Thank God it’s Monday, again. Mondays are my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you. Therefore, happy Monday.
Tomorrow’s National Have Fun At Work Day. One of the reasons Mom delayed retiring for as long as she could was because she loved her work so much. In a way, it wasn’t so much work to her, as it was fun.
Mom always knew, since she was a young girl, that she wanted to be a writer; inspired by the 1946 Warner Brothers movie, “Devotion”, about the Bronte sisters. Like one of the sisters, who became a great author, Mom journaled daily about anything and everything – her thoughts, ideas, gratitude, faith, and all of life’s occasions.
She dreamt of writing her own great American novel but fate took her writing passion in a different direction, as her great American novel dream evolved into the FIRST, great American, copycat cookbook and an over 40-year career (with a newsletter and new book almost every year), being the Secret RecipesTM Detective and doing what she loved.
On a side note, Mom’s initial career, as a satirical columnist and cartoonist, in local newspapers and syndication, during the 1960s and 1970s, was very similar, in many ways, to today’s internet bloggers. That was decades before home internet became common place – like the old adage claims, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Truth be told, Mom had fun, writing and publishing her own work. When she got involved with radio talk shows to promote her work, it seemed like a match made in heaven. Her participation on those programs brought her so many more special friendships (nationally and internationally) and fun-filled work days than when she was a columnist.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 10). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
HI, NEIGHBOR! – BOB ALLISON’S “ASK YOUR NEIGHBOR”
[A daily recipe radio show.]
ONE OF THE NICEST things about being a writer is that you can work at home. Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, as soon as my kids were out the door to the school bus, I set up my $39.95 Smith Corona portable typewriter at the kitchen table…
I was one step away from the stove, refrigerator and recipes I was curious to test and write about. The view from the kitchen table included the front yard and the North Channel of the St. Clair River (part of the St. Lawrence Seaway to everyone else) – the riverside was [called] the front yard and the roadside was the back yard.
The old house had its faults, I’ll grant you, but nobody could refuse a view like we had, living on the banks of that river! There was always something going on outside, sufficient to inspire a feeling of well-being, which every writer must have to do their job well.
In keeping with “write about what you know best”, I could put every economical recipe I used to feed my family of seven to good use, sharing the Secrets with others. One of my addictions in those days was a daily recipe radio show called Ask Your Neighbor, hosted by Bob Allison over the WWJ-Detroit radio airwaves.
He always opened his two-hour show by saying, “if you have a household problem you cannot solve, then call… (and he’d give a phone number) …and ask your neighbor!” I called him frequently with answers to his other listeners’ recipe questions, until I became “a regular” on the show.
With Bob’s generous help in mentioning my monthly newsletter, my subscriptions began to climb to 300, and 400. I was finally showing a profit! That gave my husband, Paul, some relief from his skepticism that I would eventually outgrow my obsession with writing.
From Bob Allison’s listeners alone, Paul and I had received over 1000 letters in one day! When, 106 months later, we closed our subscriptions to the monthly newsletter, we were already serving over 15,000 subscribers and had probably returned subscription requests to over 10,000 people…
That’s when, like Dick and Mack McDonald, we decided that we did not want to “get big!” It is as much a thrill for me today [1982], to hear somebody on Bob’s “Ask Your Neighbor” show request that Gloria, “The Secret Recipe Detective”, try to duplicate a recipe, as it was for me, decades ago, when it all began.
By the way, it’s still National Hobby Month and National Mentoring Month. A very popular New Year’s resolution is to start a new hobby. In fact, a few years ago, it was listed in 4th place by a report from KrisTV.com/news, called the Top 10 Most Common New Year’s Resolutions… (Dec. 30, 2021) – for 2022.
For centuries, many people have found ways to turn their fun hobbies into profitable businesses. However, Mom’s dining room table, family-based business, referred to by some critics as a small town housewife’s hobby, was NEVER a hobby – not to Mom.
It was always her profession, career, and livelihood; yet, because it was fun, it never seemed like “work” (in the traditional sense). Mom also loved to mentor other aspiring authors, nurturing their passion into a fun career, like hers. Did you know that only 30-40% of our workforce claim to have fun at work?
Innovative employers, like Google and Apple, have found that when the workplace is fun, employees are happier and more productive. However, traditionalists, like law firms and financial institutions, insist that work not be fun, as it’s distracting (unproductive) and unprofessional.
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 53)
RISKY BUSINESS
THERE ARE MANY RISKS involved with going into business for yourself, no matter what product or service you intend to offer. If I had thought more about the risks than I did about the possibilities, I never would have moved an inch toward doing any of the things about which I now write.
My husband is not a risk-taker. I am. We complement each other well. He still becomes uneasy and anxious about every new idea I have for another book or another project, on the basis that ‘we can’t afford it.’
I have learned, over the years, to keep many of my projects to myself until they are completed; which, in the long run, saves Paul from worrying unnecessarily about something that will very likely turn out well, and keeps me from worrying that Paul is worrying.
When I have been asked about goals or destination, it is been my feeling that every corner I turn has a new goal, a new destination awaiting us. I have never thought of any one point as being the top.
Life has so many wonderful opportunities for each of us to take advantage of, that it does not seem reasonable that I should give myself the limitations that would determine just how far I should be able to go.
Because this was never a hobby, never WORK, never a job, I have had no problem with the worry or concern that accompanies a position from which one expects to retire. I would not want to give up what I have been doing [writing] since I was a child.
It would be unfair to have to give up doing something that has also brought so much pleasure and good information to so many people. It was, however, only when I realized WHAT I should be writing about and what I should be sharing with the readers – what I knew best – that things really began to happen.
Of course, my husband wisely reminds me, when someone asks about writing their own cookbook, that WRITING it is the easiest part. Knowing how to SELL it is the hard part!
Mom found many fun ways to promote her work through radio and television talk shows. Radio was first and always her favorite. Being on the radio all around the world, while never having to leave the house (although she did do some in-studio appearances), brought a lot of fun to her work days.
Another fun way to bring attention to her work that I remember (in the 1970s) was when we went to the shopping malls. Mom gave me and my sisters a handful of her business cards to put in the pockets of clothes and purses for sale in the department stores or inside other cookbooks at the book stores – for a couple of examples.
After placing Mom’s business cards here and there, we’d stop for lunch at Hudson’s, where she’d write a review of the dining room, the service, and our meals. Sometimes she’d include our viewpoints, mine and my sisters’, as well.
I always thought Mom had a fun career, working from home and doing what she enjoyed – writing and creating – while still being a wife, homemaker, and mother of five and all of the responsibilities that entailed, as well.
Mom had many uniquely creative ideas that caught people’s attention. Many critics called her work, imitating famous foods and grocery products at home, a “fad”. Her copycat cookery concept inspired a big following that’s still going strong.
However, few copycats ever credit her for inventing the concept. That’s why I keep writing these blog posts, to carry Mom’s torch and bring continued attention to her “Legacy of Love”, as the Secret RecipesTM Detective. I love hearing from those who remember her.
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 Wednesday, being National Corn Chip Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Corn Chips” (from her corn “Tortilla Shells” recipe, which I first shared in Feb. 2023); also included is her flour version of that recipe.
All three are in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – The Best of the Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 68). [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 re-share these.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
January observes… National Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Slow Cooking Month, National Soup Month, and National Sunday Supper Month – among other things.
Starting yesterday, as the last Sunday in January (for 2025), and celebrated for eight days, it’s… National Meat Week.
Today is also… National Chocolate Cake Day. Plus, as the last Monday of January (2025), it’s also… National Bubble Wrap Day.
Tomorrow is… National Blueberry Pancake Day. Plus, as the last Tuesday in January (2025), it’s also… Plan for Vacation Day.
Wednesday, January 29th, is… National Puzzle Day.
Thursday, January 30th, is… National Croissant Day.
Friday, January 31st is… National Backward Day, National Hot Chocolate Day, and National Inspire Your Heart With Art Day.
Saturday kicks off February, which celebrates (among other things)… Black History Month, Canned Food Month, Great American Pies Month, Bake for Family Fun Month, Bird Feeding Month, National Cherry Month, National Grapefruit Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, National Library Lover’s Month, National Snack Food Month, and National Weddings Month.
February 1st is also… National Baked Alaska Day, National Freedom Day (from slavery), and National Texas Day. Plus, it’s… African Heritage and Health Week, which is always February 1st-7th.
Additionally, as the first Saturday of February (for 2025), it’s also… Ice Cream for Breakfast Day and National Play Outside Day, which is the first Saturday of EVERY month.
Sunday, February 2nd, is… National Heavenly Hash Day, National Tater Tot Day, and National Groundhog Day. Plus, as the start of the first full week of February (for 2025), it’s also… National Burn Awareness Week.
Have a great week!
…4 down and 48 to go!