By Tim Binnall
A New York town bordering Lake Champlain celebrated the site's legendary lake monster 'Champy' this week by way of a new historical marker to replace the previous plaque which had been stolen by ne'er-do-wells nearly one year ago. Back in the summer of 2019, the community of Plattsburgh unveiled the signage which was awarded by the Pomeroy Foundation, which is an organization aimed at celebrating and preserving local history across America. The plaque served as a point of pride for the town for over two years, until last November, which some sticky-fingered miscreants made off with the marker.
While the foundation reportedly offered to simply replace the Champy signage, which declared that the "legendary lake monster lives here" by virtue of "over 300 sightings reported since 1819," town supervisor Michael Cashman explained that "we felt it was too kind of a gift for them to just give us another one." As such, citing a "a strong community outpouring," Plattsburgh teamed up with the Clinton County Historical Association to raise the funds necessary to produce a new plaque and that money was subsequently matched by the Pomeroy Foundation. On Wednesday morning, the new signage was unveiled in a re-dedication ceremony.
"It's a point of community pride. It's a point of regional pride," Cashman mused about marker which recognizes the mysterious 'monster' said to lurk in the waters of Lake Champlain, "it's about celebrating who we are." Considering the untimely fate of the first plaque, Plattsburgh officials are understandably keen on ensuring that this signage sticks around. Calling for community vigilance when it comes to protecting the marker, the town supervisor said that they have also "anchored it in some different ways," though he was quick to note "that isn’t an invitation or a challenge to somebody to do something stupid."