95 years ago, a freighter pulled up to a dock on the Rogue River in Michigan. It unloaded raw iron ore, just mined from Henry Ford’s mines in the Upper Peninsula. The ore was loaded on rail cars, and sent down tracks leading deep into the internationally known Ford Rouge River complex. This was more than a factory – with over 2,000 acres, or 3 square miles, this was the culmination of Henry’s desire to control every aspect of automobile production. The train cars full of ore rode on the internal system of 100 miles of tracks, to the smelter, one of over 90 buildings.
Within just a few days, the ore was refined into iron and steel. Iron was cast into engine blocks, steel was rolled into flat sheets, then pressed into shapes for car bodies. Ford-owned logging operations harvested hardwood trees from the Upper Peninsula, which were then processed at Ford’s sawmill at Iron Mountain. Sand and other materials were shipped in like the iron ore, and turned into glass at the glass shop at the Rogue River plant.
A few days after all these materials arrived at the Rogue, they were assembled into Ford’s latest vehicle, the Model A. More than 15 million Model T Fords had been made, but finally old Henry was persuaded to build a more up-to-date car… The Model A.
I’m thinking of one particular vehicle, one of the approximately 2,700 assembled on May 18, 1931. This was the day before my Dad’s 6th birthday… a decade and a half later, he would be the proud owner of a Model A. But not this one.
The car we’re following here was a pickup truck. (Dad’s was a Tudor Coupe.) It was probably sold to a farmer, paying the standard Ford price of $455 for a closed cab pickup. (Roughly $9,500 in today’s money.) He would have put it to work on the farm, probably carrying produce to market, maybe even driving the family to town or to church.
There are no records of how many farmers have used this little pickup since that original owner. By the early 1970’s it had found its way to Lincoln, Nebraska, where a man named Ray worked hard restoring it to its original glory. Unfortunately, Ray didn’t age as well as the car, and a little while ago he passed on. His son-in-law sold the car to Dave, a knowledgeable Model A restorer, who adjusted and touched it up, and eventually put it at the end of his driveway with a For Sale sign and a phone number. He put it out for only one hour that evening, and Cherryl drove by it, went back and took some pictures. I drove it the next day, and the following day I drove it home!
Dave taught me the procedure for starting the almost a century old car. He helped me refresh my double-clutching skills, and I’ve had fun driving around randomly practicing driving this adorable little truck.
About now you’re probably wishing you could see it! Well, here are a bunch of shots of my cool new old car!
So after decades of thinking and wishing and dreaming, I’ve finally gotten my classic car. Some of those decades were spent thinking I’d fix up a needy old luxury car, but then I realized how meager my restoration skills are. (I could do teeth restoration, but old rusty cars are a different challenge!) A car that was already in running condition, and looked pretty good had a certain appeal! So when we found this one, running well and absolutely gorgeous, I couldn’t resist!
That same evening Kevin had agreed to aerate our lawns. He has access to big fancy machines, so it was fun to watch him maneuver around our yard. (It’s always fun to watch someone else work!)
Peter also liked watching him work…
Speaking of work, the steps to the side door of our church have been looking really bad… snow and ice remover have crept in around railings and broken the cement badly. They are finally getting around to replacing it… I just happened to be there just minutes before they sealed that entrance and started demolition of the old stairs.
The next afternoon they had begun the framing for new stairs!
Alan is one of our faithful woodcarvers who attends our little woodcarving club. His granddaughter asked for a walking stick with an octopus on top… He asked for a drawing of what she meant, she drew it, he carved it! Isn’t it awesome!?
