Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
M
ay 8 is Mothers’ Day. It is now an international holiday in more than 40 nations. In fact, various celebrations of mothers have existed for centuries. One might say honoring our moms is a universal tradition. There is clear evidence that, in the United States, there were celebrations of mom long before the 20th century. The current American Mother’s Day is credited to Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, who declared such a day in Mike Smith 1908. President Woodrow Alene and Graham Landau Wilson made Mother’s Day Archivist Chair an official U.S. holiday in 1914, to be held annually on the second Sunday in May. Ironically, Jarvis later tried to remove Mother’s Day from the calendar because she thought it had become too commercial. Regardless of its commercialization — not unlike many other holidays in America — Mother’s Day remains a special occasion for our moms and their families. Beginning in its first year of publication, Mother’s Day was a celebrated holiday in the Detroit Jewish Chronicle. The JN has also never failed to honor Mom on her day. Indeed, Mother’s Day is mentioned on 3,610 pages of the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History in thousands of stories and advertisements for Mother’s Day gifts and for restaurants serving special menus for mom. The first advertisement that promoted gifts for Mother’s Day was in the May 12, 1916, Chronicle. Florista Telegraph Delivery suggested that Mom would like flowers on her day. Another early Florista ad was a beautiful work of graphic art that included a mom and her son in the Army (May 11, 1917) — the U.S. had just entered World War I in April of that
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year. Two years later, the Florista ad for May 5, 1919, was jubilant: “Happy is the one who can bring home a few flowers to Mother.” Michigan Gov. Albert E. Sleeper’s Mother’s Day proclamation was published on the front page of that same issue. This was one of the earliest homages to our moms in the local Jewish press. In the May 5, 1917, issue of the Chronicle, the Atlas Floral Company of Detroit suggested that readers “Remember the Mothers in Israel.” It’s an interesting ad since it would be another 31 years before the State of Israel was officially established. But I think readers got the point. Planting trees in Israel in honor of Mom became a standard recommendation for many years. For example, see the article in the May 5, 1950, JN: “Detroit Jews are Asked to Plant Trees in Israel on Mother’s Day.” Many great stories have been published about Jewish moms in Metro Detroit. I cannot cite them all, but here are a few highlights. The cover of the May 8, 1998, JN features a lovely photo of Marissa and Gail Wiener. It also notes that the feature story is “Love Letters from Mom.” Speaking of love letters, the May 10, 2020, JN, has a series of notes from the mouths of babes, so to speak: “My Mom is Special Because ...” This is a really fun read. Or on a more serious note, see “Mom Power” in the May 10, 2000, issue. On Mother’s Day that year, “Jewish moms joined the nation in support of stricter gun laws.” I need to make just one more point for a special reader — Hi, Mom! Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
