Happy 150th Birthday, Henry Ford

Posted on by farlane

Henry Ford 1921 Model T

Henry Ford poses with 1921 Model T, photographer unknown

150 years ago today, on July 30, 1863, American industrial icon Henry Ford was born in Greenfield Township. The museum that he founded, The Henry Ford, says that Ford was a complex man who was ultimately responsible for transforming the automobile from an invention of unknown utility into an innovation that profoundly shaped the 20th century and continues to affect our lives today. A sampling of some of the facts about Ford they offer bear that out:

  • As a child, he was inspired by his mother, who encouraged his interest in tinkering. His father was a farmer. He encouraged Henry’s interest in the use of machines on the farm.
  • Thomas Edison was Henry Ford’s role model and later his close friend. (here’s a photo of Edison & Ford)
  • He built and drove race cars early in his career to demonstrate that his engineering designs produced reliable vehicles.
  • He financed a pacifist expedition to Europe during WWI, but during WWII Ford mobilized his factories for the war effort and produced bombers, Jeeps, and tanks. (more about that check out Willow Run on Absolute Michigan)
  • He owned a controversial newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, that published anti-Jewish articles which offended many and tarnished his image.
  • Henry Ford built Village Industries, small factories in rural Michigan, where people could work and farm during different seasons, thereby bridging the urban and rural experience.
  • The idea for using a moving assembly line for car production came from the meat-packing industry. Ford sought ways to use agricultural products in industrial production, including soybean-based plastic automobile components such as this experimental automobile trunk.
  • He was one of the nation’s foremost opponents of labor unions in the 1930s and was the last automobile manufacturer to unionize his work force. (not really a surprise there)

Read on for a full bio and if you ever have a chance definitely visit – it’s pretty amazing!

R.E. Olds Transportation Museum and the MotorCities National Heritage Area

Posted on by farlane

1951 Oldsmobile Super 88 and 1962 Oldsmobile F85 coupe R E Olds Museum Lansing MI 2-9-2008 182 N

1951 Oldsmobile Super 88 and 1962 Oldsmobile F85 coupe R E Olds Museum Lansing, photo by Corvair Owner

The MotorCities National Heritage Area is holding a Sweepstakes on Facebook. The Grand Prize is an Autopalooza Gift Basket that includes a $50 BP Gas Card, MotorCities 1-year Membership, National Park Passport Stamp Book, Henry Ford 150 Celebration Mug, Ford Piquette Avenue T-Shirt, 2013 Cruisin’ Hines T-Shirt, 2013 Clinton Twp. Gratiot Cruise T-Shirt, 2013 Woodward Dream Cruise Calendar, Free Admission passes to The Henry Ford Museum, R.E. Olds Museum, Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, Gilmore Car Museum Edsel & Eleanor Ford House and more! 2 baskets will be raffled off, one at the Concours d’Elegance on July 28, 2013 and the other at the Orphan Car Show on September 22, 2013.

The photo above is from one of the MotorCities National Heritage Area member organizations, the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing. From their Facebook page:

The Museum has thousands of irreplaceable items in the archives along with 52 vehicles that range from 1886 through 2003. It is dedicated to Ransom Eli Olds, inventor, entrepreneur, and financier, and one of Lansing’s most notable automotive leaders. He created the principle of the assembly line in the automobile industry and founded two local automobile companies: Olds Motor Works (1897) and REO Motor Car Company (1904).

…The Museum exhibits a significant collection of automobiles, engines, and other materials significant to the transportation history of Lansing, the region, the state and the nation. The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum and the Bates and Edmonds Engine Company offices are resources within the Lansing Stewardship Community of Motor-Cities-National Heritage Area, a cultural heritage area and affiliate of the National Parks Service.

View Joe’s photo bigger and see more in his RE Olds Museum slideshow.

More Michigan museums on Michigan in Pictures!

Celebrate Henry Ford’s 150th at The Henry Ford Museum!

Posted on by farlane

Entrance to the Museum! - HFM

Entrance to the Museum! – HFM, photo by MikeRyu

Lish Dorset of The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn writes on the Pure Michigan Blog that although summer is always a busy time at The Henry Ford, this summer is shaping up to be especially busy as they celebrate what would have been the 150th birthday of founder Henry Ford. She writes:

We’re celebrating Henry’s legacy all year at The Henry Ford, whose birthday is July 30. Starting in June and running through August, pay a visit to Miller School in Greenfield Village and step back in time to the days of Henry’s youth as he experiments with clock parts, machines and principles that challenged him.

You can also visit Henry’s T, a 15-minute dramatic play and hear how this ultimate maker was inspired to build his universal car. Follow up the play with a visit to Henry Ford Museum and learn how to build a Model T yourself.

Both Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are offering guided tours to guests with an emphasis on Henry’s work.

Check out HenryFord150.com for a timeline of the legendary automotive pioneer, and you can also read more about events at the Henry Ford and keep up with everything on their Facebook.

Mike took this shot on an Exposure.Detroit photowalk at The Henry Ford. Check it out on black and see more in his Henry Ford Museum slideshow.

Also see the Henry Ford Museum slideshow in the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr for over 400 more photos from The Henry Ford!

No Deliveries Today

Posted on by farlane

IMG_1436

IMG_1436, photo by flickaway1

Most of Michigan is waking up to some rough weather that’s definitely not this idyllic – stay safe if you have to go anywhere!

Brent’s photo is currently the cover photo on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook. If you want to share pics you can of course use the Absolute Michigan pool, but I made a new Michigan Cover Photos Group for folks who wanted to share them on our Facebook cover.

Check Brent’s photo out background bigtacular and see more in his Snow Scenes slideshow.

More winter wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.

NAIAS: 2013 Detroit Auto Show roars into town

Posted on by farlane

LFA

LFA by JSFauxtaugraphy, photo by JSFauxtaugraphy

Snapshots from the 2013 North American International Auto Show aka NAIAS 2013 aka the Detroit Auto Show started yesterday for media & industry. The public show runs Saturday, January 19 through Saturday, January 26. Here are a few quick hits:

Check this out background bigtacular and see more in Joseph’s NAIAS 2012 slideshow.

More NAIAS on Michigan in Pictures.

Start your (lake effect snow) engines?

Posted on by farlane

Parked for the Season

Parked for the Season, photo by Rudy Malmquist

Jennifer Kalish of the Great Lakes Echo writes that our summer heat could produce more winter snow:

The record high temperatures this summer could mean some Great Lakes coastal residents will get buried in snow this winter.

“There’s certainly a lot of evidence to suggest that we will go into this fall with warmer than normal lake temperatures,” said Jeff Andresen, state climatologist for Michigan. “That could lead to an increase in the amount of lake-effect precipitation we see, but it isn’t certain.”

Lake-effect snow happens when cold dry air that moves south over Canada meets the warm waters of the Great Lakes, Andresen said.

The cold air picks up moisture as the warm water evaporates from the lake, forms into clouds and then dumps snow onto nearby cities and towns, Andresen said. The greater the difference in temperature between the warm water and cold air, the more snow will fall.

That means the warm summer is only part of the recipe for lots of lake-effect snow.

Read on at the Echo.

Check this photo out bigger and see more in Rudy’s snow slideshow.

The Ford 999

Posted on by farlane

Henry Ford and Barney Oldfield and the Ford 999 in 1902, photographer unknown (via Wikimedia)

Henry Ford, founder and namesake of the Ford Motor Company, was born on July 30, 1863. He’s shown above with early racing great Barney Oldfield and the Ford 999. The Motorsports Hall of Fame says:

The oldest vehicle in the Motorsports Hall of Fame is the famous Ford 999 racer from 1902. Although it is not the first race car ever built, it is certainly the first car to rise to the status of legend.

Always seeking publicity, Barney Oldfield dubbed the car 999 after the feats of the record-holding New York Central locomotive.

Although the car is equipped with only one seat, a “Mechanician” was often kept busy oiling bearings and making adjustments while the car was being driven! The role more closely resembled that of an active sidecar acrobat than that of a riding mechanic.

The sister car of the 999 was the Arrow. It was a rebuilt Arrow that Henry Ford drove to 91.37 mph on frozen Lake St. Clair in January of 1904, for the new automotive World Land Speed record. After Ford set the record, his racing partner, Tom Cooper, sold both the 999 and the Arrow. The Arrow was renamed the New 999 by the new owner.

…Shortly before his death, Henry Ford is said to have remarked to Barney Oldfield: “You made me and I made you.” Oldfield shook his head and replied “Old 999 made both of us.”

You can see a great gallery of photos of early Ford race cars that includes shots of Ford and his mechanician and a modern photo of the 999 from The Henry Ford Museum on Flickr. The Henry Ford is located in Dearborn and they (of course) have a ton of information about Henry Ford.

More cars on Michigan in Pictures!

Take a drive this holiday weekend…

Posted on by farlane

amphicar

amphicar, photo by northernlightphotograph

Gas prices are at an astonishing low – $2.99 at the Lambertville Kroger – and the weekend weather looks hot but amazing. It’s probably time to make a trip to one of Michigan’s great parks or beaches. While I’m guessing that most of you don’t have a sweet boat car like this, it’s a great weekend for boating too!

Check this photo out bigger and in Tim’s 2012 Bay Harbor Car Show slideshow.

April 20, 1909: The World’s First Mile of Concrete Highway

Posted on by farlane

Paving Woodward Avenue in 1909, photo courtesy Woodward Avenue Action Association

On April 20, 1909,construction of the world’s first mile of concrete highway was begun in Detroit. The History of the World’s First Mile of Concrete Highway from the Wayne County Road Commission begins.

The year was 1909, and it was a big year in Detroit. Ty Cobb led the Detroit Tigers to a League Pennant at Bennett Park, Henry Ford introduced the Model T and J.L. Hudson was scouting out a location at Woodward and Farmer for his department store’s new location.

Also that year, the Wayne County Road Commission introduced the world to a new kind of road: Concrete. The only place it could be found that year was Woodward Avenue between Six and Seven Mile Roads in Greenfield Township, which is now northwest Detroit.

Roads up to that point – if they were paved at all – had been built with brick, cobblestone, or a material called macadam, which was not much more than stones sprayed with a tar to form some kind of wear resistant surface. Unfortunately, brick and cobblestone were uneven and labor intensive, while macadam didn’t last long.

Read on for more about this Michigan first, from the creation of Michigan’s first road commission in Wayne County in 1906 (Henry Ford was a charter member) to the details of this and other transportation innovations from the Motor City. They also have the facts about that first mile including the cost ($13,492.83) and daily pay of workers.

See more photos from the Woodward Avenue Action Association and read a whole lot more about the history of Woodward Avenue.

More cars on Michigan in Pictures.

Pride and Joy at the Woodward Dream Cruise

Posted on by Michigan in Pictures

Pride and Joy

Pride and Joy, photo by country_boy_shane.

The annual Woodward Dream Cruise is the is the world’s largest one-day automotive event, drawing 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars. It takes place this Saturday (August 20, 2011) and has come a long way since August 1995, Nelson House and a group of volunteers looked to relive and recreate the cruisin’ heydays of the 50s and 60s.

The one day cruise is paired with the Ferndale Woodward Dream Cruise which happens August 18-20 and has many special exhibitions and musical performances.

More about the Woodward Dream Cruise on Michigan in Pictures.

Check this out background big and in Shane’s Woodward Dream Cruise 2008 slideshow. You can also get your own copy from Shane Gorski Photography!

Want more? Have a look at the Woodward Dream Cruise Group on Flickr!