Michigan’s Great Southwest is the focus of a PBS television program being shown nationally—and local tourism promotion leaders are excited about it.
The program, ‘John McGivern’s Main Streets’, specifically zeroes in on St. Joseph and Benton Harbor and features interviews with highlighted restaurants, attractions and employers while delving into a bit of the Twin Cities history and personality.
Main Streets is produced by the PBS stations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and broadcast on various PBS outlets around the country, as well as being available on demand anytime on YouTube. The Main Streets team contacted Visit Southwest Michigan Executive Director Marcy Simpson last year and the organization helped the producers plan interviews and video sessions that went into the program.
Simpson told us that Main Streets is a great opportunity to showcase the area to audiences that may not be actively searching for a place to visit but may be intrigued with the people and places McGivern spotlighted in the Twin Cities.
The program has short, self-contained segments about Silver Beach, the House of David, LECO Corporation, G & M Variety Store, Water Street Glassworks, Houndstooth Restaurant and Happy Poochie Eatery. Host McGivern talks with owners or key people at each stop along the way but always seems to tie it back to how the combination of parts adds up to a unique and interesting ‘whole’ called St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.
Simpson is confident that the exposure via Main Streets will lead to first time visitors coming to the area because of the wide variety of interests that were covered and the fact that, “We are a driving destination. We’re easy to get to for millions of people in the Midwest.”
For locals the program is worth viewing for a variety of reasons. Certainly, you’ll almost certainly feel a sense of pride as interesting and unique aspects of your own community are spotlighted. You also are likely to learn something—perhaps a lot—about some well-known elements of the community that are sometimes a mystery—right in front of us. The House of David and LECO Corporation are two examples.
The broadcast segment on the House of David explores the history of the legendary cult and offers a walk-around of the Shiloh mansion that is being restored as a museum, guided by Chief Archivist Dr. Brian Carroll. There’s a ‘learn more’ segment available on demand in which Carroll details even more about the life and times of the House of David.
And– how many times have you heard someone say, “What do they make at LECO?” Or, “What do they actually do over there.” The clearest and best explanation this writer has ever seen or heard is featured in both Main Streets segments. Watch both the broadcast and Learn More segments about LECO and you will begin to understand ‘analytical instruments’ and how important LECO’s products are to a wide range of industries all over the world. In fact, in many cases LECO instruments are the basis for standards or quality control for critically important processes or products. It’s explained in the Main Streets interviews.
You’ll also learn the inspiring business story behind Houndstooth Restaurant, told by owner Chef Cheyenne Galbraith. And interesting background on how Lisa and Rich Gresens turned an often-failed diner on MainStreet in Benton Harbor into the trendy lunch spot known as ‘Happy Poochie’ (and why it’s called that). What’s the story behind G & M Variety–‘the dime store’ in downtown St. Joe—and what do the owners think when almost everyone still calls it “Murphy’s”?
Watching ‘John McGivern’s Main Street’ was a fascinating exercise in getting to know the Twin Cities better—after 47 years of calling it home. You may have the same reaction. Give it a watch!
Access ‘Main Street’ free on YouTube: HERE
By Gayle Olson, MOTM Contributor
