Peru resident Bridget Molloy chats with Joe McNichols, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, while trying on a flight suit and one of his pilot helmets; the other being worn haphazardly by her daughter, Ella, 5, while her youngest, Winnie, 3, is helped onto a replica of a FB-111A Aardvark by Vietnam Veteran Frank McGrath during Veterans and Military Appreciation Day co-hosted by the North Country Veterans Association and Lenny’s Shoe and Apparel in Plattsburgh recently. The event served as a fundraiser for a building expansion at the North Country Veterans Association Center located at 27 Townline Road in Plattsburgh and featured informational booths staffed by local military and veterans organizations that offer support programs for veterans and their families. The jet, which was recently acquired by McNichols, features a lawn mower engine and smoke generator to mimic a jet’s contrails left in the sky. McNichols plans to feature the jet, whose full-size counterpart he piloted, in area parades and at the Plattsburgh Air Force Base Museum.
GABE DICKENS/ P-R photo

Veterans and Military Appreciation DayNorth Country Veterans AssociationLenny's Shoes and Apparel