Thank God it’s Monday, again. I always look forward to Mondays, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you! Therefore, happy Monday and happy Labor Day.
Today, being the first Monday in September (for 2024), is National Labor Day; otherwise known as the “unofficial” end of summer, just as Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer. However, technically, there are three more weeks of summer before fall actually begins.
According to Wikipedia.org, Labor Day officially became a federal holiday 130 years ago, honoring the American labor movement and laborers’ contributions to the growth of the U.S. economy, which is #1 worldwide. The labor movement began as a result of poor working conditions, in the peak of the Industrial Revolution.
Twelve years before it became a federal holiday, it started as a parade of sorts, in New York (Sept. 5, 1882), organized by the Central Labor Union. About 10,000 laborers marched in protest of poor working conditions, from New York’s City Hall to Union Station, instead of going into work that day.
Many states recognized it as a local holiday, before then president, Grover Cleveland, and Congress established it as a national (federal) holiday. Like our Independence Day, this holiday is widely celebrated with parades, parties, and fireworks. Likewise, everything is also decorated in an Americana pallet of red, white, and blue.
There are many other different kinds of festivities that are also held in honor of Labor Day, including company potlucks (for those that have to work on the holiday), backyard barbecues, community picnics, outdoor concerts, and festivals.
Some Michiganders enjoy the day by going to the beach. Others take this last, long weekend of summer, to go camping or some other trip before the kids go back to school. Even shopping has become a Labor Day event, according to marketers, as most retailers usually offer big Labor Day weekend deals.
Today is also the annual Labor Day Walk across the Mackinac Bridge (aka: “Mighty Mac”), which has bridged the Straits of Mackinac since 1957, connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan. At 26,372 feet (5 miles), it’s the third longest suspension bridge in North America.
According to the Mackinac Bridge Authority, “The bridge walk has been an annual event since 1958, with the exception of 2020. The 2021 walk was then the 63rd event. Between 25,000 and 30,000 people have participated in recent years.” The bridge is usually shut down to motor traffic for half of the day, for the safety of the Labor Day walkers.
Something else that usually happens on (or by) Labor Day weekend is that apple and pumpkin spices are being added into everything now. In fact, many Michigan cider mills began opening this weekend for the holiday and the rest of Michigan’s harvesting season.
Decades ago, when my siblings and I were kids, I think that the main reason my Mom celebrated Labor Day was because it meant that we were going back to school the next day and Mom could start her vacation! The following is one of Mom’s syndicated editorial columns, written around August 1971 – she called it ‘School Begins and so Does Mother’s Vacation’.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in… ‘No Laughing Matter’
By Gloria Pitzer (Happy Newspaper Features, Algonac, MI; Aug. 1971)
SCHOOL BEGINS AND SO DOES MOTHER’S VACATION
NEVER MIND WHAT the calendar says about the longest day of summer. It doesn’t really fall in June. It falls somewhere during the last week of August, as mothers everywhere breathlessly await the beginning of another school year!
When listening to a child lick a postage stamp in the next room begins to give me a headache and the cat seems to be stomping his paws and even my Mixmaster and my vacuum cleaner sound like mini bikes, I know it’s time for school to start.
This is what happens when you live with [five] children who believe that the same door they left open all winter should be slammed all summer.
And all I have to show for 10 weeks of summer, is a tape recording of 400 hours of the kids next door, gunning their motorcycles under my kitchen windows; which I felt would make a lovely remembrance for their mother who has been out, working in a pleasant air-conditioned office.
Someday, she may want to know what she missed while her boys were growing up. I can tell her what she missed – migraines, excessive nervous acidity and hives, that’s what!
The first 8 weeks of summer rushed past us so quickly – it was like catching quicksilver in greased gloves. Suddenly, there was our 15-year old [son], telling us he needed back-to-school clothes; but he’d like some new blue jeans that didn’t look like new blue jeans.
Honestly, I don’t know where you can buy new blue jeans with broken zippers, frayed hems, worn seats and patched knees.
He [also] said he had wished he had bought his school shoes last month, so he could have had plenty of time to scuff up the toes and run the heels over before school started; then, nobody would accuse him of wearing Sunday school clothes.
It is during the [unofficial] last week of summer that my Avon lady sends me a CARE package and my mother apologizes for not having had the children visit her more often before they had to go back to school.
I receive fliers from the drug store advertising Christmas wrappings and ribbons, and you can’t find a 99-cent Styrofoam cooler anywhere in town for the Labor Day picnic you wish you didn’t have to attend, because any picnic with 5 children is no PICNIC!
It is during the [unofficial] last week of summer that I’m ready to vote ‘yes’ in a school bond issue and school supplies that were on sale in July are being replaced on dime store counters by Halloween candy and costumes.
It is during the [unofficial] last week of summer that a neighbor stops by to see if he ever returned the lawn mower he borrowed from us and is disappointed when he learns he didn’t because he wanted to borrow it again!
Actually, the longest day of summer can make one weak – especially if she’s a mother!
September is, among other things, National Americana Month. “Americana” is a style that reflects the stereotypical, cultural phenomenon of Norman Rockwell’s artwork – the simple elements of American life, including those traditions and remembrances which have woven us together over the past couple of centuries and made us all Americans.
It includes everything that celebrates America’s cultural heritage, history, folklore, and geography. It’s a timeless, classic style that never goes out of fashion or falls from popularity. Like Mom’s description (above) of her and Dad’s drive in the Traverse Bay region of Michigan’s “Tip-Of-The-Mitt” area.
According to ‘How To Capture Americana In Photography’, by Britton Perelman (2018 – Updated Aug. 27, 2020), as seen at PassionPassport.com:
“Americana is any artifact relating to the history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage of the United States… We often associate ‘nostalgia’ with Americana… Examples of Americana include Coca-Cola memorabilia, white-picket fences, blue jeans, apple pie, rock and roll, and small towns.”
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, pp. 23-24)
IN THE SUMMERTIME…
…THROUGHOUT UPSTATE MICHIGAN, the roads borough through tunnels of green trees for miles and miles. There’ll be light traffic on these curving two-lane highways with single cars spaced two blocks or so apart coming toward you. There was the quaint and very unique Settling Inn at the village of Northport, the most northern point of M-22. And farther south there was the Sugarfoot Saloon at Leelanau, near the Sugarfoot Mountain Resort.
It was quiet country, secluded but refreshing, compared to sophisticated urban activity. At County Road 669, a sign announced, ‘Sleeping Bear Dunes straight ahead on M-22’. The road curved like a long licorice ribbon, up and down the hillsides of densely grown White Birches, Scotch Pines, Maples, Oaks and Poplars.
Suddenly we were conscious of how clean the air smelled. The city wasn’t like this! What a lovely contrast! What a splendid memory!
The first time we saw the Traverse Bay area and upstate Michigan, we fell in love with it. It was Labor Day and summer was still at the peak of its promise. Six weeks later, we went back to the bay area to feast our eyes on the glorious, fiery colors of fall. There was a crisp, clean chill in the air.
Those long, straight, two-lane roads through the peninsula still lay like licorice ribbons on the slopes and hills of Old Mission region. The side roads were cut like corridors through a series of canopies in brilliant orange, red and yellow, where the trees were all standing like military sentries in full dress uniforms, crossing their branches above the roads like honor guards with their swords raised high.
It was a trip back into another time zone – peaceful valleys and wooded hillsides abundant was sturdy hedges of tall trees framing well-manicured cherry orchards, acres upon acres of them, as well as apple groves in great abundance everywhere!
Here and there a farmhouse and a weather-worn, well-kept barn reminded you that it was a populated and prosperous region, after all. The prosperity appeared to represent hard work, a practical living style and simplicity of needs, unlike the atmosphere of city dwelling.
LAST THOUGHTS…
Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of tomorrow, being National Welsh Rarebit Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Wesh Rabbit” [aka: Rarebit]; as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 273). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)]. As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to share it.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
Yesterday was the start of September, which celebrates National Sewing Month, Better Breakfast Month, Little League Month, National Chicken Month, National Courtesy Month, National Honey Month, National Italian Cheese Month, National Library Card Sign Up Month, National Mushroom Month, National Potato Month, National Rice Month, Self-Improvement Month, and Whole Grains Month – among other things.
Plus, as the start of the first FULL week in September, yesterday also kicked off… National Waffle Week.
Today is also… National Blueberry Popsicle Day. Plus, it’s… National Blueberry Popsicle Month.
Tomorrow is… U.S. Bowling League Day.
Wednesday, September 4th, is… National Spice Blend Day, National Wildlife Day, National Newspaper Carrier Day, and National Macadamia Nut Day.
Thursday, September 5th, is… National Cheese Pizza Day and National Be Late For Something Day.
September 6th, is… National Coffee Ice Cream Day and National Read A Book Day. Plus, as the first Friday in September (for 2024) it’s also… National Lazy Mom’s Day, National Food Bank Day, and National Chianti Day.
September 7th, is… National Beer Lover’s Day, National Grandma Moses Day, National Acorn Squash Day, National Salami Day, and National New Hampshire Day. Plus, as the first Saturday in September (for 2024), it’s also… National Tailgating Day and National Play Outside Day (which is the first Saturday of every month).
September 8th is… National Ampersand Day. Plus, as the Sunday after Labor Day (for 2024), it’s also… National Grandparent’s Day. Additionally, as the beginning of the second week in September, it’s also the start of… National Biscuit and Gravy Week and National Arts In Education Week.
…36 down and 16 to go!
