Weekend Musings

Weekends roll around so quickly.  Seems I just wrote about Mother's Day weekend, and now it's time to share happenings from last weekend. 

As always my Saturdays are spent at The Whitney.  Last Saturday I served 111 guests spread out over the 11:00 a.m. Mansion Tea seating, a 12:00 o'clock Bridal Shower Tea, and a second 1:30 p.m. Mansion Tea seating.  I clocked out 10 minutes shy of an eight hour day, and when I went to my car in the employees parking lot I noticed someone had grazed the front bumper without having the courtesy to tell me.  Fortunately it's not a new car, and the damage didn't impair its usage, so I chalked it up to a non life-altering [trivial] disappointment.  I have to brag on my hubby because he did a great job repairing the mishap.

What would we ever do without our hubbies?

I belong to a J.L. Hudson's Department Store Facebook group [15.9K members] so after I did my Hudson's presentation at Independence Village [a couple of blog posts back], I decided to share some of the Hudson's presentation photos with the Facebook group.  It was received with a fairly good response - 439 likes/loves, 92 comments and 14 shares, but most of the people in the group are lurkers like me.  

There are several connections between J.L. Hudson and David Whitney, Jr. [former owner of the mansion that is now the upscale restaurant where I'm Tea Director], the most significant connection is that David Whitney, Jr. loaned J.L. Hudson $242,000 [the equivalent to $6,967,416.74 in today's dollars] in 1889 to purchase the property and build his new 8-story department store [which was phase 1 of the mammoth building].  That got me thinking how fun it would be to host a Hudson's themed tea at The Whitney and honor both men, along with Detroit's iconic department store. I asked the Facebook group if they would have an interest in such an event.  Oh.  My. Goodness.  The response was overwhelming!  Over 1K likes/loves; 607 comments, and 90 shares.  Hudson's legacy is alive and well!  Now to get the wheels turning to make it a reality.

One lady who lives in Brighton [about 44 miles from my house] messaged me that she had a mink boa/wrap from Hudson's that belonged to her husband's grandmother.  She said she'd like to give it to me for my Hudson's collection of what ladies would have worn when they dined at Hudson's. She was even willing to deliver it to me.  We set the time for Sunday afternoon around 1:00 o'clock. She said she'd just leave it on the porch, but I wanted to meet her and invite her in for tea.  So I made some cream puff shells to fill with ice cream and top them with Sanders hot fudge sauce [an item that was served on Hudson's menus].

Cindy was absolutely delightful and we sat around the table and talked for a couple of hours, as if we had known each other for years.  Below is the mink boa/wrap she gave me from Hudson's fur salon on the sixth floor, still bearing Hudson's label. 

I had just recently purchased a Hudson's ladies 2-pc wool suit from Poshmark.  The seller said it was probably from the 1940's or early 1950's.  I have a dress form that I thought would be fun to display it on during my Hudson's presentations.

The suit is wrinkled from the box it was shipped in, and because it was stored in mothballs I didn't want the hot iron to make the smell permanent.  I will have it dry cleaned.  I'm so happy to have it.

The mink and suit go together perfectly and are so classy just like Hudson's Department Store!

 

So that's my weekend.  Hope you enjoyed yours!  Another Hudson's post coming in a day or two.