Thanks for posting this, MB. Interesting read. I remember one summer (after 8th or 9th grade) being hooked on The Young & the Restless, particularly interested in the Greg and Gwen storyline. I was quite disappointed sometime later after school started (and I couldn't watch anymore) hearing that Greg and Gwen split up because he found out she had been a prostitute.
Another soap I watched an earlier summer was Where the Heart Is. I can't remember what the storyline was, but I watched avidly.