This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
First Pretzels Were Rewards for Pious Children
Bloomfield Hills resident Julius Young evolved a Livonia stall into a 130-store soft pretzel chain in 24 states after a 1965 Atlantic City bridge tour inspired the idea. He started Hot Sam in 1966, facing a rough first day as he learned the machine needed 20 minutes to warm up. The pretzel recipe is 1,500 years old, tracing to a monk who used Lenten dough shaped as arms and salted as a reward for pious children.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
National
Young
Joseph Jagniatinsky
Jagniatinsky
Atlantic City
Livonia
Detroit
Sam
Bloomfield Hills
General Host Corp
Francis X. Weiser
Boston College
Italy
Alps
United