. We are so excited to have such willing businesses help us out with this blog post, make sure you check out the Facebook pages of these businesses and keep them in mind next time you are in need! Don’t forget to share this blog on Facebook or Instagram, and then leave a comment telling us about the man you are entering to win for! If you are new to the blog, welcome! We post every single Tuesday, something new and interesting for you to read about. Take a look at some of our past blogs to read about some recipes, our employees, and other local business. We hope you start coming to read what we have to share more often!

We want to wish every Dad out there a very Happy Father’s day! Thank you for all you do for your own families, and also the community. We wish every one the best in this special giveaway drawing! The winners will be announced one week from today, June 15th, so all winners have time to collects their items and secure their Father’s Day gifts!

Have an amazing Tuesday, come again next week!

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”

Psalm 103:13

Mother’s day is just around the corner! We at Miller’s wanted to organize something special for all the Mom’s out there and, of course, incorporate some of the local businesses we have around Lewis County. We present to you our Mother’s Day gift basket giveaway! In an effort to support local business, we presented our idea to surrounding businesses in the area, and let them decide if and what they would like to donate. We had some wonderful donations, and you could win this lovely compilation of local goods and gift cards! This is a perfect gift basket for your mother, or the woman in your life who just deserves something special. The steps to enter are easy! We want to continue encouraging people to read what we have to share on the blog, so step one is to SHARE this blog post to your Facebook or Instagram account. We share our blog posts to Facebook every Tuesday when they are posted, so all you have to do is share that post OR you can share our post on Instagram regarding the blog and the giveaway to your Instagram story. That’s step one. We know that the winner of the basket can do whatever they please with their prize, but we are encouraging the winner to share the prize with their Mom! So, step two, after you share the blog you need to comment on either Facebook or Instagram, depending on what platform you shared the post on. But there’s a catch, you can’t just comment anything. To officially enter the giveaway you must comment and share a little about the woman in your life who is deserving of this basket. It could be your mom or any other influential lady who has impacted your life personally. Once you share the post and comment, you’re in the running to win! We are posting this a little ways before Mother’s day so that you all have time to enter, and so that the winner has time to collect their winnings prior to the actual holiday. The winner will be announced a week from today, May 4th! We had generous local donators, who willingly contributed to this event, and we highly encourage you to follow them all on their social media platforms. Keep reading to learn more about the businesses who donated! Now that’s enough of the logistics, let’s see what you could be winning!

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To begin, we had to have something tasty in this basket! So who better to reach out to than Gary’s Restaurant. Below you see their popular English Muffin bread, and there will be a fresh loaf in the basket for our winner! Gary’s has been open for 46 years in their same location on Shady Ave in Lowville, and is currently run by Ann Schneeburger. Gary’s is a go to spot for delicious diner food, with a wide range of options on their menu, creative specials and nothing but homemade desserts. They are active on Facebook, and you can follow their page to know all of their specials and what tasty dessert they have that day! They have amazing customer service, and enjoy seeing their regulars just as much as new faces that stop in for a good meal. You can stop in on weekdays for breakfast, lunch or dinner from 8am to 7:30 in the evening, and Saturday’s they are open 8am to 2pm. (Closed Sundays) Personally, I love Gary’s Restaurant and have never been disappointed. Every meal tastes homemade and Gary’s is nothing but a pleasant local diner that you should try if you haven’t yet! This English Muffin bread is fabulous, and reason enough to try Gary’s Restaurant! This special bread is made in the restaurant, fresh, and you won’t find anything else quite like it! It is something different, and perfect for breakfast time. Give them a call to order a loaf for yourself, I know you’ll love it! We are very thankful for their willingness to participate and donate to this gift basket, so be sure to like their Facebook page and keep them in mind next time your looking for a good place to eat!

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The next contributor we had kindly donate was Pleasant Views Natural Goat Soap. Pleasant Views Soap is made and run by Jolene Widrick and her family. The soaps are made in small batches by hand with lots of love! Jolene only uses top quality natural ingredients with absolutely no shortcuts. When asking Jolene to share a little bit about Pleasant Views Natural Soap she explained that she feels very strongly “that what goes on your body is just as important as what goes inside your body”, and I couldn’t agree more! The soap is made from fresh goat milk that is rich in vitamins A, E, B6, B12, C, D and selenium, and then combined with oil blends that are nourishing to the skin and beautifully scented with pure essential oils. This soap does not include parabens or preservatives that could negatively affect your skin, only natural creamy goodness! The scents that are offered by Pleasant Views are changing constantly, however there are a few customer favorites. Lavender, orange-clove, cinnamon, gingerbread tea, and double mint have all been consistently loved by Pleasant Views consumers. Jolene also informed me that “by popular demand [she has] also added a charcoal and tea tree detox facial bar as well as an outdoorsmen scent, specifically for your man!” The three bars of natural soap that were donated for our gift basket smell absolutely amazing! Be sure to go like Pleasant Views Natural Soap on Facebook and try out these natural and local products!

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Open Sky Wellness is currently owned by Megan Dolhof, who generously donated a 45 minute massage to this giveaway! Perfect for a Mom who just doesn’t treat herself! Open Sky is located on Utica Blvd in Lowville, and is the perfect local spot to meet your wellness needs. Open Sky offers massage therapy as well as clinical nutrition and skin care services. Clinical nutrition services include one on one nutrition counseling to help you reach your health and wellness goals. Megan Dolhof is a certified nutrition specialist and will provide you with a comprehensive nutrition and lifestyle plan based on your goals! Margaret Hwang is a Licensed Esthetician at Open Sky, she is passionate about skin care and offers services such as facials, body treatments, waxing and eyelash extensions. Open Sky is also well staffed with several Licensed Massage Therapists. Clearly, this is a place where you can go for multiple wellness services! You can learn more about Open Sky by visiting their website or Facebook page, and we are thankful that they decided to participate and donate a massage to this Mother’s day giveaway!

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Our next donation came from Lisk’s Florals. As you can see from the photos below, Lisk’s has impeccable taste when it comes to flower arrangements and bouquets. This flower shop is located on Blue St in Glenfield and you can stop in and see what beautiful flowers they can offer anytime from 9am to 4pm on weekdays, and 9am to 12pm on Saturday! (Closed Sundays) Lisk’s is a family business that has been serving Lowville since 1987! They have an active Facebook and Instagram page as well as a stunning website where you can find pre-made affordable arrangements for any plant-lover! Lisk’s offers flower delivery in and around Glenfield, even same day delivery if you’re looking to surprise someone last minute. They don’t only offer breathtaking bouquets, but also have plants such as succulents available for purchase, and beautiful plants in vases and pots. Lisk’s has contributed a $75 gift card to our Mother’s Day gift basket giveaway! An extremely generous prize that would be a perfect gift to send to the lady in your life who is in love with all things bright and beautiful. We are so thankful they decided to participate and donate! Be sure to like the Lisk’s Floral Facebook page, and check out their website by clicking the link below!

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PB&J Café is one of my favorite places in Lowville. It is a homey café and every time I visit there with a friend we sit and talk for hours while enjoying delicious food and drinks. PB&J stands for people, bagels, and java. The menu consists mostly of unique bagel sandwiches, but also other things like soup, salads, coffee drinks and more. I can never pass when a co-worker of mine suggests ordering PB&J for lunch. PB&J has delivery services in Lowville, as well as a pick up window on the side of the building. Everything on the menu sounds delicious to me, but I can’t help but tend to stick to my favorite sandwich which is the Hamden. A bacon, chicken, and ranch combination on a warm bagel, I love it so much it’s hard to want to try the other menu choices but I will say I have begun to expand my horizons! The Café is open on weekdays from 7:30 am to 3 pm, and 7:30 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. (Closed Sundays) If you haven’t spent some time in this café I encourage you to do so, it’s the perfect place to take your Mom to catch up or just treat her lunch. PB&J donated a $15 gift card to the gift basket, and we are so thankful that they decided to participate in this giveaway with us. Be sure to like the PB&J Facebook page and check out their website! There isn’t a better place to spend quality time with Mom than PB&J Café!

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The final local business who donated items to our giveaway is called Hanno Scent Co. Emily Hanno is a local young lady who is diligently working on getting her business out there and discovered! She makes a variety of different products such as candles, wax melts, fizzy bath dust, shower steamers, whipped sugar scrub, and whipped soaps. The Hanno Scent Co Facebook page is filled with bright colors and eye-catching products. Emily has an extremely large list of scents that she offers, and that list can be found at the top of her Facebook page feed, which is linked below! Her scents range from clean and fresh, to sweet and fruity. There is without a doubt a scent that would fit your preferences, and fill your home with any aroma you would like! I recently placed an order so that I could try these products myself, and I could not be more excited! Emily offers what she calls the “Pick a Price Basket”, which I think is perfect for someone who wants to try her products. If you order a “Pick a Price Basket” Emily will put together a basket of random products that fit in at the price point you choose! Surprise and treat yourself at whatever price you would like! Hanno Scent Co donated seven items to our basket, really filling it up for us! Those seven items include three packs of wax melts- Strawberry Guava, Blueberry Cheesecake and Frosted Donut as the scents. Also a container whipped soap, whipped sugar scrub, and bath dust! The seventh item was a jar of the shower steamers, you can win all these items and the rest of the baskets contents! We are so happy to show you Hanno Scent Co, and glad this local business decided to participate in this giveaway with us. Go check out the Hanno Scent Co Facebook page!

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Our contribution to this gift basket is a dinner on us, you can enjoy a free dinner for up to 5 people! You will have a choice between 5 chicken barbeque meals, or a smoked rib dinner for 5. Both options include your meat, your salad side, dinner rolls, and one pie. Chicken barbeques are available every Friday, and ribs every Thursday and Saturday. The coupon is redeemable one time, and you can just show up with the certificate and we will gather your meal for you! You will be able to choose the pie you would like out of the ones we have made the day you decide to redeem your certificate, there will be many options to choose from! A quick and easy dinner for when your motherly ambition has just met its limit for the day, and you’re ready to sit down and enjoy the evening. Hopefully, this will save Mom from preparing a meal after one of her long days!

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Here it is! The Mother’s Day gift basket that you could win!

We purchased the English Muffin bread from Gary’s to try for ourselves, and so the photo would have all the baskets components. It’s delicious, and the winner’s loaf will be fresh!

There is no doubt that any Mother would be flattered to be gifted a basket like this one. So enter now! Win this prize for the woman that has made you the person you are today. We as Miller’s Meat Market are so happy to have neighboring businesses who willingly contributed to our idea and made it possible, we want to continue highlighting the beauty of local business throughout all of our blog posts. We strongly encourage you all to like the Facebook pages of all the business who donated, and continue to support them. Again, we will be announcing the winner of this giveaway one week from today. So go complete the steps to enter!! Thank you once again for reading the blog this week, we hope you come again and read next Tuesday!

Seven day’s after the bullfrogs start chirpin’ the bullheads start bitin’!

It’s the perfect time of year to be making fish for dinner. Everyone loves a different part of preparing a fish meal. Some love to do the catching, others enjoy the cooking, but most peoples favorites part is the eating! Well now part of the job is done, you can skip the catching! Now available to purchase is domestic bullhead for $6.99 a pound here at Miller’s Meat Market.

As much as we want you all to come to our store and buy the bullheads we are selling, we know that there is so much fun in catching dinner yourself. Our store won’t help you much with your fishing adventures, but did you know that there is a bait shop right down the road from our store?

Allow me to introduce to you Phyllis Ward, and the Mud-Puppy Bait shop.

This was my first time meeting Phyllis, and seeing her bait shop that she has been running in this same spot for years. Phyllis and her late husband James ran the small bait business together, until his passing two years ago. Phyllis and James have lived in this same house on the Pine Grove road since they got married 67 years ago, and 45 of those years they have been selling bait on their enclosed porch. Of course I had to ask how this couple got their bait shop started, and Phyllis said it was actually a silly story. She told me about one night when James got home from work after getting into an argument with his boss. She couldn’t help but let out a laugh while explaining how he was in such a tizzy, and ready to quit his job! Then James suggested selling bait right out of their front porch, the bait shop that had been down the road had recently closed, so James and Phyllis saw an opportunity to do something new and that’s what they did. They closed in their front porch and the Mud-Puppy bait shop began. Phyllis did go on to tell me that after James had cooled off a bit, he realized quitting his job was probably not the best option, so he continued working while also running a business at home.

Memorial weekend will mark the 45th anniversary of the Mud-Puppy bait shop.

Like most families in this area, the Ward’s were a family of hunters and fishers. Phyllis told me that they’re favorite place to fish was at Long lake, however it was a trip to Bullhead pond that ended in the name of the Ward’s bait shop. The family used to have a jeep, and one evening James took that Jeep to Bullhead pond to enjoy an evening of fishing. Turns out that the area was quite muddy, and somehow James got the Jeep stuck in the mud and it just would not budge! Eventually, James arrived back home and Phyllis greeted him by saying, “You finally got that mud-puppy out!” And that night they knew they had the name for the bait shop.

Minnows and Night Crawlers are best sellers!

Phyllis runs the bait shop herself these days. On Saturdays her great-granddaughter, Brooke, helps her out and occasionally her sons help her with tanks if she really needs it. She said she never really thought about not opening the shop up when James passed away. She told me that as long “as [she] feels like doing it, [she] will do it.” The Mud-Puppy bait shop is closed from October until the first good ice when ice fishing starts up. She opens up the shop 6am to 8pm every day except for Monday mornings which she uses to grocery shop and go to the bank. Phyllis told me she enjoys seeing new faces in the summer time just as much as she likes when the long time customers come in and visit. Although, James was the one who was always know for the story telling and chatting with all customers that came in. “People would come in just to hear his stories” Phyllis told me. She told me he would keep them around much longer than they had probably planned to be, she said she’d have to tell him “they wanna go fishing at some point ya know!”

I had such an amazing conversation with Phyllis about her shop. She is a local lady, with a local business. Next time you are headed out to fish, stop and get some bait from the Mud-Puppy bait shop! In an effort to tie back around to the beginning of this blog, I asked Phyllis her favorite way to prepare bullhead. She said, “Well, I’m old-school! We always just covered it in cornmeal or flour with some salt and pepper and fried it up in a pan!” So, if your looking for some bullhead to enjoy this summer, you can stop by to Miller’s Meat Market and purchase some, or catch some yourself and stop at visit Phyllis’ at the bait shop on the way!

Thank you all for tuning in and reading the blog this week. It was such a blessing to chat with Phyllis and highlight the bait shop in our blog. Come again next week to see what we have to share, and have a fantastic Tuesday!

Hello everyone!

We are excited to introduce you to our very own blog page! We feel that this is just another great opportunity to connect with our customers in a new way. We hope to entertain you, and give you fascinating entries that will feed you new and useful knowledge. There will be behind the scenes coverage of our local store and butcher shop, covering everything from the bakery to the meat processing! There are plans for you to get to know our employees better, regularly introduce you to new recipes, and so much more! This blog will center around the beauty of local Lewis County business, particularly our establishment. We love our beautiful upstate New York surroundings, and the community that makes our business possible. You will receive a new blog post every Tuesday, and every Tuesday we hope you come and see what we have to share! We are striving to intrigue you weekly, and create a personal and fun way of relaying information and entertainment. I can’t think of a better way to kickoff our blog page then to tell you all a little more about us, and what we do over here in Watson.

Miller’s Meat Market has been a family owned business since 1962. At our location on the Number 4 road we offer a small retail store, and a custom meat cutting shop. At our custom shop we process beef, pork, and deer in the fall months. This hunting season of 2020 we broke a record and processed just shy of 3,000 deer. Our retail store is full of homemade baked goods of all sorts. Fresh donuts are made every morning! Most every Thursday there is an array of pies made in many different flavors, and through the week there is always shelves stocked with cake, cookies, and bread both sweet and savory. We keep other local goods in stock as well, so our store if filled with all sorts of Lewis County flavors. Then, of course, we also have a full meat counter of fresh beef and pork that can be cut to your liking. Our meat counter also has a selection of our marinated meats, which includes marinated chicken, and beef and pork that is seasoned with our very own Watson Sand or Jerked Brine. Our dry rubs are a very popular item in our store, and if you haven’t tried them yet, what are you waiting for!?

Now time for a short history lesson. Miller’s Meat Market has such a story that I am so excited to share with you all. Throughout this blog I hope to show you all the heart of our business, and the blessings of being a part of a local business. As I earlier stated Miller’s Meat Market opened up in 1962. Carl and Norma Miller had previously resided in Syracuse, New York. They would camp in the Beaver Lake area, and eventually the small store on the Number Four road caught their eye. When they first looked at the store it was Easter Sunday, and they swiftly made the decision to buy the store. By swiftly I mean the very next day. April 23rd 1962, on Daniel Millers 8th birthday, Carl and Norma started the journey that would lead to years of a thriving family business. On this day that the Millers bought their store, Sam Walton was somewhere buying his first Walmart. The Miller family would all agree that they never wished to become like Mr. Walton and his Walmart franchise, they have been and continue to be blessed daily by their small town business atmosphere that they’d never want to change. Carl was familiar with meat cutting, but was an insurance salesman when he and Norma started the business. He used to cut meat in a white shirt and tie, and Norma was a school teacher for about two weeks before she decided teaching and working at the store was becoming too much. Carl owned the store until May 1st, 1979 when Danny Miller took the reigns as the next generation in the family business. Danny and Charlene’s children were always involved with the store, and had a love for the business since they were young. Danny tells me that ever since the beginning Darrell loved being apart of the business, and was a very hard ( and cute ) little worker. Danny explained that Darrell was “like his shadow.” Darrell’s business mindset started early on in his childhood, Danny told me a laughable story about how Darrell would sell kidneys for 25 cents at the store. Danny chuckled when he told me that “he was such a cute little boy, people couldn’t say no. He got customers to buy kidneys!” Darrell continued to be involved in the business growing up, until one year ago in April Darrell became co-owner of Miller’s with his father, becoming the third generation of Miller men to run the popular Lewis County business. Much has happened since ‘62 when the store came under Miller owner ship. In 2000 the retail store was renovated, in 2015 came the expansion of the custom shop, and in 2019 the porch for chicken barbeques was built. Over the years Miller’s Meat Market has grown to be a personal place of business, we love to get to know our customers, and we thrive in the local Lewis County county business setting. Back when Carl Miller was viewing the shop for the very first time, he noticed a large sum of money just sitting on top of the previous owners dresser. Carl knew then that if someone would leave thousands of dollars cash, sitting out in the open, then Lewis County would be a perfect place to start a business. The Miller family agrees that he couldn’t have been more right. We want to thank all of our longtime customers, and the newcomers we meet everyday. We are blessed to have such a perfect home for the family business.

Two out of the three generations of Millers Meat Market owners.

Here is young Darrell Miller working along side Carl Miller, who owned Millers Meat Market at the time. Danny Miller eventually took over the family business, until present day where Darrell and Danny co-own the business.

Thank you for reading our first blog post! There are more to come, so come take a look next Tuesday. God bless, and have a fantastic day!