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The best Michigan has to offer, one idea at a time Brandon Hodgins Writer 
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The stories of America's past have been told
for generations in newspapers and textbooks. It’s a rich history that teaches us of our nation’s fight for independence during the Revolutionary War and the battles that finally freed the slaves during the Civil War. Black and white photographs and the journals of a soldier can provide us with detailed clues of the happenings of a time that won’t soon be forgotten. Deep in the lengthy log books of the men who fought for our freedoms may lie mentions of the sutlers who provided them with goods when rations wore thin. It was the sutlers who provided coffee when the nights were sleepless, and clothes when the cold came through.
Many miles were traveled on the wheels of a wagon that followed troops around the nation during the wars that shaped us. A sutler is a civilian merchant who sold goods to the soldiers on or near base camp. If permission from the commander was granted, a sutlery could be found within the base itself. Otherwise, temporary tents were pitched nearby to fulfill the needs of our nation’s military. Sutlers would sell provisions such as coats, soaps, socks, salts, spices, coffee, sugar, newspapers, tobacco, locally grown food and tea. The sutlers shook hands with soldiers and provided them with comforts that made their time of service a little easier to swallow, if only for a short while.
Many miles were traveled on the wheels of a wagon that followed troops around the nation during the wars that shaped us. A sutler is a civilian merchant who sold goods to the soldiers on or near base camp. If permission from the commander was granted, a sutlery could be found within the base itself. Otherwise, temporary tents were pitched nearby to fulfill the needs of our nation’s military. Sutlers would sell provisions such as coats, soaps, socks, salts, spices, coffee, sugar, newspapers, tobacco, locally grown food and tea. The sutlers shook hands with soldiers and provided them with comforts that made their time of service a little easier to swallow, if only for a short while.
Stu and Michele Eddy of James Creek Sutlery have taken the traditional teachings of the past to create a modern-day traveling outpost. They can be found at their home in Lapeer Michigan, cool-grinding and hand sifting spices, aging organic sugars and making meat rubs. The processes they use today are reminiscent of those used by traditional sutlers of our nation’s past. James Creek Sutlery brings their spices, sugars and meat rubs to markets throughout Michigan’s thumb and beyond.
Staying true to the ways of the sutlers before them is important to Michele and Stu. They steer clear of the chemically enhanced, non-organic processes that are widely accepted in today’s food scene. Organic spices are hand sifted and hand selected with extraordinary care to ensure only a safe and delicious product reaches your family’s table. Salts, spices and rubs are packaged in apothecary style jars, much like the jars found on a sutler’s wagon from the 1700′s. The jars are corked so the essential oils are allowed to expand and contract like they’re supposed to. This process ensures top-notch quality and gourmet flavor. Michele and Stu remain cautious about over-grinding their spices too. No anti-caking agents are added to the mix, so they must make sure the product doesn’t get too hot. It’s all part of a traditional process that Michele and Stu share with their adult son and daughter, Theresa and Shawn.
The Eddy family has a rich and interesting history of their own. Stu has stacks of books and documents that trace his heritage back more than 10 generations. He has record of the Eddy name that dates back as early as 1630. It’s the families that came before Michele and Stu that influenced them to live they way they do today. It’s a family history with traditions that include hunting, fishing and living off of what grows from the soil. This history is where Stu and Michele’s deep connection to food comes from. Michele was taught to cook by her mother. It makes her happy to feed her family and see the smile that well prepared, natural food brings to their faces. Stu learned a lot about cooking from his father. Stu’s dad was not afraid to be in the kitchen, doing what needed to be done. Stu has created an Eddy family tradition of his own, as he prepares Sunday morning breakfast for his family each week.
Staying true to the ways of the sutlers before them is important to Michele and Stu. They steer clear of the chemically enhanced, non-organic processes that are widely accepted in today’s food scene. Organic spices are hand sifted and hand selected with extraordinary care to ensure only a safe and delicious product reaches your family’s table. Salts, spices and rubs are packaged in apothecary style jars, much like the jars found on a sutler’s wagon from the 1700′s. The jars are corked so the essential oils are allowed to expand and contract like they’re supposed to. This process ensures top-notch quality and gourmet flavor. Michele and Stu remain cautious about over-grinding their spices too. No anti-caking agents are added to the mix, so they must make sure the product doesn’t get too hot. It’s all part of a traditional process that Michele and Stu share with their adult son and daughter, Theresa and Shawn.
The Eddy family has a rich and interesting history of their own. Stu has stacks of books and documents that trace his heritage back more than 10 generations. He has record of the Eddy name that dates back as early as 1630. It’s the families that came before Michele and Stu that influenced them to live they way they do today. It’s a family history with traditions that include hunting, fishing and living off of what grows from the soil. This history is where Stu and Michele’s deep connection to food comes from. Michele was taught to cook by her mother. It makes her happy to feed her family and see the smile that well prepared, natural food brings to their faces. Stu learned a lot about cooking from his father. Stu’s dad was not afraid to be in the kitchen, doing what needed to be done. Stu has created an Eddy family tradition of his own, as he prepares Sunday morning breakfast for his family each week.
Stu and Michele are always mindful of the impact they have on the environment. Their home has been brought into the 21st century with the implementation of geo-thermal energy and the riddance of natural gas. It’s an open-loop system that ensures nothing goes to waste. They have a vegetable garden that sustains them. When harvest time comes, they extract seeds from their vegetables to be planted the following spring. They’re living the way we were meant to live, and leaving a smaller footprint because of it. This connection to their land and nature gives them a deeper, more profound connection to the products they offer at the markets. They understand completely the importance of living naturally and it shows in their organic and gourmet spices, rubs, sugars and salts.
To know the Eddy family, you must know the devotion they give to their faith. Every bottle sold proudly displays the words, “In every thing give thanks,” from I Thessalonians 5:18. During my time talking to Michele and Stu, they made it very clear all the things they are grateful for. They are grateful for their health, and their family. They are thankful for the food the earth provides them to eat and make their products from. They were also very thankful to me for writing about them and talking to them. I shared many firm, honest handshakes with both Michele and Stu. I also walked away that evening with a jar of Hawaiian and Himalayan salt blend of my own. I can tell you first hand that when you walk up to the tent of James Creek Sutlery at one of Michigan’s farmer’s markets, you will get an honest, natural product, made by honest, natural people.
They may not haul their goods around in a steel-wheeled wagon, or pitch a tent on the edge of an army base. Their goods are now sold to market-goers, families and friends instead of soldiers and commanders. They understand the importance of maintaining our history though. They have an understanding of the ways of people who did it before them, and they honor those traditions today. I can picture Michele and Stu selling their spices, rubs, sugars and salts to soldiers during the civil war. The processes during that time aren’t much different than they are today. The soldiers of back then would have been just as thankful for James Creek Sutlery, as Michele and Stu are to their patrons today.
To know the Eddy family, you must know the devotion they give to their faith. Every bottle sold proudly displays the words, “In every thing give thanks,” from I Thessalonians 5:18. During my time talking to Michele and Stu, they made it very clear all the things they are grateful for. They are grateful for their health, and their family. They are thankful for the food the earth provides them to eat and make their products from. They were also very thankful to me for writing about them and talking to them. I shared many firm, honest handshakes with both Michele and Stu. I also walked away that evening with a jar of Hawaiian and Himalayan salt blend of my own. I can tell you first hand that when you walk up to the tent of James Creek Sutlery at one of Michigan’s farmer’s markets, you will get an honest, natural product, made by honest, natural people.
They may not haul their goods around in a steel-wheeled wagon, or pitch a tent on the edge of an army base. Their goods are now sold to market-goers, families and friends instead of soldiers and commanders. They understand the importance of maintaining our history though. They have an understanding of the ways of people who did it before them, and they honor those traditions today. I can picture Michele and Stu selling their spices, rubs, sugars and salts to soldiers during the civil war. The processes during that time aren’t much different than they are today. The soldiers of back then would have been just as thankful for James Creek Sutlery, as Michele and Stu are to their patrons today.
For more information on where you can meet
Stu and Michele Eddy of James Creek Sutlery,
visit www.JamesCreekSutlery.com
OR
Visit James Creek Sutlery on Facebook
Stu and Michele Eddy of James Creek Sutlery,
visit www.JamesCreekSutlery.com
OR
Visit James Creek Sutlery on Facebook
September 2012
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Michigan's Local Flavor The best Michigan has to offer, one idea at a time Brandon Hodgins Writer |