‘Lake America’? These Upstate New Yorkers Aren’t Letting Go of ‘Ontario.’
New York Times · LC · trust 53/100
President Trump on Thursday signed an order rechristening Lake Ontario as Lake America, but businesses around Niagara Falls say they won’t be changing their tune.
Listen · 4:55 min Share full article For some of the over two million New Yorkers who live along the shores of Lake Ontario, its new name seemed like an unworthy distraction. Credit... Cole Burston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Claire Fahy and Paul Lane
Sitting some 400 miles away from Lake Ontario in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump declared that the Great Lake would now be known as “Lake America.” He signed an executive order to that effect, billed as an effort toward “Making the Great Lakes Even Greater.”
For some of the over two million New Yorkers who live along the shores of Lake Ontario, named for an Iroquoian word that roughly translates to “lake of shining waters,” its new name seemed like an unworthy distraction.
David Hedley, 64, is the fourth-generation owner of Hedley Boatyard in Olcott on the shores of the Great Lake. He lamented that the president was distracting from what he saw as the real issues facing the country, such as affordability, by renaming the lake. His great-grandfather started the family business in 1900 — and Mr. Hedley said he would not be incorporating the lake’s new name into any business dealings.
“Next they’ll be calling Canada geese ‘Donald ducks,’” he said.
Sherri Middlestate, who answered the phone on Friday at Shangri-La on Lake Ontario, a marina, restaurant and campground in Three Mile Bay, laughed when asked about the lake’s name change and whether Shangri-La would be changing its name.
“No way,” Ms. Middlestate said. “It’s always Lake Ontario.”
Jim Baker, co-owner of the Chateau Niagara Winery in Newfane, has run his vineyard with his wife, Kathy Baker, for more than 20 years. He said his roots in the region dated back to the early 1800s when his family moved there to grow fruit. Mr. Baker said he would not be using the “Lake America” moniker in the spiel he gave during guided tastings.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Read the original at New York Times →
Open in TruthVane →