2014 July Ford Motor Plant

Above a statue of Henry Ford encouraging a young man to pursue higher education.  In the background is the Rouge Ford Motor Company plant.

The museum started us out with a great film showing the history of Ford Motor Company.   They had several wonderful old cars on display. 

Notice the price of these automobiles on the plaque below each one. 

 

Below to the right is the assembly plant for Ford Truck 150's.  They produce 600 a day.  It's one of the most advanced assembly plants in the world.  Henry Ford was a terrific innovator, always looking for ways to improve the assembly line process.  The innovation continued after his death.  I just wondered how proud he would have been of this amazing plant.  The roof of the plant is covered with vegetation to help keep it cool.

Cliff decided he's got to have a 150 now.  This 150 Raptor had all the bells and whistles.  Again, no photos were allowed in the plant.  They had a raised platform all around the edge of the assembly area so you could walk through and see each part of the assembly.  I loved seeing how it all came together.

After the Ford plant tour, we visited the Ford Museum.  You could spend a week in this museum.  One interesting display was the limousines that past presidents have used. 

Eisenhower's limo above.

Truman's limo above.

An original VW camper.  Was camping fun then?  Probably!!

After the museum, we took a quick tour of Greenfield Village.  Another area you could spend a full day in.  Henry Ford grew up in this home with 5 brothers and sisters.  When would the car have been invented if Henry had stayed on the farm? 

Cliff viewing the exterior of the Ford home.  Greenfield Village is a great reproduction of the late 1800's era.  Many shops and restaurants.  We ate at a restaurant that served period food.  No cokes, just Strawberry sasparilla.   I had fried perch. 

2014 July Ann Arbor

 

We took a very interesting tour of the Jiffy plant in Ann Arbor.  The silos above hold the wheat used in their mixes.  This company has a very stringent quality control and it starts with their wheat mostly grown in Michigan.  They try to buy most of their ingredients from farms around Michigan. 

 

Harmon Holmes was the founder of Chelsea Roller Mills (now Jiffy).  It is still family-owned and Harmon's great grandson now manages the company.  Harmon's wife was the one who came up with the original corn muffin mix.

Below is the transition from Court House labeling to the current Jiffy Mix Corn muffin label.  The company even has very strict quality testing for the blue color of their boxes.

 

In the theatre after viewing a really informative movie about the Jiffy plant, we had to put on hair nets before the tour of the plant.  When they told us how many boxes they produced in one day, it blew my mind.  Over 1.5 million boxes are produced each day. No photos were allowed inside the plant, so I have none to share.  Take my word, it's very busy in the plant.  Conveyor belts everywhere.

Chelsea Teddy Bear Company was the first company to make bears in the USA.  They started production in 1904. 

Flag made with miniature teddy bears.

Teddy bears got their name from Teddy Roosevelt.  During a hunting trip in 1902 when he was president, the hunting party was unable to shoot a bear.  Teddy's staff member went and caught a cub bear and tied it to a tree so that the President could brag about a successful hunt.  Teddy refused to shoot the bear.  Thus the name started.  He used a teddy bear pin during his Presidential campaign in 1904.

We ended our Ann Arbor visit with a tour of "The Big House" (University of Michigan's football stadium).  It's the largest football stadium in the US,  110,000 seats.  The halls are full of pictures of past great players and memorable games.  This is a view from the press box which has 138 seats.

Our group enjoying the tour guide's enthusiastic stories of one of the greatest traditions in football.

Of course there are lots of pictures of Bo Schembechler, the most famous coach MU has ever had. He coached 20 years from 1969 to 1989.  He died at 77 in 2006. 

 

For just $60,000  a year (and a 3 year commitment), you can lease one of these suites.  Comes with a stocked bar, and catered food. 

"The Big House" is a very profitable operation.  They are open for tours during off-football season.  Many weddings are performed on the field.  They recently hosted a high school prom.

Inside the locker room.  The "M" on the floor is sectioned off.  No one is allowed to walk on it. It's very  bad luck especially on game days.  They have a plaque above one of the uniforms with Gerald Ford's name on it. 

What a neat experience to walk down on the field.  I can't imagine what the players are feeling looking up at 110,000 people.

 

2014 July Detroit

Rick (in red) is part of our RV group.  He's clowning around with another man visiting the home of "Motown" music.  Picture of the Temptations in the front window.  The original label (Tamla) was derived from "Tammy", the first recorded song on this label and LA (Los Angeles). 

The two buildings together was the administration offices, Gordy's family apartment, and the recording studio.  Our tour guide was so much fun.  He had us singing "Grapevine" and other Motown hits throughout the tour.  Many of these early stars grew up within a few block radius of this building.  Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, and other's pictures are shown during their recording sessions in this small little studio.  Such fun to see it.

 We made a quick stop for lunch at this cute hot dog place (Coney Island Shop) in downtown Detroit.

Below is the Fisher Building built in 1928 by Fisher Body Company.  They spared no expense.  It's still one of the most beautiful buildings ever built in the US.  Fisher Body was the first company to design an enclosed automobile.  The Fisher Brothers profited hugely from their early development.

There are restaurants, offices, condos, shops and more shops, but the finest part of the building is the very elaborate theatre that is used still today for Broadway hits and other big shows.

Below is the original Steinway Piano headquarters.

Joe Lewis was from Detroit.  The statue below is Cobo Hall, a convention center in downtown.  Joe Lewis defeated the German Max Schmeling in a World Championship boxing match in 1938.  Joe died in 1981 a pauper.  His family did not have money to bury him.  When Max Schmeling heard of Joe's passing he paid for his funeral.

Below the GM offices is the center building.  Marriot is on the left.  Not sure, but the other buildings might be GM's also.

Looking back toward downtown Detroit from the plaza near the Detroit River.

 

Paddle boat on the Detroit River.  Below really nice statue of slaves during the Underground Railroad era. This is the only point in the US that you look South toward Canada.  Windsor, Ontario is in the background.