Thank God it’s Monday, as always. I LOVE Mondays. They make me happy. They’re my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you. Therefore, I hope this brings you a very happy Monday.
School days are in the rearview mirror for the next 10 weeks, as it’s officially summer break in the northern hemisphere. The Summer [Solstice], which is the longest day of the year, was celebrated yesterday, along with Father’s Day. By the way, since it was the third Sunday in June, it also kicked off the start of Universal Father’s Week (for 2026).
Additionally, there’s more than a week left of June, in which to continue celebrating things like National Great Outdoors Month. However, don’t stop there. Since the great outdoors has so much to offer, it should be celebrated throughout the whole summer, as well as all year long.
Michigan’s summertime outdoor activities include, but are not limited to, taking pictures (of the great outdoors) or a hot air balloon ride; plus, exploring the national forests and lakeshores or riding a dune buggy through the lakeshore’s many sand dunes; running, walking, hiking, and biking the many trails throughout the state; camping, bird watching, and more.
Other summer activities and events involve attending summer festivals, art and craft fairs, outdoor concerts, fireworks shows, and so many other similar summer events; along with walking through a zoo or botanical garden; playing disc golf, putt-putt golf, or a round of regular golf. Mom and Dad loved putt-putt and golf. Michigan has 850 or more golf courses.
Michigan has 3,288 miles of pristine fresh water coastline to offer for classic, summer, water-related activities, such as rock and shell hunting on the beaches. Likewise, there’s also building sand castles, swimming, paddle sports, rafting, floating/tubing, boating, water skiing, fishing and more.
Among the four seasons – winter, spring, summer, and fall (or autumn) – summer is the most beloved of them all due to the state’s fresh water resources: rivers, inland lakes, and surrounding Great Lakes. Although, fall is a close runner-up due to the state’s stunning, colorful foliage, as well as its many spectacular fall events.
Other Michigan summer events to enjoy are the festivals, 4-H and art fairs, outdoor flea markets, farmers’ markets, and more. Summer is the undisputed peak for tourism and outdoor recreation. It’s the most popular time of year for family and class reunions, backyard barbecues, picnics, yard game gatherings, and the like.
Michiganders and other tourists love traveling to the beaches of the Great Lakes State or “up north” to spectacular places like the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Mackinac Island – just to name a few – especially during the summer months, more than any other time of the year.
SUMMERTIME MEMORIES
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of our family’s annual summertime vacations, exploring the great outdoors in super fun-for-the-whole-family places like Niagara Falls (Ontario), Cedar Point (Ohio), and Mackinac Island (Michigan), as well as several other locations.
Mackinac Island, which was once a national park, became Michigan’s first state park and is the most popular tourist attraction in the whole state. It is most famous for its no-cars policy, Fort Mackinac, and the Grand Hotel, as well as its Victorian architecture, fudge shops, and Native American historical sites. Visiting there is like traveling back in time.
One special summer, we were lucky to be staying at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island at the same time that Universal Pictures was filming the award-winning movie, “Somewhere In Time”; starring Christopher Reeves, Christopher Plummer, and Jayne Seymour. We actually got to meet and talk with the latter two celebrities.
FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in…
Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 235). [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
SOMEWHERE IN TIME – MACKINAC ISLAND
OUR RESERVATIONS WERE MADE in February, that year, to spend the Fourth of July week at The Grand Hotel on historic Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan. We had heard, when we arrived, that Universal Pictures was filming a movie with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour…
…Our 2-day stay at the hotel might be disrupted from the usual routine we were used to when we stayed there. The place was booked, and we were lucky to have those 2 days because other customers had canceled. The scene when we arrived was one of spectators and glamorous Hollywood activity in the lobby and on the grounds.
Paul was just teeing off at the green next to the golf pro shop, the next morning, when we heard a sympathetic moan from the beautiful leading man, himself, as he locked up his bike and headed across the street to the filming activity. I know I should have run after Christopher Reeve for his autograph, but I was in shock!
Later, in the hotel lobby, we watched the scene when Christopher Reeve checks into The Grand and, later, when he and Jane Seymour take a buggy ride away from the entrance of the hotel with Christopher Plummer looking on.
Take the time to enjoy seeing the movie they were filming – we’ve seen it 4 times and can’t wait to see it again! It’s for everyone who has ever been in love – or who has ever visited lovely Mackinac Island, as we do every summer.
In one scene of the movie you’ll notice, on the main street of the village, a sign over a shop that reads “Murdock’s Fudge”, a recipe which I have coveted for years. Finally, after dozens of tests, I came up with the secret for purporting this product at home…
[NOTE: See Mom’s copycat version of Mackinac style fudge, which she called “Somewhere In Time Chocolate Fudge”, on the recipes tab.]
“Summer Camp” was a special event that my kids looked forward to each summer, when they were young. They’ve often share their fond memories of those times with me. It was like their own private vacations for a week, during their summer breaks from school. They loved meeting other kids from all over the state and made many new friends.
Another favorite recall was of going to a Six Flags amusement park in Illinois and then taking a road trip through Wisconsin into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – just to enjoy the scenic route, taking the long way home so they could see some of the Upper Peninsula, including the Soo Locks (Sault Ste. Marie); as well as a side trip to Mackinac Island.
They often recall the jar of change I kept on the kitchen counter, for when we would hear the ice cream truck coming down our road. The big red, white, and blue “Bomb Pops” were one of their favorite choices. Like Mom, I always got a Drumstick cone. Incidentally, Thursday, being the last one in June (for 2026), happens to be National Bomb Pop Day.
MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…
As seen in her syndicated column, No Laughing Matter (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI)
SUMMER CAN BE FUN – BUT NOT FOR MOTHER!
(Written by Gloria Pitzer, in 1976; Published in the Port Huron Times Herald on Aug. 18, 1977)
INASMUCH AS THIS IS an election year, I wish the governor would include me in a kind of relief program to cover mothers of children who are on vacation for the summer. After two weeks of muddy blue jeans and wet towels, my Biz Bag turned in a letter of complaint and left for Yellowstone.
And the refrigerator door has not closed since school did. ‘With Avon, you get personal service’, they tell me on TV. Well, since the kids have been home on vacation, my Avon lady asked me to pick up my order…in a locker at the bus terminal.
Of course, summer has not always made me feel like a wart on a hog at bay. In the days of my energy, I could spend a languid afternoon with the entire family at the beach and frolicking through the sand, could sally forth to the Good Humor truck, with brood in tow, while each one took 20 minutes to decide which flavor they would take.
I know you won’t believe this, but I could then bring myself to embrace a child with all of the tranquilized sweetness of Doris Day and plead: ‘Please, Michael, tell Mommy where you buried Daddy!’ I wouldn’t have minded so much except Daddy was carrying the money for the Good Humor man in his swim trunks pocket.
And it was completely unreasonable to expect the Good Humor man to accept one of the children as collateral – or ALL of them for that matter – until we could uncover Daddy.
For these are the same children who follow you through the souvenir pavilion, commenting candidly: ‘Look, Mommy. That Lady has her wig on crooked.’ And “doesn’t that man have funny looking knees?’
At moments like these, I know I was never meant for motherhood. It can be very depressing. But gone are the days when I approached summer vacation with the children as if I had the unfailing cheer of Betty White and Ralph Edwards.
I wasn’t meant to spend my life serving Kool-Aid and Crispy Critters to swarms of children who embark on our porch like occupational troops in the Berlin Airlift.
I always found that, just as I was about to walk the gangplank of gloom, a cheerful neighbor (probably the mother of ONE) would enumerate for me all the blessings of having the children at home and prescribe how to enjoy them while they’re small – which is exactly like trying to tell me the only way to save money in Las Vegas is to step off the plane and walk directly into the propellers.
I mean, how can anyone live with children, who think all it takes to open a limeade stand is the garden hose and a sack of lime; who now slam the same door all summer they left open all winter; who, for the entire 87 days of summer [vacation] will ask questions like: ‘Why can’t we go see FRITZ THE CAT? It’s a cartoon – isn’t it?’ And ‘Why do you have that twitch in your neck, Mommy?’ Or ‘Can I put a band aid on this worm?’
If a summer relief program is out of the question for mothers like me, I personally feel that the least the governor could do is declare me ‘A Depressed Area!’
NEEDLESS TO SAY, I can’t wait until we can begin our “motor-home camping” again with our Good Sam friends. It’s our weekend vacation pleasure, May through October. Becoming part of the Good Sam organization is the best thing that has ever happened to us, where we could both enjoy mutual friendships and activities. Wonderful, caring people, who constantly remind us that “there are no strangers in Good Sam – only friends we haven’t met, yet!” – Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… “GOOD SAM – CARING AND CAMPING”, from Gloria Pitzer’s Secret RecipesTM Newsletter (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May-June 1987, 126th issue, p. 3)]
As mentioned above, camping is a popular summertime activity and this is still National Camping Month. Again, just like the great outdoors, camping should also be celebrated throughout the whole summer; as well as, at least, most of the year – depending on whether you camp in a tent or a camper. Mom and Dad enjoyed the latter style (aka: glamping).
Their camping vacation times with the Good Sam [RV] Club were the first things that they would put on their new calendars every year. Their trips always re-energized them. They made many wonderful friends through their travels, too. Camping (in a tent) became a favorite summertime activity for me and my husband, too.
Mom kept a lot of scrap books full of photos and special keepsakes from all of the family and her and Dad’s empty-nester vacations. She also wrote about those trips in many of her newsletter issues – the people they met, the sites they saw, and the great dishes they found wherever they went, whether they were at a restaurant or a pot luck gathering.
PLAN VACATIONS EARLY
As I shared for Plan For Vacation Day, one year, many years ago, instead of having a date night once a week, my husband and I committed to having monthly date weekends – camping at one of Michigan’s State Parks and exploring the different towns and attractions nearby. It was so fun, discovering the surrounding great outdoors’ hidden jewels.
National Plan for Vacation Day is intended to encourage us to plan our vacations for each year at the beginning of the year. Based on some of my experiences, from that summer, that’s a wise idea.
While it is quite fun and exhilarating to take off for a weekend, on a whim, I’ve discovered that, during the summer months when most people take vacations, it’s not easy to make last minute reservations, especially in popular tourist areas.
Summer and the great outdoors are a coveted time and destination. It’s worth the little bit of extra effort, planning a vacation early, as it often can save money, time, and stress – later, down the road.
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. I look forward to hearing from you!
IN CLOSING…
In honor of TODAY, being National Chocolate Eclair Day, here’s TWO of Mom’s copycat recipes for “Eclairs” like the Best Western (Niagara Falls, ONT), with “Sounders Fudge Frosting”; as seen in her self-published cookbook, The Second Helping Of Secret Recipes (National Homemakers Newsletter, Pearl Beach, MI; July 1977, pp. 54 & 71).
As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share these recipes.
P.S. Food-for-thought until next Monday…
The month of June celebrates… National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, National Candy Month, National Caribbean American Month, National Country Cooking Month, National Dairy Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Papaya Month, National Soul Food Month, National Rose Month, and more.
This week celebrates… starting the third Sunday in June (21st-27th, for 2026)… National Play Catch Week. Additionally, the third week in June is also… Animal Rights Awareness Week.
Today is also… National Onion Rings Day.
Tomorrow is… National Detroit-Style Pizza Day, National Hydration Day, and National Pecan Sandies Day.
Wednesday, June 24th, is… National Pralines Day.
Thursday, June 25th, is… National Strawberry Parfait Day and National Catfish Day.
Friday, June 26th, is… National Coconut Day and National Chocolate Pudding Day.
June 27th is… National Onion Day, National Ice Cream Cake Day, and National Orange Blossom Day. Plus, as the Saturday after the Summer Solstice (for 2026), it’s also… Summersgiving.
Sunday, June 28th, is… National Paul Bunyan Day and National Alaska Day.
Have a great week!
…25 down and 27 to go.
