Utilizing many of the images stored in the Sanders archive, author Greg Tasker captures the glory years of Detroit's famous confectioner. Tasker, a former newspaper editor and reporter, is a widely published freelance writer.
Title: Enjoy an evening of sweet butter cream memories
Author: Diana Wing
Publisher: Hometown Life
Date: 5/17/09 When I was a kid, the best treats in my Easter basket
were the purple-foil-wrapped Sanders chocolate bunnies. And despite
the caloric hazard of getting hooked on hot fudge, my family will
sometimes forego cake and celebrate a birthday with Sanders cream
puffs drenched in gooey goodness. Greg Tasker, author of Sanders
Confectionery has his own memories of stopping with his parents at
Sanders shops in the Oakland Mall and in Troy where he grew up.
When he moved to the East Coast his folks would bring him gifts of
Sanders sweet stuff, so Tasker was surprised when he returned to
the metro area in 2002 to find the Sanders stores had disappeared.
Two years later Tasker wrote a story for the Detroit Free Press
about a new Sanders shop opening at Laurel Park Place Mall in
Livonia. I was watching people at the store. As soon as they would
walk by, their whole face would light up and they would come in and
start sharing memories with the clerk, he said. There were old
photos of Fred Sanders and his old store on the wall. I had no idea
this company had this long, rich history. It just piqued my
interest. Sanders Confectionery is part of Arcadia Publishing's
Images of America series, books that tell the story of communities,
industry and more, mainly through historic images. Tasker had to
dig hard to find photos, records and people who could remember the
early history of Sanders. Founder, German native Fred Sanders,
moved to Chicago to work in the confectionery business. It was
about the time of the Chicago fire and he was either working for
somebody or had his own shop and he was burned out of business,
Tasker said. When he opened the store in Detroit (1875) he spent
all his money opening up and he had to borrow sugar from another
businessman in town to make his candy. Tasker is making a return
visit to the Royal Oak Public Library, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, to
give a presentation about the history of Sanders and to sign copies
of his book. There was a large turnout last March -- people who
enjoyed reminiscing and snacking on bumpy cake. I think a lot of
the Detroit brands are just beloved by people here, and Sanders is
one of them. A lot of the (audience) were (former) employees and
people who were older and they had such fond memories of the
company, Tasker said. I've been a journalist for a long time and
this is probably one of the few things I've done where nobody had a
bad word to say about Sanders. Everybody just loved the product. To
register for the Sanders program, call the library at (248)
246-3727.
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