Summertime in Michigan

This month Michigan Memories is taking a look at summers in Michigan: beaches, parades, ice cream, and fairs--there's always a lot going on! We've included some research questions to help teachers who might like to use them in their classrooms.

Sanders Palace of Sweets, Detroit on a postcard

Possible research questions:

Fred Sanders Schmidt opened his first candy store in 1875 and by the early 1900s had this store on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. What do you notice about this interior, and why would an owner make a candy store look like this?
What kinds of food and drink would have been served in a candy store like this?

Year: 1909

Source: Detroit Historical Society Postcard Collection: https://detroithistorical.pastperfectonline.com/archive/1275E549-CBF1-4423-8C54-409314038245

Soda fountain in Ann Arbor

Description: Converted from a beer tap in a hotel that was converted into a bakery, confectionery store, and ice cream parlor by J. A. Alber about 1895.

Possible research question:

What was a "soda fountain," and what did it have to do with serving ice cream?

Year: 1890s

Source: Saline Area Historical Photos, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/sdlphotos/x-116/shs00134

A girl's Summertime Dress for railroad travel

Description: This type of dress was very popular for railroad travel after the Civil War, and was probably worn in the summertime.

Possible research questions:

Why might someone want special clothing for railroad travel? What does that say about what the experience of riding a train in the 19th century might have been like?

Year: around 1870-1880

Source: The Henry Ford Historic Costume Collection, Wayne State University: https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/digital-dress/id/5565/rec/1

Preparing ice cream

Possible research questions:

How is ice cream made? How has making ice cream changed from how it was made a century ago?

Possible Reference

A blog post from the National Museum of American History on making ice cream

Year: 1930-1939

Source: Ward Morgan Collection, Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections: https://luna.library.wmich.edu/luna/servlet/detail/WMUwmu~29~29~1105524~103005

An ice cream vendor on campus in summer

An ice cream vendor on campus in summer 1955

Possible research questions:

What is the metal device that the vendor is wearing at his waist, and what do you think it does?
Why might an ice cream vendor wear a uniform like the one this man is wearing?

Year: 1955

Source: University of Michigan News and Information Services Photographs, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-bl019461/bl019461

Dune Buggy Ride in Saugatuck

Possible research questions:

Do people still take drives up the Saugatuck Dunes?

Year: 1940s

Source: Stories of Summer Project, Grand Valley State University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives: https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/41631

Sand Dunes near Goshorn Lake, Saugatuck

Possible research questions:

Why do dunes occur in Michigan?
Have these dunes changed over time? If so, why? Do you see any clues in this picture?

Possible reference

A page on Michigan sand dunes from Randall J Schaetzl's course on the Geography of Michigan at MSU

Year: 1940s?

Source: Stories of Summer Project, Grand Valley State University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives: https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/41633

The Angus-Eckhardt Picnic at Dewey Hill in Grand Haven

Possible research questions:

What do you notice about this picnic? Does it look like the ones you might have today? What is similar and what is different?

Year: 1916

Source: D J Angus Photographs and Films Collection, Grand Valley State University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives: https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/21400

Bathing Beach and Detroit Yacht Club, Belle Isle, Detroit

Possible research questions:

Do these swimmers wear the same type of bathing suits you have at home? What do you think these are made of? How could you find out?
What does this space look like today?

Year: 1914

Source: Detroit Historical Society Postcard Collection: https://detroithistorical.pastperfectonline.com/archive/B9DD8FE9-271E-4542-8653-915580859871

Riverside Amusement Park, Detroit River

Possible research questions:

How does this amusement park compare to a modern-day amusement park?
What building materials were commonly used to construct the rides?

Year: 1920-1929

Source: The Detroit News Photograph Collection, The Virtual Motor City Collection at the Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University: https://wayne.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vmc/id/26234/rec/2

Edgewater Amusement Park, Detroit

Possible research questions:

Other than rides, what sorts of activities could one find at amusement parks?

Year: 1955

Orchestra Shell at the Michigan State Fair

Possible research questions:

What types of music could one see at an orchestra shell?
Why do you think this was a popular summer activity?

Year: 1941

A family picnic

Possible research questions:

What is this family eating at their picnic? Do you eat the same things when you have a picnic?
What is the woman at the left doing? Why is this doing it this way?

Year: unknown, circa 1950s

An ice man with his truck

Possible research questions:

This ice man delivered big blocks of ice (seen in the photo) to people's homes. Look at his truck and other equipment. How do you think the ice stayed frozen? What was it used for?

Year: 1911

Sleeping on a hot night on Belle Isle

Possible research questions:

If you were to zoom out, what would you see around these nappers?
Why would people go to Belle Isle to take a nap on a hot day in 1934?

Year: 1934

Pigs pull a cart at the Kalamazoo County Fair

Possible research:

This one we're just sharing. We like to think it speaks for itself!

Year: 1970-1979

Source: Ward Morgan Collection, Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections: https://luna.library.wmich.edu/luna/servlet/detail/WMUwmu~29~29~1102184~108379