The Tellico Village Little Michigan Tennessee club began in 1996 with a tailgate party, which escalated to an annual picnic with the arrival of more Michiganders, and the event will be held once again this year at 4 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Tugaloo Drive beach pavilion.
Jerry Halkey founded the group after moving to the Village and realizing the large amount of northerners migrating into the area. Halkey said he felt the club would be a way to bring a piece of Michigan to Tennessee and talk about how things have changed over the years.
Events that used to draw crowds of up to 250 people have dwindled, though, Richard Helka, club member, said. Helka said the picnic was canceled last year due to a lack of interest, and two years ago, about 45 people attended the event.
“Other than the annual picnic, there has been several attempts over the years to expand the get-togethers or try to set up trips or things of that nature, and it’s never worked,” Helka said. “So, the picnic is just about where it stands, and at one time 10 years ago, we would get upwards of about 300 people. Now we’re lucky to get 50 or 60.”
Helka said people have aged, which could be a reason for the lack of attendance, but he is unsure.
Each year, the group puts together a hot dog feast, which usually costs Helka a bundle of money, he said. If there are plenty of leftovers, he packages the hot dogs and buns and sells them cheap to get back some of his money, but this year he won’t have to worry about leftovers because Edward Jones, a finance company, has agreed to sponsor the event and pay for food supplies. Other organizations in Loudon County have volunteered to send items to be awarded as door prizes.
Halkey said the big attraction this year will be the chili cook-off. The winner will receive an award and be named the Little Michigan Tennessee Chili Cooker.
“Dr. (David) Lambert (a dentist) from Loudon, he has girls walk by, come with a basket and some toothbrushes,” Halkey laughed. “People come and talk about what it’s like or what it used to be like. Things have really changed.”
Halkey said the best part of having the Michiganders join together in a club is the “camaraderie of the people.” Helka agreed and said people should join the group because it’s a way to find people who lived near one another and can reminisce about the past.
Both have high hopes for the upcoming picnic and just want the club to continue to exist as a way to make friends with others from their home state.
“Just keep on going, kid,” Halkey said. “Us Michiganders don’t give up. We’re strong from the north.”
