Thank God it’s Monday. I love Mondays, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you! Therefore, happy Monday.
Labor Day’s unofficial end to summer has passed us by and the focus is now on fall, especially in the marketing realm; as pumpkin spice is out in full bloom, even though fall’s official start is in a couple of weeks (Sep. 22nd).
Memories of fall days gone by fill our hearts and minds with happy, comforting, Americana recollections of small town squares and county fairs, apple orchards and cider mills, petting zoos, hay rides, corn mazes, bonfires, and crop harvests. By the way, September is National Americana Month.
Americana encompasses many things associated with or representative of the American culture and history (especially in the U.S.) It’s more than just our patriotic red, white, and blue color pallet. It celebrates music, geography, folklore, and our social heritage, among other things; mostly from the early to mid-20th century. Some refer to it as the simple life era.
Examples of Americana culture are best represented in Norman Rockwell’s artwork that was often on the covers of The Saturday Evening Post magazine – the American flag, blue jeans, road trips, drive-ins, rustic farmhouses, and the like. It’s a sense of nostalgia that forms the basis of who we are and who we represent.
Thanks to memorable marketing influences, many would say Americana is best represented by baseball, American football, apple pie, Coca Cola, and Chevrolet. Apples are officially celebrated nationwide in October. However, Michiganders start their apple celebrations in September, when orchards and cider mills kick off their harvest season.
Michigan has about 775 family-run apple orchards and more than 60 cider mills. More than a dozen apple festivals are enjoyed around the state. All of my children agree that this time of year always reminds them of when my parents would take them (and my sister’s kids) to the Ruby Tree Farm & Cider Mill, a few towns away.
By the way, the fall in which we moved from Algonac to St. Clair (1977), Mom and Dad took me and my sister, Cheryl, to see the famous tree farm and cider mill. That was before they expanded and added the petting zoo and other attractions.
We rode the hay wagon out to the orchard and picked our own bushel of apples. We also watched how they pressed the apples to make cider, in the mill. Their bakery was open for viewing, too, and we watched how they made their donuts and pies.
Mom was especially impressed with their homemade pumpkin pie and created a wonderful imitation of it. Below is a re-share of that recipe, as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Second Helping Of Secret Recipes, Revised (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; November 1978, p. 24). As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to share it.
I know it thrilled my parents to go to the tree farm every fall just as much as it thrilled me and my kids, too. We all loved the big cafeteria style dining hall where we’d have lunch, while we watched them make donuts, pies, and cider.
In a separate building, they sold old fashioned candy and souvenirs, as well as Christmas décor and antiques. In that building, there was a large, old, player piano that would usually be playing something festive. Dad would buy each of the grandkids some candy and sit with them on the hearth of the big fire place near the piano while Mom shopped.
My kids favorite memories there, besides spending time with their grandparents, included riding on an old fashion fire truck, walking through the petting zoo, riding the ponies, going on a hay ride around the farm, and picking out their own pumpkins to carve (plus, baking the seeds with Mom’s secret recipe, as re-shared below).
[NOTE: Again and as always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to share it.]
Ruby’s local gem was a big tourist attraction for many decades, first opening in 1956 as just a Christmas tree farm. It grew to hundreds of acres of trees (pines and apples). It was most popular for its Christmas trees, November through December, but it offered a lot of fall fun in September and October.
It started and ended as a simple Christmas tree farm but in between it grew to encompass all kinds of fall activities for every age to appreciate. The Reuters loved bringing families joy and it showed. It seemed like every year something else new and special to the harvest season was added to the farm.
Unfortunately, after both Ann and Warren passed away (Warren in 2009, Ann earlier), their family retired the business. Everything was auctioned off. They continued to sell through the property’s Christmas trees for another six years, until the farm permanently closed in 2015. It’ll always be remembered as the small, Americana, family business with a big heart.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, p. 158)
THE SOUNDS OF SIMPLICITY
BACON CRACKLING AND A hot skillet… The crisp, first bite of a firm, juicy, red apple… The tinkling of a wind chime hanging in front of an open window on a breezy warm day… The steady, muffled static of a summer rain on the roof, like 1000 tiny mice scampering across a sea of tissue paper…
The snapping of a log burning in the fireplace on a cool evening… The soft delight in a child’s amused giggle… An old man humming a tune as he weeds his garden… The baritone foghorn of a freighter slipping through the mist-covered river… The low wooing whistle of a train interrupting the night…
The lake lapping against the beach as it pulls back into itself and returns again to caress the sand… The gargling whistle of wrens in the slanted morning sunshine of a new spring day… These are the sounds of simplicity that set a satisfying mood and give me a sense of contentment.
I LOVE fall – it’s definitely my favorite season! I adore the crisp, cool nights and lukewarm days. I love seeing the trees change colors. Incidentally, in a few weeks, it’s the start of National Fall Foliage Week. additionally, Octoberfest celebrations are going to start popping up soon.
I know what you’re thinking – Octoberfest in September? Simply put, the sun is out longer and the weather is more favorable in September, for celebrating this, than it is in October. Since 1872, Octoberfest has been celebrated, starting on the first Saturday after September 15th, until the first Sunday in October.
Octoberfest is an autumn folk festival that celebrates the German heritage through its culture, music, food, and beer. Michigan’s own Frankenmuth is famously known as “Little Bavaria”, attracting visitors from all around the world with their famous, family style, chicken dinners – among other things.
Just as it was for Mom and Dad, it’s a favorite day trip destination for me and my husband, especially in the fall. There’s something about fall that brings about Americana memories of family and heritage, warm comfort foods, and let’s not forget Dad’s favorite – football.
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, p. 15)
SIMPLE COMFORTS
COOKING IS ONE OF THOSE personal accomplishments that afford us all the opportunity to express ‘talent’. We love being approved of. In fact, we eat it up! It’s the little pat on the back that gives us the incentive to continue trying. And where else, but in the kitchen, can you try to win approval with such satisfying results!
I’m very partial to my kitchen because it is the one place in our home where I feel the most comfortable! Whether I’m there alone, working on a recipe, or sitting at my desk, looking for inspiration on a new article I’m writing, or sharing a cup of coffee with a neighbor or a friend, who’s dropped by – it’s my favorite room!
I have a desk in the kitchen right next to the [glass] door-wall that overlooks the yard. Our daughter, Debbie, and our son-in-law, Jim, gave me a flowering Crab [Apple] tree last Mother’s Day, which they planted right in the middle of the yard.
I can enjoy it’s flowers each spring; also the very long bare, red branches during the autumn and it’s snow-covered limbs all winter. It’s my sundial, by which I observe the seasons and the changes involved with this natural wonder.
While the Scotch pines around this little tree never change, never go through the transition of bud to blossom to barren branches and then buds again, I can see the contrasts that are parallel to our own personal predicaments…
I’ve spent my entire life being a writer. It’s not what I do, but what I am. I love every minute of it, and by writing about what I have come to know best – cooking – it occurs to me that having a desk in my kitchen was awfully appropriate.
Mind you, I’m not all that crazy about cooking. It’s by default rather than decision that I have learned more about it than any other skill I’ve attempted.
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 September, being National Chicken Month, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Chicken Soup”; as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 121). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition)].
[NOTE: Again and as always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to share it.]
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
September celebrates National Sewing Month, Better Breakfast Month, Little League Month, National Blueberry Popsicle 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 second week in September, yesterday also kicked off… National Biscuit and Gravy Week and National Arts In Education Week.
Today is also… National Wiener Schnitzel Day.
Tomorrow is… National Swap Ideas Day and National TV Dinner Day. Plus, as the second Tuesday in September (for 2024), it’s also… National Ants on a Log Day.
Wednesday, September 11th, is… National Make Your Bed Day, National Hot Cross Bun Day, and Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.
September 12th is… National Chocolate Milkshake Day and National Day of Encouragement. Plus, as the second Thursday in September (for 2024), it’s also… National School Picture Day.
September 13th is… National Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day and National Peanut Day. Plus, as the first “Friday-the-13th”, for 2024, it’s also… National Blame Someone Else Day.
Saturday, September 14th, is… National Cream Filled Donut Day, National Eat a Hoagie Day, National Live Creative Day, and National Virginia Day.
September 15th is… National Cheese Toast Day, National Linguine Day, National Double Cheeseburger Day, National Crème de Menthe Day, National Online Learning Day, and Greenpeace Day. Plus, as the third Sunday in September (for 2024), it’s also… National Wife Appreciation Day.
Additionally, Sunday is also the start of Hispanic Heritage Month (which is always September 15th to October 15th). Plus, as the start of the third week in September, it’s also the start of National Farm Animals Awareness Week and National Indoor Plant Week.
…37 down and 15 to go!
