Happy Monday to everyone, once again. I look forward to every Monday, as they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you.
Small town life has its pros and cons compared to urban lifestyles – from less traffic noise and pollution, a lower cost of living, a tight-knit community, and a slower pace of life to fewer job opportunities, less entertainment options, and a lack of public transportation. Additionally, crime rates and insurance rates are usually lower in small towns than in the cities.
It’s commonplace for small town neighbors to help each other and for the townsfolk to come together whenever someone is in need. It’s well believed that kids who grow up with those kind of compassionate traits, usually become the same kind of great adults – while kids in large cities tend to feel unseen, unheard, and alone.
According to the last U.S. Census, of the nation’s over 328 million people, roughly 63% live in small towns. Some sources say that a small town has less than 10,000 residents but others put the maximum number at 5,000, to be considered as a small town. Many very small towns are unincorporated communities.
Earlier this month, Murray, Kentucky was named the “Friendliest Small Town in America” by USA Today and Rand McNally. I wonder if they even gave Michigan a fair chance – with small, friendly towns that attract tourists from all over the world such as Mackinac Island, Grand Marais, Charlevoix, and Frankenmuth.
At AwesomeMitten.com, Matt Heffner wrote a great article, 12 Cutest Towns in Michigan to Explore (Updated: Dec. 12, 2023), regarding the charming small towns in Michigan worth visiting. Many were Mom and Dad’s favorite map dots, to which they’d escape for a day or a weekend, to unwind from work or to investigate new restaurant dishes to duplicate.
Small towns are famous for having honestly welcoming, friendly, and polite people in them. The attractiveness of small town life is its slow-paced simplicity, emphasizing the importance of history, family roots, and authenticity; besides often being surrounded by natural beauty, as well.
Every Michigan town, big or small but particularly if it’s a small town, has something unique and interesting about them – even if it’s just folklore or an urban legend. There’s always something interesting that the residents can share with those who stop in for a visit.
I’ve written before about a fellow Michigander who’s literally been collecting Michigan map dots, traveling to every town in our beautiful state and finding something special about each of them. I want to mention him again, as he has an awesome Facebook page, called Scott’s Michigan adventures, where he’s been depicting his unique “map dot” travels.
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. 56)
SMALL TOWN AMERICA – PEARL BEACH AREA HISTORY
…WE WERE LIVING ON Pointe Tremble Road in Clay Township, better known as Algonac, although we were not actually within the city limits. The township was one of those areas that people didn’t really have any community pride in, at that time.
Down the road from us, however, was a six-square-block area called Pearl Beach. This part of the North Channel area, on the outskirts of Algonac, had played a historical part in the colorful development of that part of Clay Township and of Michigan.
In the 1920s, rumrunners and bootleggers ran their booze by small boats from the shores of Pearl Beach to Harsen’s Island and then across [the river] to Canada.
Down the road was the Chris-Craft plant where, during World War II, the PT boats were built. Chris Smith, who had founded the company, was quite a prominent member of the community. The best part about Pearl Beach, however, is that it wasn’t a ‘legitimate city’.
It was just an ‘area’, but Paul always promoted it as being the best place in the world to live, because it had no city politicians to contend with, no shopping center, no school system of its own and didn’t even have a police or fire department because they had never really needed one.
Clay Township provided services of that nature to Pearl Beach. One thing it DID have, though, that proved to be to our liking and benefit professionally… It did have a post office! The postmaster [at that time], Newt Aspenliter, even lived right next door to the post office.
So, in keeping with the uniqueness of what I wanted to offer, I thought that coming from Pearl Beach would have more appeal to the public than anywhere else would.
I grew up in small towns and tried city life, briefly. I love my small town life. My husband and I go on road trips to other small towns in Michigan, just like my parents used to do, too. We love exploring the sparkling, blue water shorelines of the Great Lakes, surrounding most of our state; as well as the in-land lakes, rivers, forests, farmlands, and parks.
Mom and Dad loved to take one day road trips to small towns like Frankenmuth, as do me and my husband. It’s a beautiful 2-hour drive through other small towns, if we stay off the expressway. We always discover new shopping and eating experiences emersed in all of the German culture that this small, tourist town has to offer.
“Willkommen”, which is German for “welcome”, adorns the arch across Gera Road as you enter Frankenmuth from the south, right by Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. Frankenmuth really is one of the most welcoming small towns I’ve ever visited. For a 3-mile-square, small town, they have a lot to offer it’s tourists.
PureWow.com’s article, The 6 Most Charming Small Towns in Michigan, by Dan Koday (May 26, 2022), listed Frankenmuth as #2, tucked between Charlevoix and Petoskey, respectively; which are much further away than a one-day-road-trip (from southeastern Michigan). Those were also among Mom and Dad’s favorite Michigan vacation destinations.
TheCrazyTourist.com’s article, 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in Michigan, by Jan Meeuwesen (Jan. 26, 2020), also listed Frankenmuth as #2. However, Jan tucked it between Saugatuck (which was #5 on Dan Koday’s list) and Copper Harbor (in the U.P.), respectively.
I have many great, childhood memories of family vacations to some of Michigan’s famous small town tourist destinations like Tahquamenon Falls, Sault Ste. Marie, Mackinaw City, and Mackinac Island; as well as other jewels, like Alpena and Tawas. Recently, HGTV declared Houghton was the best small town in Michigan. Also a favorite “map dot” of my parents.
Norman Rockwell depicted the simple, small-town, middle-class lifestyle of Americans as humble, God-fearing people who enjoyed a strong and prosperous family life – with Americana-styled elements like community pride and patriotism, blue-collar workers, pick-up trucks, white-picket fences, small Mom-and-Pop businesses, baseball, football, and apple pie.
In the 1970s, Mom quickly (without the aid of social media and internet, by the way) became known as the Americana, small town “housewife”, who was imitating famous restaurant dishes and food products at home and sharing her recipes across the radio air waves and through her self-published newsletters and cookbooks.
[NOTE: For a little piece of Americana, hard copies of Mom’s last cookbook are available for sale, at $20.99 each, through the publisher, at BalboaPress.com; and eBook versions are also available for $3.99, at the BalboaPress.com Bookstore.]
Have you ever thought about owning a small town? It’s not as common as buying a house or a piece of land but it can be done. The little 16-acre town of Campo, California was put on the market in 2019 for $5.5 million and is now listed at $6.6 million.
Hell, Michigan was officially listed in 2015 at $999,666 but sold for $900,000 in 2023. The sale included an ice cream parlor, miniature golf course, souvenir shop, and restaurant. Hell is also home to Damnation University (aka: Damn U) and it even has a wedding chapel.
Hell is a small (approximately 72 residents), tourist-friendly town that’s obviously known for its unusual name and atmosphere. It was founded in 1838 and became an official town, of about 1,000 acres, in 1841. The town’s last owner claimed they were “Michigan’s hysterical town. Everybody else is historical.”
LAST THOUGHTS…
Here are four basic tips for planning a day or weekend road trip that I’ve shared a few other times.
- Take a hard copy roadmap, as there are still places that may not have cell towers or public wi-fi service for miles.
- Allow extra time for spontaneity, in case you decide to take a detour to other map dots along the way.
- Stop and take breaks – walk around, “smell the roses”, photograph the memories, and talk to the locals – every small town has a story to tell.
- Pack a cooler with drinks and snacks, even if you plan to eat at a restaurant along the way. You know what they say about the best laid plans.
Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. Next week features National Small Business Week. 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 TODAY, being National Superhero Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Kaymart’s Hero Sandwich”; as seen in one of her first self-published cookbooks, The Secret Restaurant Recipes Book (National Homemakers Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; Jan. 1977, p. 7). As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share it.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
April observes… National Month of Hope, Keep America Beautiful Month, Lawn and Garden Month, National Couple Appreciation Month, National Fresh Celery Month, National Garden Month, National Humor Month, National Soft Pretzel Month, National Soy Foods Month, National Poetry Month, National Pecan Month, National Volunteer Month, Scottish-American Heritage Month, Stress Awareness Month, and National Records and Information Management Month
This week celebrates, among other things…
Today is also… National Blueberry Pie Day, National Great Poetry Reading Day, and National Workers’ Memorial Day.
Tomorrow is… National Peace Rose Day, National Shrimp Scampi Day, and National Zipper Day.
Wednesday, April 30th, is… National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, National Bugs Bunny Day, National Honesty Day, National Oatmeal Cookie Day, and National Raisin Day.
Thursday is the start of May, which observes… American Cheese Month, Better Speech and Language Month, National Asparagus Month, National Stroke Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, National Barbecue Month, National Egg Month, National Get Caught Reading Month, National Hamburger Month, National Photography Month, National Preservation Month, National Recommitment Month, National Salad Month, National Salsa Month, National Strawberry Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month – among other things.
May 1st is also… National Loyalty Day, May Day, National Mother Goose Day, and National Chocolate Parfait Day. Plus, as the first Thursday in May (for 2025), it’s also… National Day of Reason.
Friday, May 2nd, is… National Truffle Day.
May 3rd is… National Garden Meditation Day, National Paranormal Day, National Chocolate Custard Day, National Raspberry Pop Over Day, National Textiles Day, and National Montana Day. Plus, as the 1st Saturday in May (for 2025), it’s also… Kentucky Derby Day, National Fitness Day, National Scrapbook Day, National Homebrew Day, Join Hands Day, National Start Seeing Monarchs Day, and National Play Outside Day (which is the 1st Saturday of EVERY month).
Sunday, May 4th, is… National Star Wars Day, National Orange Juice Day, National Candied Orange Peel Day, and National Bird Day. Being the first full week in May (4th-10th for 2025), it’s also… National Wildflower Week, Screen-Free Week, Public Service Recognition Week, and National Pet Week – which is the 1st Sunday through 2nd Monday of May (4th-12th of 2025).
Have a great week!
…17 down and 35 to go!
