Thank God it’s Monday, again. I always look forward to every Monday because they’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you. Therefore, happy Monday. Additionally, I hope all the dads out there enjoyed a splendid, memory-making Father’s Day weekend with their children.
Today is my parents’ wedding anniversary (1956) and yesterday was Father’s Day, as well as the start of Universal Father’s Week. Did you know that Father’s Day didn’t become a federal holiday until 1972 but Mother’s Day has been such since 1914?
These days, I’m missing both of my parents more than ever. We used to always celebrate their anniversary and Father’s Day together with a backyard cookout and all of the family gathered around. I pine to have those days back.
Obviously, I write a lot about my mom every week but today I want to share some tidbits about my dad, who preferred to stay in the shadows and let the limelight shine bright on the rest of us. Dad was always the pillar of support.
Since my dad passed away in the fall of 2014, Father’s Day has become one of those times when I miss him more immensely than on other days. As any daughter might feel about her dad, he was and will always be my hero – the king of our castle. He taught me so many important things – morality, honesty, respect, responsibility, and commitment.
Living on the St. Clair River, in Algonac, I remember Dad (and Mom) teaching me and my little sister how to swim when we were really young. Even though Dad couldn’t swim, himself, he knew enough to teach us the basic “doggie paddle” and how to hold our breath underwater. Those were imperative things to know since we lived on the river.
Dad also taught me all about fishing – from finding the worms to baiting the hooks to waiting still and quiet until the fish were caught (that was the hardest part). Although I didn’t partake in cleaning and filleting the fish, I did enjoy the rest and then eating what I caught after Mom fried them all up for us. By the way, Wednesday is National Go Fishing Day.
Dad (plus, a class in 5th or 6th grade) taught me all about boating and boating safety. I remember him putting me on his lap, during some of our boat trips on the river, and letting me steer – teaching me how to slow down and “ride the waves” of other boaters on the river. He had a lot more patience with me back then than when I was learning to drive a car.
Dad enjoyed many activities and sports. In high school and shortly after, he played and coached basketball. As a “carrier” for the Detroit Times, he played on their softball league, as well as when he worked for J. Walter Thompson (where he met Mom). In the Air Force, while stationed in England, he played in a pool league.
While living in Algonac (and St. Clair), Dad was always on a bowling league. I think he was in a pool league at The Colony Bowl, in Algonac, too. I remember him trying to teach me how to play, at least the basics of the game.
I also remember that he always enjoyed golfing, too, but I don’t remember if he was ever on a golfing league. Additionally, I recall his pride and joy in coaching my brothers’ little league teams, as well as being a member of the local Lion’s Club.
Dad (and Mom) loved to travel but he wasn’t big on reading road maps. We often got lost (or “detoured”) on our family vacations. Dad would call it “taking the scenic route”, rather than “being lost”. Whenever my husband and I veer off track, during a road trip, we like to joke about it, saying: “we found a new scenic route” or “we never got lost this way before.”
Furthermore, since yesterday was Father’s Day, I want to re-share with you an old, satirical editorial that Mom wrote in the early 1970s about Dad, which she called “Father’s Day (or) the King and I!”
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Homemaker’s Newsletter (Happy Newspaper Features, Algonac, MI; Vol. 1, No. 6; June 1974, p. 51)
FATHER’S DAY or THE KING AND I
MY HUSBAND IS old-fashioned enough to believe that every man should be the king of his own household. And, while he continues to labor under this gossamer veil of delusion, I know that when the day comes that he’s no longer afraid to use the guest towels in the bathroom, he truly will be the king.
Then I’ll really have something to worry about. Until then, I don’t mind that he walks around, tugging at people’s coat sleeves in Woolworth’s, telling them: “I’m the king in my own house. Would you like to see the note from my wife to prove it?”
I must keep reminding him that, if it weren’t for the kids, who won’t even let him put on his coat to take out the trash without wanting to know where he’s going, he would have to spend Father’s Day alone and unloved.
As king of our hearth, he feels the children recognize him as “their next best friend” – that he coaches their little league team even when he isn’t the coach; that he is observant enough to notice things like a black eye, dirty hands, biting nails, kicking under the supper table, and that turtles make the best pets and don’t belong in the tub.
As a father, he’s not much for notes from the principal, giggling in church, bikes [left] in the driveway, fairytales, playing house, children in the tool box, or PTA teas. He like good report cards, little boys [behaving], daughters with ribbons in their hair, mystery stories, electric trains, naps on the couch, football, mothers, and Sunday drives.
He is apt to lose… some sleep, when [our] daughter’s on her first date; his patience, when the kids whine at bedtime; his heart, when [his] baby’s first words are “Da-da”; his breath, playing “piggy-back” [with the kids]; and his shirt, at Christmastime.
He is certain to find small daughters, waiting with hugs each night; small sons, with big stories to tell; toothpaste in his hairbrush, time to read the funnies aloud, and somebody always gets to eat the cherries in the fruit cocktail before he does.
He is also forgetful but won’t admit it when he can’t remember things like teachers’ names, anniversaries, birthdays, where he left his putty knife, who turned on all the lights in the house, where we keep the salt, or that the sink needs caulking.
He’s a sucker for flattery, tears, Girl Scout cookies, advances on allowances, correcting “new math” homework he doesn’t even understand, and helping out with his son’s paper route even when he isn’t needed.
He can even understand the mother of his children and forgive me my shortcomings because, after all… What can be expected of someone who’s been raised by his mother-in-law? And while I realize that at this very moment Betty Friedan is sending him her definition of “Liberation”, he still claims his rightful thrown as head of the house.
“Remember!” He insists to me frequently. “I’m the king and you’re nothing.”
“That’s right, Dear.” I always agree. “You’re the king of nothing!”
Mom always referred to the Secret RecipesTM business as a “family enterprise”. But it was, truly, HER creation right from its very inception. The stories, the recipes, the research, the tests – everything from the design of her products and written work to the development of their content to the marketing of it – the creative side was all Mom!
After Dad retired from the sign company, in 1976, to help Mom manage the business side of their family enterprise, on a full-time basis, she was able to concentrate more on the creative side. From then on, until the fall of 2014, they spent almost every single day together – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, for the rest of their lives.
Throughout those years, their marriage was tested in more ways than one – but together they withstood all the tests that were thrown their way – and not until death did they part (for just a few years). Now they are together, for eternity.
Where there was one, the other was always close at hand! Keep in mind that they CHOSE to be together that much. It wasn’t always a smooth road, but it was a loving (and learning) journey, nonetheless. Maybe that’s why they enjoyed road trips so much.
I remember me and my siblings helping Mom and Dad with simple tasks, appropriate for our varying ages at the time, after school and on the weekends. Even into our adulthoods, we continued to help out whenever it was busier than Mom and Dad could handle alone.
As I mentioned earlier, Dad was in the air force – so he was no stranger to cleaning chores and perfection. I remember him teaching me how to “properly” make my bed, saying, “a quarter should bounce on it!” Out of all the household chores, Mom hated making the bed, most of all, and Dad hated “KP duty”. They always seemed to balance each other out!
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 therecipedetective@outlook.com. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.
IN CLOSING…
In honor of TODAY, being National Fudge Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for what she called “Dizzey World Vanilla Fudge”; as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Second Helping Of Secret Recipes, Revised (National Home News, St. Clair, MI; November 1978, p. 13). As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share it.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
June observes… National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, National Candy Month, National Camping Month, National Caribbean American Month, National Country Cooking Month, National Dairy Month, National Great Outdoors Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Papaya Month, National Soul Food Month, and National Rose Month – among other things.
This week celebrates, among other things… Starting the third Sunday in June (15th-21st, for 2025), it’s also… National Play Catch Week. Additionally, the third week in June is also… Animal Rights Awareness Week.
Today, as the start of the third work week in June (16th-20th, for 2025), is also the start of… National Boys & Girls Club Week – #BGCWeek.
Tomorrow is… National Eat Your Vegetables Day, National Stewart’s Root Beer Day, National Apple Strudel Day, and National Cherry Tart Day.
Wednesday, June 18th, is… National Splurge Day.
Thursday, June 19th, is… Juneteenth and National Martini Day.
June 20th, is… American Eagle Day, National Vanilla Milkshake Day, and National Ice Cream Soda Day. Plus, as the third Friday in June (for 2025), it’s also, National Take Back the Lunch Break Day. Additionally, as the Friday after Father’s Day (for 2025), it’s also… Take Your Dog to Work Day.
Saturday, June 21st, is… National Peaches ‘N’ Cream Day, National Daylight Appreciation Day, National Selfie Day, National Arizona Day, the Summer [Solstice] (the longest day of the Year), and National Seashell Day (which is always the first Day of Summer).
Sunday, June 22nd, is… National Chocolate Eclair Day and National Onion Rings Day.
Have a great week!
…24 down and 28 to go!
