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 hon-
oring 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 
1908. President Woodrow 
Wilson made Mother’s Day 
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 commer-
cial. Regardless of its commercializa-
tion — 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 publi-
cation, 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 

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 pub-
lished on the front page of that same 
issue. This was one of the earliest homag-
es 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 rec-
ommendation for many years. For exam-
ple, 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.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

62 | MAY 5 • 2022 

