Our Dad, Robert (Bob) Benser, first ventured to Mackinac Island in 1955. He recruited his best buddy, Frank Nephew, to help build Mr. B’s Tastee Freeze which set in motion a lifelong partnership that all began with a handshake.
Bob was like a son to his business neighbors, Jerome and Grace Murdick. He learned to make fudge and would eventually buy Original Murdick’s Fudge in 1969, further cementing his future on Mackinac Island. Customer service was of upmost importance to Bob and as a result, over the years guests returned again and again. Equally important was using only all-natural ingredients. He established the Original Murdick’s Fudge 1887 Pledge of Purity, as seen below, which is upheld to this day.
While Bob was an accomplished businessman, he was a quiet and thoughtful leader of a generation of local families who trusted each other and worked to be the best stewards of Mackinac’s magic and history. They did business on the bustling sidewalks with a handshake and their word, and with hopes of making Mackinac Island a better place. In 1974, Bob, along with Bob Carr, Tom Pfeiffelmann, Frank Nephew and many others, helped facilitate the restoration of the deteriorating Round Island lighthouse — a beacon to all that travel to Mackinac Island today — letting locals and visitors alike know when they’ve arrived back to the Island.
Always a gentleman and friend, Bob touched many lives, including customers and his employees who called him “Mr. B” and became like family to him. Mackinac — now recognized as America’s #1 Island in the Continental U.S. — has been left a little sweeter because of his lasting legacy.
For the Detroit Free Press story, click here:
Rubin: As A Mackinac Island Fudge-Maker Passes On, A Golden Era Shines Brighter
5/1/29 – 6/15/24
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