HENRY`S NHENRY`S NEVER INN - ROCKLAND, MICHIGAN
The sign just
doesn't tell the whole story:
1. They have rooms available and you can't beat
the prices and accommodations.
2. On Thursdays you can get a pasty made from an
old Cornish recipe; and it is the very best I have found anywhere.
Construction of this building started in 1896 and it took about
two years to finish. The Inn was called "The Sample Room". The Inn
was built by Peter Gagnon. The family has been involved ever since
and Henry and Sally Gagnon are the owners today.
Any time you stop in, it seems there are friendly folk around,
lively stories being told and really delicious food from soups to
pizza to those incredible pasties.
The stamped metal ceiling and the walls are original. The dark
wood bar is a must see even if you don't have time to linger.
It isn't just the pasties either. Wednesday nights folks come
from miles away to "Build your own Pizza" and then there is the
famous smorgasbord on Friday & Saturday nights.
Contact Henry's at 74 National Ave. Rockland Mi. 49960 -
906-886-9910
E-Mail
hegagnon@jamadots.com
More about Henry's....
During prohibition, Henry's was a blind pig and dance hall. It was not
uncommon to have a saloon for every 150 - 200 people and Rockland
boasted for having 14. During prohibition, there were over 40 blind pigs
for Rockland's population of 5,000. Bootlegging flourished but Anna
Gagnon's brother, Elias, who bartended, was arrested for selling illegal
moonshine that was buried in the chicken coop out back. The wine got
dumped down the bathtub and Eli got dumped into Leavenworth for 18
months.
Story has it that someone in Rockland reported him to the revenuers
because the Gagnon's were getting better cuts of meat from the local
butcher during a time of meat rationing. The night before the bust, Lynn
Henry Gagnon got word that the sheriff was coming and was able to high
tail it to Chicago for a couple of years.