Throwback Thursday: 20 Things You DIDN'T know about Lake County (or maybe forgot)

9. Trumped

Long before his 2016 presidential victory, President Donald Trump and his private jet plane were regular visitors to Gary, the home of his mermaid-themed Trump Casino, which opened June 11, 1996, in Buffington Harbor. As owner of the Miss U.S.A. Pageant, The Donald promised to bring the national beauty pageant telecast to Gary for three years, but only managed two years of parades of competing state contestants trekking to the Steel City in 2001 and 2002. By 2006, Trump had sold his casino and said goodbye to Gary. The Associated Press

10. Martha's menu

Martha Stewart also made her way to Gary in March 2001, as a favor to Donald Trump to serve as a celebrity judge for the Miss U.S.A. telecast. While in town, she dined with the other judges at Miller Beach Bakery Cafe. "Oh, the Miss U.S.A Pageant, certainly I remember being there in Gary," Stewart said, when interviewed by The Times in 2005. "It's not an experience I would forget. Let me say I found the whole experience very interesting." Philip Potempa | The Times

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/throwback-thursday-things-you-didn-t-know-about-lake-county/collection_89853105-dffa-5acc-b0ae-4b8c94f719bd.html#11