For decades, salad lovers around the world have
enjoyed the appealing flavor of Thousand Island Dressing. Although
national
sales figures rank it as one of the most popular dressings with
consumers,
many people do not associate it with the popular upstate New York
resort
area, while many others don't even associate it with any actual
geographic
locale. In reality, it is the only salad dressing named for any region
of the entire United States.
The history of the dressing dates back to the early
days of the century and centers in the small resort
village of Clayton, N.Y. In those days a popular fishing guide named
George LaLonde, Jr., as his father before him, guided visiting
fishermen
for black bass and northern pike through the scenic, fish-filled
waters of the 1000 Islands.
Unlike his father, George Jr. would serve a different
and unusual salad dressing to his fishing parties
as part of their shore dinners. Prepared on the surrounding islands
as part of a day of guided fishing, these dinners have always been
very popular with visiting fishermen. Their popularity in fact, has
withstood "the test of time" more than enough to qualify them as one of
the region's premier and most unique attractions.
On one particular occasion George was guiding
a very prominent New York City stage actress of the period named
May Irwin and her husband. Miss Irwin, a renowned cook and cookbook
authoress in her own right, was particularly impressed with the
dressing
and asked George for the recipe. The dressing was actually created and
made by George's wife Sophia, who was flattered by the
request and willingly gave the recipe to Miss Irwin. At the same
time Mrs. LaLonde gave the recipe to Mrs. Ella Bertrand, who's family
owned the Herald Hotel, one of the most popular hotels in Clayton
and where Miss Irwin and her husband stayed during their early
vacations in the islands. Mrs. Bertrand prepared the dressing for Miss
Irwin and her husband and also added it to the other choices of salad
dressing offered to her dining room customers.
It was Miss Irwin who gave it the name "Thousand
Island" and it was Mrs. Bertrand, at the Herald Hotel,
who first served it to the dining public. Upon her return to New
York City Miss Irwin gave the recipe to fellow 1000 Islands summer
visitor George C. Boldt, owner of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New
York, the Bellevue Stratford in Philadelphia and also the builder of
Boldt Castle on nearby Heart Island. Equally impressed
with its flavor, Mr. Boldt directed his world famous maitre d' Oscar
Tschirky, to put this dressing from the 1000 Islands on the hotel's
menu at once. In doing so Oscar earned credit for introducing the
dressing to the "world."
As time passed, Miss Irwin and her husband
purchased a summer home on nearby Grindstone Island which still stands
in sight of Clayton, where they spent many summer vacations. Later
they purchased a farm on the mainland east of Clayton, near Spicer
Bay.
The Herald Hotel changed hands in 1947, on its 50th
anniversary and again on its 75th anniversary in 1972,
when it was purchased by its present owners Allen and Susan Benas,
who renamed it the Thousand Islands Inn.
During
this entire period however, one of the few things that stayed the
same was the now international popularity of Sophia LaLonde's Thousand
Island Salad Dressing.
Today Mrs. LaLonde's many grand, great and great-great
grandchildren,
along with the rest of the people of the small river community of
Clayton proudly share in the recognition of her creation. The Thousand
Islands Inn and the many surrounding islands, where shore dinners have
been prepared over the decades, also remain as a living
reminder of where it all began.
Needless to say, Thousand Island Dressing
is the "official" house dressing at the Thousand Islands Inn. Patrons
continually comment about its remarkable flavor and as May Irwin,
request the recipe.
In 1990 the Inn was licensed by New York State to
package their 'Original' recipe for resale. Only 5,000
bottles (16 oz.), all produced by hand, are produced each season and are on sale at the
Inn between May 18th and September 16th for $6.95. Each bottle also
includes a history of the dressing. Internet availability is offered
all year.