Friends, Families, & Forays: Scenes from the Life and Times of Henry Ford

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Wayne State University Press, 2002 - Biography & Autobiography - 448 pages

The 55 chapters of Friends, Families & Forays are bursting with details about the people and the pursuits that colored the life of Henry Ford. Here the reader will meet prominent and diverse figures such as Thomas Edison, John Borroughs, George Washington Carver, Helen Keller, and Mahatma Gandhi—all of whose lives intersected that of Henry Ford at some interesting point in his life. Also brought to life in these pages are the branches of Ford's family tree, from his Irish ancestors to the descendants who carry his legacy today.

Although it was the automobile that made him an industrial icon, Henry Ford could boast of exploits in many other arenas as well: railroads, speedboats, robots, flour mills, rubber plantations, and humanitarian efforts around the world and in his own backyard. Ford's hard work and passionate interests brought him great wealth , and this book provides a peek at the luxuries he and his wife, Clara, enjoyed, from a yacht and a private rail car, to gracious residences in Michigan, Florida, and Georgia.

 

Contents

Introduction
7
Acknowledgments
9
Friends and Acquaintances
11
Greenfield Dancing Club of 1882
12
Thomas Edison
21
Harvey Firestone
34
John Burroughs
44
Martha Berry
51
Michigan Stump Farm
208
Experience at Cape May
228
Dearborns Deep Test Well
229
Dearborn Flour Mill
235
Florida Rubber Plantation
242
Edison Botanic Research Corporation
249
Frischkorn Investment Company
256
The Ford Foundation
263

George Washington Carver
59
McGuffey Readers
70
Mahatma Gandhi
76
Henry Clausen
79
Relatives
83
Ford Family Tree
84
Ford Cemetery
90
Greatgrandmother Rebecca
95
Greatuncle Robert 101I
101
Brother John
104
Sisters Margaret and Jane
110
Brother Will
118
The Litogots
125
Mechanical Exploits
133
Getting Started
134
Gasoline Rail Car
147
FordEdison Electric Car
153
Excursion into Railroading
162
Fordson Truck
172
Fords Amazing X8 Vehicle
178
The Speedboat Miss Dearborn
183
Fords Robot Engines
187
Ford and the Metric Dilemma
194
Financial Investments
201
Kansas City Mexico Orient Railway
202
Humanitarian Efforts
271
An Economic Philosophy
272
The Sociological Department
276
Detroits Henry Ford Hospital
283
Letters from the Past
288
Quest for Alcohol Fuels
297
Cooperative Farmers Association
303
Two Camps for Boys
312
Georgia Experiments
317
Henry and the Disabled
326
You Hear from Mr Ford?
336
Luxuries
341
Fair Lane
342
The Mangoes
353
The Yacht Sialia
363
The Railway Car Fair Lane
370
Wayside Inn
376
Botsford Tavern
387
Dearborn Country Club
396
Richmond Hill
403
Huron Mountain Club
414
Henry Ford in Sculpture
420
Index
437
Copyright

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About the author (2002)

Ford Bryan, who lives in Dearborn, Michigan, has written five other books about Henry Ford, including The Fords of Dearborn, Henry’s Lieutenants, Beyond the Model T, Henry’s Attic, and Clara: Mrs. Henry Ford.

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