The Reminiscences of Miss Rosa Buhler and Mr. J. D. Thompson

20900 Oakwood Boulevard · Dearborn, MI 48124-5029 USA

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The Reminiscences of Miss Rosa Buhler and Mr. J. D. Thompson

From the Owen W. Bombard interviews series, 1951-1961

Accession 65

Interview conducted: October 1952

Transcript digitized by staff of Benson Ford Research Center: November 2011

OCR: Please note that this file has been made searchable through the use of optical character recognition. However, the quality of the original materials is such that full text searching is only moderately reliable. Copyright: Copyright has been transferred to The Henry Ford by the donor, and is made available through a “Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND,” indicating that you may make certain noncommercial uses of this material, provided that you give attribution to The Henry Ford without further adaption or modification.

fh« Itiialfletsett of

M I S S R O S A B i l l S » A X B It ft. J. B* f f © 1 ? S 0 I

Motes* yQrsl H is tar j Ssctioa

Ortotar, X9»

The

«at Jtr«.

flmm mmim&smmme a » ttm remit of a a§*i®« of

with Miss Rosa Baitler m& Xr» <t.S. Tfaoagiaoii % H% Kaltli Giselle ®a

April 10, 1951, at Fair ! » • •

ft»s» Sjit«rvl«w8 Htm h»M wniwr toe «a^le@# of t t e Oral His-

tory Section of th» ?®?tf Wstor ©a^woy Jbntiiiv»0«

The interviewer f s questions bi>re teen <mitted. fro® t t e «@»

eount. The questioning was prlm.srf.ly I s the form of topics suggested -

to Miss Bahler &tA Mr, Thompson concBrning 4Aiich they sraight hsve s a ^

Intimate knowledge, i s eai toriel insertions hare been saade other t t ea

the brief syrsopsis of the donor's se t iv i t ies asd th@ jiwlex.

St« leaf»«§9 of the n&rrtttive i s ©»tJj»3y %l»* of tl® donors*

They ten rwiewed ©ud corrected the asnwscript ami % their

below |ji(!JUtftt«d ttiat i t I s a eoirefit êo^ «f tteir imd

These messoirs «r» depositcsd In the Ford Motor Cmrmnj Archives

with tha imclsrstaiKlirig that i t may be tised If- qualified indirtdttels

i» ««e»rdi«»«w with tmwptod smsMnl pra^le© «s aiiil«isi«f»«l

Archivist.

Rose Bahler

J.D.

l i

J>. TS0MP90K •

16SS ' Sara,

1911 Cm* to tiw Odtad States

1936-4950 Sead Bata«r» Fair ham

Mdresss 12292 AtitsMa StreetDetroit), i'

MISS ROSA BfJBLft - CffiOMGLGGX

1897 • tent,

1923 Cam to the taitodi tfcates

1933-1950 Ladies *faM, F«lr

Address 3 1/ )25 El-'.KlaieDetroit* m

• • • # • • • • •

j o

j o

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j o

ts©i mm

-1.

When J was first hired, № . and M m . Ford did not say

thing about duties that would be different frosi mm other place.

They didn't to ©0 either. They just took i% for granted

we knev our busiaess, sad if n@ did, they didn't question our in~

telligeaee.

That all cam© out gradually as we w§»t along, Mrs. Ford

would tell me she liked southing this way or the other- £

She asked about experience before I ease.

U

When she nouM call up th© tasploytsent agency, sbe MttM ask

asd expect th«sa to s«nci scsaebod^ ho had ©rsperlene©. That M th©

Grosee ibint® liaployment Agency.

fHQffSOMi

Get the yhole, I would say that the Fords were easy people

to work for parovided you did the right things. Mr. ¥<№& was on© of

the nicest men I ever had the pleasure of working fear. He was always

a gentl©Banj he oever had aagr co&plaiBts.

We did»*t work on a set schedule of nours each day. Me

had a long day and & short day, W® had a second butler.

I had to be available always. I had to do quit© a bit of

alteration and sewing for Mrs, Ford.

I did the cleaning upstairs, took care of Mr. Ford's clothes,

and Mrs. Ford's as well, and helped thtats dress when going out to

parties. As the years went on, there were so many changes in the

rest of the help, I had to chip in here and there. When they had no

second butler, I had to chip in and help Thompson. I rawbsr that we

never were told. It was just expected that ve chip in sad do it,

When Mrs. Ford was sick it was an understood thing, with-

out words, that 1 take care of her, except when she had this last

illness, and then she had three nurses. She always wanted to see ®&

now and then. l¥ery evening I took Polly the parrot upstairs.

1 had Wednesdays off, unless Mrs. Ford had something on.

fhea she would tell me, &a& I would change my day. Sh® was always

very obliging if you wanted to change your free day. I sever asked

very often for any privileges, bat if I did it was always agreeable

to Mrs. Ford.

The help had breakfast at sevea-thirty. I would be

ready by seven, turning OR different lights asd opening windows up-

stairs, and then 1 would coise downstairs for breakfast. After that,

I would go upstairs, asaybe to dust the stairway or different guest

-3-

rociss.

In the earlier years* they used to get up early, and 1

would start in Mr a. Ford's dressing room, bathroom, bedroom and so

forth. Many times, Mrs. Ford esae la after ia© and asked me to do

something extra, sttch as sewing and so forth, or she'd be going to

a meeting and would want something changed <m her dress. Maybe

Mr. Ford would come in aad vant something done, and I would do that#

There were supposed to be five oa the staff. John, the

faouaemn, didn't stay at the house. He lived at hone and case

daily to work. There was a head htztler, second butler, cook,

laundress and siyself. The honsmmn came in the looming and left at

four. His duties were the heavy ones; he did the windows, cleaned

the floors and carpets and helped me one day a week upstairs.

At times we were without a second butler or head butler*

Most of the tiae we were without a cook. In the last five or six

years, we had no permanent laundress. We had one who came three

days a week, so the little duties the permanent laundress had had

besides her washing fell to me.

It always kept us busy. In the old days, vhen we had no

cook, John would do the cooking. He left at four, so usually I would

step in to make a little supper.

Mrs. Ford's handling of personnel was probably the reason

she had trouble with cooks. Of course, nowadays, trying to tell a

new staff what Mrs. Ford really liked, or what should be done, wt@

difficult. It j»*t 6td»H

Mrs. Ford hired help through an emplegnsgnt agency. That1®

the way we both csam to h«r, I think that Mrs. Ford had about fifteen

or sixteen cooks since I've bessa here, and I've bees h e m for sixteen

BUHLERt ;

It has been ©ight#en year® that I •me been here.

Mrs. Ford had one cook «fao stayed five a«d a half years.

Others stayed two or thre© years, and none just a few isontha.

We soever had men cooks here, exeept occasionally yb ti

we'd run short of a cook, cy vhen for coavenienee Jdm Williams, the

housars&n, uaald cook. We*d sonetlmms get the dh«f amv frcga th© privs

car. He eook®di up Sorth for Mr. and Mrs. Forfl fear five seasons. Mr.

Ford absolutely refused to go over to th® c M b to ®st. It was a nil®

that you shosild «at at the cltxb house, though they had mtvsr had their

breakfast at the d u b house. It m e always cooked and served at tea-©.

№ P . Fotd aallt "If I ham t© g© «p tt^re, I»« going ta tak» F ^ ^ p

along %dth ««|H

Foster help©*! oat at the Itmtpe sassy tistss. He was & v«ry

good cook and very eli^n is his ®@tb«is. Rog«r im« t*« porter in

the private ear and served, E S housemas doya in Georgia in both th©

Richmond Hill sad Cherry Bi l l fesasas.

The reason Hr. Ford didn' t want to ©at a t the oltib hews©

at Huron Mountain was boeaue© i t meant aeeting too ssauy people.

They would just s**arsB around h te , asking hia questions. He went up

there for a res t . Besides, be didn' t l ike the chef at th« eltifo.

One year up there, they had a lady dietician who prefsrrad

to a#rv# a l l frozen foods. Mr. Ford y&s not in favor of tha t . May-

be that m&&® Ma change his siiad, because after that I'r. ford prefer—

red to eat a t the eabin and have Foster cook his meals.

QOB eoate «ss here five sad ©J» half y««*»* 1 &mf% temwi

Japaiîe emk stayed. Was fa® liere tea yearst

I ioa f t know* Sato wa» eae, 1 do&t know A#t l» r h« «s#-

batler or not. They had two or tiara* Jog*. X think Sato wae

Lt

1 think the othor cook Mas Stere three j®ars. She pl«as©ci

Ifrs. Ford, Mrs. Ford liked tar b®st, but she went her mm way, Mrs.

Ford begged her to stay, but she wouldn't.

THOMPSON* / '/

uTlmt wag

X wonlto*t say the w&g®8 wste as high as those in Grosse

Points.

Hare. Ford never paid high wages. Mrs. Ford never raised

anybody either.

BPBLERt

Then they had to bay their e m uniform. Mrs, Ford never

furnished uniforms either for servants.

When Mrs. Ford would discharge people Irons service, site did

it herself.

THQHPSOH»

X dlda<t have anything to do with it.

ts

Ion had to go that very day she told you. Mrs. Ford paid

you for the whole month. If it was la the beginning of the F-onth,

she paid you fcr the whole month. She would never let you stay. As

soon as you were told, you could go. She did that with everybody. She

just paid you off.

Mrs. Ford spent a lot of time around her garden. When I

came here, there were twenty-seven gardeners and more In the msamer.

During the winter season, she did cat out a few. In her last years

Mrs. Ford cut down the amber of gardeners more and more, H&tarally,

they couldn't keep the place up; it was Impossible. It got to be

that too many of the men were transferred. Before that, no matter

where you talked, %Aeth©r to the log cabin, to the sugar shack, to

the l i t t l e house in the t r ee , to the ssni tec or to the adaiotsre

boss® that ms her© i s Itarmr years for the grandchildpîi, you would

never see a stray shred of grassf I t m@ kept so dean , _____

That i»s not true fear the l a s t six or sev©o years. Tt»

catting down of help was dorse gr&dti&lly as the year® vest o». Xt

was way before Hr. F©*if#

I think this just indicated that Mr, and Mrs. Ford didn' t

get around so rauefa. They used to walk a lo t , I&tta of times on

Sundays th«3yfd go walking around on these pathways. They*d just go

out for three or fonr hoars, and «© wouldn't know vhere tlwyM gone.

Hr. and Mrs. Ford hadn't gone out tha gate, so v© Imams ttmj

arctmd.

I think that Mrs. Ford thought the amount of work could be

done fcgr less isen, Sb© kept a pretty good ©ye on the «ea working.

They wr» usually arotujd here in the d&ytl®®.. Scraibow t tey ted a

l i t t l e fear. They were never afraid of Mr. For<S» hat thsjr knew Mrs,

Ford was the boss aro«ad here.

As for orders arouafi ttie house, Mrs, F«rd would eosae oat

to the kitchen sM gpenS som® time abemt the meals. In wsferaac© to

the rest of the house, it was a daily routine. Everybody had his own

work to doj however, Mrs. Ford would cheek on people. She didnH

hesitate to tell me that so and so wasnH in, Sh©*d get after Eie

op she'd probably speak to ay assistant*

One thing Mrs. Ford was very particular about was the library

and her books. They had to be taken out and they had to be dusted by

so-and-so — never me. They had to be gone over about once a mouth.

You see, it would take theaa a montfe to get around to all of thsaa.

Every Monday X would send the second butler in to dust books.

Mr. end Mrs. Ford's ©venings at hois® never varied. Mrs,

Ford would have her radio programs and stories she'd listen to. She

listened to the radio quite a bit, I know there was one story she

listened to that's been off the air for years, called 'Wary Marlin.*

That went on for years. There would be periods during the story when

Mrs. Ford would miss the®, and she'd want to know all about them.

Iowa SOB&I, the progtwi went on around ifcf®# otclnek* «ad .

she had a luncheon party one day when it was on. Of course her guests

were still there, so »bm said to me, 9^km you go and •tern the radio

en, and listen to this story, so yea can fell mm after»• SUm

want to miss it! : '

They always listened to their own broadcasts. They were

•9*

intarested in fesarisg $bMt» and the wS«aday Iswtiag fear,* they warn?

waat®d to ttiss. fhif ôald &l»ya l is t#n to that Tvm the i r

\ialess t tey nw»§ dawn deskfe* asd tin® they *4 pi«sk i t up ftp@»

«Hi8r stati<ms ©i th^ tbrouî Chicago m Atlanta. tte©y tei that

prograaj for fotir or fIva -ears , 2 ^wpt # & the wictertimsf Mr*

€N№ffiM» spofeB? M i they tmstod t o g©t tlmt*

J}my didn't l l s twi to th© nsws rauch. >&•. Ford was not

as ia*er«at©d i» tbe s^dio «§- MM* foard was.

Mr, aM K M . f » i liked

th® simple l i t t l e hoise-life s toriaa. T!i«sy made

story Mrs. Ford liaise*:5 to» ever, up to hop death, vas

Christ Ia-n,«

I*

Mr** fxsfi also listened to «Beiaa]i.» .She m/mt missad i t .

I t »s ft fifteen raimrfce ôgrtvm abo?it. & Mfy fat U M f ll>se Atmt

©lie would oaly find % man —• aoseFthi^j of that type. Mrs. Ford used

t o get ft big "kielc m& of t h a t .

Foî was very £@al of «Jac^ Benny8 asaft ti>a "Qula KMs"

The f i r s t years n* «sre in the house, f!r. Ford >\a.d a habit

of goia^ to® to his a?©gaapeh poos te Urn garage p l | ^ t aft^*

dewa thare for * ^wr Iwâre, Gm® 1M m «bll® h« c a » b<3s®f aM

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if Mrs* Ford was listening to a trogram, he5d go *MB£ again.

U

Maw. F©fd Uked to tmi to Mr, ¥ve& aloud. Sb® AM it all

the time. She waa most Interested in biographies of royalty. Mogra-

phles were really her hobby. Every one® in a v/nile she'd get hold of 1

& novel which would, appeal to fateu lik® Basfai. m& tl» Yearling and I. 1

tooofes lik« that , . " "j

Mrs. Ford got amch fun otrt of the book© of Delia ki tes . ]I

She was a g i r l who gr®w @p on a farm, yho®« mother had married lat« '|

in l i f e , end who was an only child. When she grew tip, sh© became a

writer* She was a g\iest a t the house for Itincheon one day, and №i«

Ford sho%«f? her a l l h©r books in the eiusic roc®. This Mrs. totes wrote

about 8@m» ©r e i ^ t book*! Hr«. F©»4 lofs^ iban. Warn mM9 *lm kw»w»

th«se are th« %pi« of books I r@®22y lik»«*

WWB, №?» axt& Mrs. W®r& read « ^ t h i ^ » t l » turtle!** «ad book*

on Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company would be the f i r s t tfatfif0

they would read. They had a special clipping bureau eng&ged to send

them a l l those.

fkay piW.lsbrt^ tMx^s ab@Bt Hrs* Fofi too,

al io tfeey tioold read.

Xf Mrs. VQVA was reading a book, end ah© thought h® would be

Interested, sh@ wooli read i t fej his,. Sh#*i r ^ i Ma t b * -|№iwr*-

1 don't know ho%t they rsacted to tlie books that were written

about tfa«nu There were never any eanments. If there waa somebody who

Hrs. Ford did» ft approve of, who vrote the book, sheM le t Mr. Ford

know mbout i t ,

MiOMs

Mr» Ford tooagtot a l i t t l e book, fees* Afyieaaata* *

ab<Mit a slave during tti® Civil War. 1 №?. Steyris «rot« that, m& I t

was -ê type of etoxy We, F«sri «urî for. f he SHÔT lived to tfaocm*

Georgia, and Mr. Fori looked up to him veiy isaeh» ___

2 remember when that took Gone Wl fa the Wind, cam© out. Mrs.

Ford read that to Mr. Ford for a aonth. They also went to see the

picture. Mrs. Ford went to «•© i t fotar or five t iaes, Mr. f®rt went

with her, though there were occasions when i t would be playing around

the city in the daytirse, and she would go down and see i t again with-

out him. That ms one picture she really liked.

L»

Biographies of royalty were not the- only type' of books 'that

Mrs. Ford liked. She enjoyed the l i fe story of Qeofge \foshiagton

Carver, and of men wto became faaoas through stamggls*. She likedl

novels, though she did not care for the modern novels — she had so

sway of then seufe to her. . ——-«____-'

Mr. Ford l i k e d t o read himself« b a t s o t a o v e l » . He

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espedally to read ttoe Reader* 3 g|fflg|>» H® wa® also groat o« these

studies of reijM!e?aati<nu Be alt© liked to read M.# MM.©. Ee

often picked i t up when to mm® in a t noon and in the e-veuiag. In

addition, he had a booklet mblished, Tjfef Sayia/e; <jf Jesii_s« ami hand- -

«d those out to anybody he came in eostest with who would be interested.

Hr« Pori o w i to sp€««l hmx®

about the Company, anything abcmt the Company, sod about their mm-

private lif«« Ke «ls© r«wi ittt# dally Detroit pftfasm*

Mrs. ford took time for the feg> t h e Ttoies and th® H y

J^p^B evciy day. Mr. F©rt as«d t© litoi №dL©ala lin§sy. • Mm. Fort

&1BQ read bis ealmm mmy 4^r« flwgr also pêi t l » «ditorl«I page

flie comic ^ l i t t l * Qr^»a Jamie* was Mr. fcapd*® ftworit® cartoon.

I® vould not read a l l the fumilea, just Ms favorit«a, l ike MLlttl®

.

1 recall that Mr. Caiapsall his secretary maM that !<r.

Ford used, to pit eoneemed over *Mttl« C rphan Annie" e n it got

kind of exciting. Mr. Ford wanted to fiai out ahead of tirae what

was going to happen, so Mr. Caa&ps&ll us<sd to contact Harold Gray,

14i#. attthoy, «ho*# give th«n the dop® oe it.

The same thing applied to "Aisos aud Andy8 years ago. I

think Andy got in troubl® with Madam Qae®n. Mr. Ford got so

fo<w& out for hla wliat would happen*

Mr. Fat-fl ones had th« is*& 1*0 played Aa©s wa& Aaty to

lunch a t tfa« laboratory. Sef&m limeii* fa» brocqglit than ©•#*• to • ]i

Btir Lane. Mrs, Ford « n quit* «eelt«d« I

When they ware a t hcna. la the «vwaiag*» th«y- ted their ;

fawr i te chairs. Mrs. Ford's waa % the fireplace, and Mr. FoM |

would s i t under ajiotfeer l ight . They spent most .of their evenings {

ia the flnnroettf aad la vlatertla*. to tt»^ l i ^ i ^ roctt. The f l« i |I

vcndd \m g o i ^ a l l the tSse. Mw» F«ei wowld llwt«B to h«P l i t t l© |I

programs, and Mr. Ford will hav© his B-ead- f's Di^st* «r whatever ;

it «a», • . • 1

If Mrs. Ford vaa readiiag ft book and came urim m certain I

part that -was quit® interesting or htisorotja, she'd read it alotad.

k©®p on reading out load fmt an boar or m&m to lftr»- F«rl. le j

it. " "'

la earlier y»ars, he vent out -to the garage laboratory

la the gtreMngft* but In hiM later ymrss be stayed right h©re at hm®,

Before, he was oat all tht tlm©.

Wbm Mr. Ford had an «v@aing at hem®., h© would often ga

down to the laboratory and mtmad bis time thero.

That vag tr»e all during the years that we were here.

After supper, he'd probably s i t ar--und for a l i t t l e while,

and as soon as Mrs, Ford turned on the radio ^rogramg or read, he*d

go to the? laboratory. He'd stay tJwsre n n t i l 9i00» 9*30, or 10*00

o'clock. Mrs. Ford was l e f t alone in the evenings smdb during Mr.

Ford*s aetiTre years.

TBCMfSQHi

After rfim»r, S r s , F«r4 wed to l ike t o take a l i t t l e nap too*

She*d a i t in the chair there , and the f i r s t thing jm 1mm, fae*<3 eeme

oat wltii, »Do»*t go i a there .* Of 'Oo«ree9 |tt»t as ao©& «^ lie said ,

"Don't go in the re j " ê went in to se© Just Aether she ^ a M * shavl

&t a©t., or ^©tteer she f i be taking a l i t t l e nap*

Mr. ford m» in tlie laboratory almost a l l the t ia« i s the

evening*

Sewetiaes Hr»- Pert « U teen im the irieirala i f h© f e l t

l ike waltzing, and he aad Mrs. Ford would dance together. Mr. ?ord

should a lso dance %^ hissself. B«*i go io, the literary and turn on mmm

record he lik©d. We have a few records there , aad he*d dance ^f him-

se l f . Be liked "Ufa® fte«w the Owrall* in Mm* !farpfcgr*« a « ^ e r » 8

and another record a t th i s saa© t l^# was «The Ilors© With the Green

%es»* I think i t was. He liked, t h a t . Of eoisme, he v u "fmey tm&

of waits Bxisic.

U

In eo«M«tl©n wit t the mmim»t Mrs, Ford saw Johnny Belinda

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the vmk before sfa® passed away* Shefd sees i t a couple of tSnes-

SJB Sew fork* and. ua* always talking of I t , aac! they adujiwd i t fees*

•the WWBIC bofore she paosed away. She bed a man eons C^P^P to Fadjr

to show lt»

oYies Mr. and Mrs. Ford lik#d moist bad a historical

bat they llloetf a good (Mwaiy too. fteir1 t««tiMi

nmdi the sa»«.

ta&a am cased? ltr»« Fdi^ l f k ^ f S | ^ t ^ Hpf^|^ l a

th i s , Clifton Webb bad -to t ra in these kids, and Mrs. Ford got ft great

kick out of that* Bhm saw that a eottpl® of

Kr»> Ford also llicec? the plctsa^. Cllftea tf«№ «®^# about

If)*, . g i lg^g^ S&B& M College. Si» oft«tt aald to mt that

I should go see i t , Isit I never got motaiA t o i t .

Geemim&llj «hett'Mr*« F<»i wentld b» Ii«t»BdUig to the radio

tad wcniM get »<wetfeiag tvaa&t sh&M ~m s i t t l ag tfeer©

th« tftaars WBNIA be tr iekliog dews*

Mr. ana Mm. fowl dlda*t l i t e t*ag«dla* a t a l l , only Vam

things that vere »lapl«, lovabltty baMoroga»

oecasiOMilly go dcnmtoMD t o a play, I teow Hr»«

-16-

mm w r y anxiow to mm South %elQ®. I t was in Star lea*, ataj eh®

wanted to go fo badly, bat she wa.an*t able to go asf more. She would

see quite a ; few playa la Ifev fetlt. Every t in* she imai, Mnu Hmstiffj

wawld bay t ide«ts , Sh» ma msf food of -ft® BKHSptorw* SI»

listened to lAoml Wsrwymmm*® version of A, Christeas Qa.rpAl. Mrs.

Ford was very fond of Mill© Burke also.

Mrs,i

sports, QeeaaioBftlljf Steel w»s2£ g«t h is father to go ctowi t e j

soiaething l ike a World Series basetell gasw* !

I s rsusic, the Fords Just liked the folk songs. They

go in for classical »i«ie. St©iffiejs Foster was Mr. Ford's favorite.

The same thing applied in th© Village on the broadcasts, Stephen

Foster, or any songs that Mr. MIssoa was tmrtial to l ike 8 I ' l l f«k»

to i±?©s® folk singers on the radio, l ike Burl Ives, tet they got

of th«» Tfa«y viira ^mry fboct ®f

1-lrs. Ford»s greatest hobby vms- gardening. Sh© i M «ant to

knit during th© iar., She started an afghaa l a red and brown wool, bat

she neêr finished It* $h® also got seme wool faren the Rs<i Cross to

knit socks for the goldiers, bat she could mmmt do the heel and!

would quit* so I always had to do tfeatj W# sade quite a few pair®

- IT-

daring the war. I don't thlttic Mrs. Ford bad any outstanding hobby

outside 'ner gardening, except possibly recipes.

. . Mr* Porel'a hoWbff nun «&olii»«Fy* H@ would ©iq»i©r» eo©k~

log too, in Ms own way. One time up Morth, 1 via missing so away

pairs of socks, sad f couldn't f in ! thesa anjiAera. 0i» day I asked

Mr. ford what he dM with his sock*, l e said, *M«11» 1*11 t # H you* jj

1 *1I l e t you ia o n a sec re t . ' 1 boiled ^ t h^s . I want t o find out how < ;

yocd. «»a b® bo i l« i wttaât A r i i f t i ^ . * I

I asked hiss t o show them t o me, and they mr& lmm than

half the e l s e , Soastiraes Mr. Ford would ame to rae for a l i t t l e

f lour , an egg, or something l i k e t h a t . What he dM with i t ¥ I d o a ' t

know.

IKCMFBOUt

I^r. Ford was &lm.ys t ry ing to create s<methiag.

He was Interested M her gardening too , t o a cer ta in extent .

I « lonrad fLowsM «a i » t » r * v ^ r a®<*» I f Mr. assS Iftm. ?nM pw» a

big garden party a t the house, Mr. Ford would always he ahead of the

people who w@nt rast with htm*

U

Mrs. Ford was always interested l a t t r , FordTs exp*-rim«nts.

! • talked over everything with Mrs. Forfl, Probab3^f, as he sa id , she

gav© him much good advice.

Mr. and Hrs. Ford timvr played gamsa sucto as checkers, chess

m croqvmi that 1 know of. Tbmj stay Imv© doa® I t jsars «§%. Ml BO*

iariag o«r tine*. Stay placed no eards at a l l ©ithsr.

Th® FOTds were definitely hc®@ sany sore svsmiags than tfetgr

WJP» «*• tlwgr f i t thmjsanda of invitations to be out, tut tfeagr

jvsat "wgrotted," Simdays they never liked to go out. №oy liked to

stay host©. There were rare occasions uhcm they had to go, but

of the t ifiKi they st&y&l horse.

say th&t Mm. Ford was mam wmSg to f t ©tit

% bat te pr®f©£T a to stay horn* That's qnltm

b&c&xtm m* ford mm oat ,*1I &&yt and lm« fort! stayed tats*

Of course, 1B tb© fi^st j»ara» Ife^* f@fi 'hit.

too. She nsufc to dlff©r®Bt ^©etiugs and b©losg©d to dlffer©at

wrk arad th# fmm m& Gara«a Gltib le^t tar feosy.

Most of the t i i ^ , I vouldn't s ^ t^tat Mr, and ^ * . Foiti

oat «<$ggi w n3#it A HMk as aa 'Kramg% thtssî thure temi

oecasloas wb®a thaj w®»t <«t «rwry night tm ft @®M|§6 of

Timt w M tee durlsg th® we&Hsg seasoa®. Duriag th« period ths

i"5c(iuffay Societies met in Dearbornf they had sieotlugs far about a weak.

Mr, asd №s, Fcsd llbsd to go to imcldii^s i?®ry

to Jtfu®. & th® wiBt@rt ?.fr. Pord voald ar@ss in

sad & top liat f « a ¥^Mi^» 8»*# cs^s .pr iî% tern tha'

stairs, tad Lewis style» especiia.ly if ;1rs. Tord wasn't there.

-as-

Ther© w«p® one or two j»©pl« who woitld ©ora® ar«3und b«ir# life©

Chief of Polie© in Svtroit , ColotseX Helcert. He and his wife «•**

«rottad h«r« quite * few t ime for dinner, Mr. Togd oftai teA tto«B

OB, *Fatr lamp* the priimt« €*ac» to ifar.Xork*

Their social habits arid wa -s of eatertalnlng did not change

ewer tiMi yiers.. isaal ly a3Pt«r №»» aa4 Hw, FoM i#ft fb» tabl« f

would jttst s i t around here and talk. She had special radio

tb#y had f i»s is # they wtniM s i t «M -telk.

Sdsel didn't coaa h©re too ofte» ajPtsr 1 arrived. Edsel saw

Ills father «very day. B@ probably came in here soastiraes early in the

ssorning without as knowing to see Ms nothet. As ft rule, not too

l<m ccmld say he cam® over on an average of one® a month.

The graMchlldreB wmild coaje eveiy w@«k @IK! and stay two

or thr©© nights and mxw&iam & we^k, Thay certainly had & grand tine*

The grandparents spoiled then, They got the mm of the pl&e©

did vhat they XHwd«

s

to tt»y gr@w O M « P mad had t l ie i r own ia>i«nMrtti»

pn«t£*% moA so o% they cmm hum

Op rmtll Mr. Stefl** tooth, th» elder Fords always had

their Ghrlatass and ttasietgl'fing dins®?® with Mr. ld#sl a t G&uS&©r

Q& th© t&o&ft* I tfot&d say Mrs. Pruak na® fter* sat* than the

of th« st&ftt'Mi* Mr. aM 'lire. PniRk came hej*e sore thais the

She vouM cos® sag- t'Jteiy la. the »^№li!g or b@f oj^ l w ^ »

times ah® would e ^ « ^ stay tor Ivsmh, oy ia tbs aftgamooB and

s t a j for mj.pp«r. Thmj wsald j«st s i t and ta lk .

At the family ;>artisn tAmm they had the Bryants, tr»are were

lots of tlja«s after thsy left th® table when Mr. Ford we^yi e c ^

tbro^gh hes-® aM ss«ak dtmn away to t t e gai^g#, MM Btmj '$№№• thmm

end W№aMis*t COT© back. They woaifi mliss hM aad ask for Ma ? asd

teow vhar© im wm* H@ Mould do that oft№» T«ey often. H©

walked otJt cm tlie Ford

Ford*8 relatiTO® &mm b%i^ mor© oftsn

did. His relatives never sho&sd 19 iraKsh l a

It

X nsêr saw any of

His eistsr ess©

-a-

I think she mlj emm hers af tsr Mr. Ford passed on. She

was a t a couple of garden parties here, ki t she was never in the howa«.

Lt

(fee coitsin used to eoae down South, a, 143?®. tfeatfaertwe, I

tMnk she's passed away. She was a f i r s t cousin to Mr. Ford. Site

used to be our guest a t Eicteond Hill a few times. She case a few

time* here, probably fast for a luncheon. She i s the only relative

tta&t I ©an remember Mr. Ford «v@r had to the hoasa.

Clyde Fold saad William Ford never case to the house.

W® aren ' t i s a position to know i f he was family minded,

because he may have been on the outside. From 'sdrnt they t e l l ne ,

Mr. Ford visited quite a l o t , especially with hie ssi&ter. He would go

over to her place.

There may ham b#e» other reasons that %m don't know.

Mostly t&© family « m in after diaa«r to t a lk , usually

OB the Bryant side, unless s«t®oa* called tip l ike Miss Snow who

wanted to ooo» ia or a do»e frieaS. Mi»« SXKMI l i 1 ! ^ orer here i a

trie B8i|jnDorjSood»

Mheaew-r they had part ies, Mr. Ford never went away. R©

was iaatructed to stay

-32-

it

It just depended. If there were some of the Grosse Point©

people h#re, № . Ford would stick arousi. If it were relatives, he'd

It a point of getting oat.

He liked his jokes,

L*

Cto® of t h s famous guests a t P a i r Laae was t h e Duke o f

Windsor. H© stayed f o r Itinch. Jtart before 1 c a s e , Pres ident and .

Mrs. Hoover were ii@i% and l a t e r Mr. Womm? v i s i t e d h«r® again whes

h« beeasae & temimaamm* . f fcwy mom f ®P 1 I ® « ^ # ' _™_™

The l a t e Bishop Peter ftige vas a irer j ffeTorit« guest o f

№?. Fcarfi1^ & s a M , *Ttii# i s one ssas we v o n H «w«r g«t t^p®i ©f.»

He was so a t ease with him. Mjr. Fosd wauld never have t o worry about

e n t e r t a i n i n g him.. H© votild jwst s i t a a i r«ad. QfteEt Mr. Ford asksd

Ma a qasstioiu r

Qr» tintt «hil© we were dovn South, I MM fixing the f i r e -

p l a ^ and Mr.. Ford asked Bishop Jfege, "Bow do you think God «aated wm

t o make carat*1 I had to leave the roosi, and X couldsH hear

Bishop

When Resident Hoover mm her© for lunch, they discussed

pol i t ics . Uhes Alfred LaadoB was aeidmtad for president, Ifr. Hoover

and Mr. Cameron «»re h®r@. I think the governor of Michigan also

attested the Iwncheon a t that time, and they h&& their poli t ical

follmmm and wrioos. others. I iaagla® they talked mbm% polities*.

although I do&*t reca l l .

U

Jbr, and K n , TmA*9 soelal ac t iv i t ies iBTclvsi aostly peopl®

from Gross© Bointe, not qtilte two thirds , and one third in Dsarborn.

you think so t

Moot of th« ent®rtaiaia^ mpmtxd b@r© mn

. fh«r@ i*©r© occasions, ^ t only half a etosen €sre«f» ftolntwrt

came here, unless i t was something big* l ike a garden » r t y .

I t would be sonethiiig like the &*o««e Bolnte Garden Club that was

h«p(i« for th« i^mller,. aore lut iaate affairs* ab

ladies us®<i to c c ^ o^®r h«r© ffos 6r©#«® Ite-tntu ©ceaaicaaslly

different t ines .

I*

Miss Sl&tay IA» a "rary gr®at fH.«od of №»• Fo»i*s.

society* as far as C-cm^s^ officials* wm n©%

hmre Bmeh. fh«re wrm mover a%$ of tbcet*

Mr. and Mm, f&tA k@pt tite.ii1 Imsiaefts l l f» aa$ ^ ® t r soelal

l i fe ^separate. BktslnM* l i f e aai tb« BOC1«1 l i f « ; d M a f t §et «taeed.

There were never any guests:. frop tfee. autoaotive industry a t

t\m ham during Kiy ttMfe neither m* Wwemfc* i*r* Sloan* *r

€iffi2*r* lieae of the Gmpmj offlei&l© ©a» IMMW or ifiwy

Benmtt was here dsiring ife* s t r iks period a/bout tho s t r ike at

fs-§«g«§ t f tfa* tmiojs «№» m «Mi a w hsr® aai wsntaci to

r« Fcwd with tfe© gosf«3mci', Tb&t w In *f?t. th@ tin® of t\m

r® heap®. I t WHi nat tlie <ml - t i n s I @m Mr. B«mtt f he

has I M » here two &e Wmm t l^sa siw® 'to « M Mr* Ford t bat ss *

rol© a<»30 of th«s ®'?ey tsaiw h^1©,

Mr. 3<ar<anaen was oaly hare mm Im ey tiase, but Mg Iiad htm

down i s Georgia uhen he ws.a going down Scjth. Timm mmm*t any of

tl»«« officis^Ls tei» Hr» Ga BPon wg« imm mlj m emxgl® of

fbs las t tiJ№ bi wm Mem was tli« d^r of the pmsffmr••

l # . Stmmmm was here far aa ©fterHaoa t®a M th© Bite

of Windsor mm here. The family was here.* Hr« M i ^s» Si^fft

MM* }3#U3OBf ^r* yiUlam and » M Joaaphlns*

Mr. Ford' a sjannsr IMI* aKMÎ^ tb© ttnw ^'It« royalty •*

else, just the saae.

They wera 1B the <Ijj jjag rcca, but aftar tea, I recal l , Mrs.

Ford tcK>k th«

iste?eat«d in aa appls dr ier i t e ted »d@* SJt® Isad

three barrels of dry- apples which she aant to Kngiar^, Shs w*tit Into

detai l M i »iQ>laInecl to hira just what hr»cl teen #@n% aafi he -«»zitot} to

•®m the mahiRe, ^ » took fain downstairs and sJifjwed Mrs.

Th&y dM»*t haw g«@sts trm t t e plant or busi»»ss

ordlsates, and, aside frc® tto§ fymOy Mr#«, fm& baft & few frisnds

she imM bring la for Itmohroji and oeo&sieaaHy for etaisar, pes-baps

ens® & sosth. Thqjr f№f soft large *tt»w№8» protoititly t«o or fotjr

p«opl®. They dMaH dress fosmlly, bat la dlaasr js^tota though.*

Th&? dida n hav® sianj' diRB®rs h«TO i&ere th©j ôre fall iimiSf i t

uss ^?etlj the tTM®do. 0nl»ss if

didto * t dress • Tbar® was bardlj * tlffi© ^ e n ti^y m»l srat t© diaisasr

that they dldnH dress, %®y always dj^ssed, nal.«ss th®j «WP»

to M@e of the r®lati"?es9

Qtias-ts imiild drop t» casually % ealHag at the gat®.

fhsy would 'tern to to® ®nii9t»agi9 &M there mm m&Mmm iAm

vere not wantM. When 1 say tboy were not vanted, >fr. cmd. Mrs, Ford

j'jst MM*% mat to see ihess, f hat would hspf^n M ^ %imm v$M

psopl® that tb^r knes?* fhs^ iûia call &t the gat© and mmt to

tet ?#. snd lfm» Foas€ w@r@ uot how«. AH of tit© r^lati'ros

* F<spd*s aid© %®r® jwst atmooaeecL f&ej ted the p ^ i r f l ^ to

mm rig^ht thrsaagh ia ordtmyj t t e wbea iselthsr «ni of

aisk, A ^ eo«M alwsye ©oese Is . f&e gat«®as wmjl<l pta

so-«Bd-«o is ess their «aj ia-» and I wmld ajmmsae® t h « . The

thisg applied to a l l of the «I&t 1T#S OR the Fwi sad Ik^mit

There «©re xmwr aigr rastrietloss,

Xf tbsa^ «№9 ai f paople »th®r titea 3№lat i ws i so %ri®& to

.gtrfe imi&® of tlb© gat©* they weg® isever «GMtwiB8i* Sh» gatssssB tad

hla oreters, M i he teHf them. Occasionalj sagjeone M I to the gate

m& mm hiss * clotf afeonfc -m*im&*mm. l WBKM, ims&s® A M I Bt*

and he wouldn't know him. That hap^rsed fell o£

Thex«@ I W I o» ®GB№-relatl' B8 «ho tei tliat

right through unless thor© had b&so an appointaent mda. CSccasioimlly

soaae of the ladies fran Oroaac Pointa wotild be oat th i s vay «ai vouM

«qnfi t o the g&t© ®M b© ssraoazie^l, b«t the ^tsaKS alssays 4®d t o ftaft

Mr* aai 'Wm» Far«3 w»e at te»*

People li&s Dr. ;.1eCltm3 never drotiped to cjisually. They

wad® so

ST. HeClsr© was a guest tfer«« or $®m %$®m % hiiaaalf

of fasio^J gtiest-3, I th.tok Frtnee lords

was here. Bc-fferal t iraes. When ha taarried, te « m « ft tour of /aa*rie&

with his vrife aiad vas invited for a dimer one iigMi« PrUoo© Louis

ârclimad worka& In ttae p teH for m v&O.©» ami d « r i ^ tM» t i s e

in q\sita freqasntly. .Be vrote to fiiem t > t o the vary l a a t . 1

ba tSMPteed <m the

If

i s mm looking tor

Oa jfrs. Ford «0 part , i t e anterUincsi with Iwschsons atid

one© a south, anft thos© v®r© sna i l . The Fords also gave teas*

W« had teas m& lnncbmmf Itmcbeons for «ew» of her

friends. These n^tared m^Hamem ft?ee twenty to sixty.

Li

There « s also a social affair for tfe« H C 4 and for Mrs.

v?ho lield ft high position la the TAICA.

There w«r© abc«t 300 people limited, but I t ttaraed out to

ft

cars were stalled. As X m t i l f v© serwd a buffet

u

Several t l ses Mrs. Foyd tali aosaethittg like tjaat. She gave

q-aite m. f«w garden imrtles ? sometimes there «vr»; ai^*®re frcsst f if ty

to 150 people on the

Mrs. FoM Mtvei baked beans, chicken a la king, or cold

ham &ad salad. It mm very stople far ft gardes party — Jn§t cold

eats, different kinds of salads, probably & mtato salad aal « gr#es

salad asd eottege cb&ese.

the life ths Fords led at Eicfesoad Hill was not sstieh dlf-

ferent than Htm life tfa©y led &t Fair Lane. They had more house guests

doyn there. Mr. Ford used to take a great interest in Mebmo&d Rill.

His actions were Just about the same though as they were at Fair Lam.

There is a similarity between Mehaond Hill and Pair Lane.

Mr. Ford had th« garage, the taaisel asd the laboratory.

BOHLSU

They had an elevator there too. The elevator got stuck

one tiiae with Mrs. Ford in there. Mrs. Ford dids't like that, Oa»

day Mr. Ford had men vorkiag in the tunnel, and as he wanted to come

up, or tried the elevator, Mrs. Ford pushed the button at the second

floor to go dovn. Before she knew it, @he ?i.anded <low» la the base-

sent.

THCtOSOHt

that m s tie first ymr at iiehtioisi liH. fh«^ hai to

have a special key for the elevator. It went tram the sain floor

down to the basement. Of course, at Mrs. Ford stepped into 'tis®

elevator and the button was pemmA is the basement, she went down.

There was scoelxsdy d a m tiiere* *h« fooafi oat* That is fe©» she IMBRO*

sd there was a tusnsl down there frm the reaidenee to the pov©rhouse.

Mr. and Mm.. Ford used to look forvard 'to going dovn 'to

They alivays liked to go to Georgia, bat they were always

eager to came back home.

TOCKIBOtt

I'll tell you when the sand flies started to case, then

-29-

they wer® &a@ to rwt«m»

It

I thought tfaos* f l ies just eon® la March.

IBCHlBOla

There ware lots of those l i t t l e black f i l e s . ?hsgrfre bad,

fb@ Fords didn#t do too atuefa e&tsrtainlag at Bietemsl Hi l l ,

just the ordinary house gueste. Occegiojmlly Mrs, Ford sigfet hav«

two or thpse frcss S&yaamh, or aoy^here from six to a dioaeo. They

were Ssvanaab ladies. ,

t*

Mira, Fopfi ajod Mr. Ford used to have q«lt® ft f@v boom gnmt»

durlag the season almost ©very year. Tbere i«r» guests frcm Detroit,

The relatives were Qsualiy guests doim there.. . ,

it

And a few o1*«r people. The Bryants y«re dov« there oxsce,

Bishop feg© and Mrs. Page too, fbt №61ffi№@ mm dowa there, Dr.

McCltire and I r s . McGlure.

They mete down there & couj-sl® of times.

t

mmmmt

•30*

The Bryaots- used to stop cm tit© m y cctaing up fr*si Florida,

f

Br, George Washington Carver UMI dowa there.* H© dedicated

the school. He stayed at Cheny Hill.

Mrs. Ford didn't change furnifcor© around such. Every

one© ia a while 3he*d have too much downstairs and voald bring it

tip or switch it around. It was never a drastic change that you vowM

notice imieli. They alt iys liked the sasse things. Hr. Ford always

left it up to Mrs. Ford, of eourse, rather thaa iisterfere, Bxeept

one time, X rmasber, Mr. Ford pot his foot &&m about the dining

room. Mrs, Ford -mm golrc to hav« that Iwely voodvork painted a

Cardinal Red. She*d seen a room. In Georgia llk« tlseit. It vas never

done. Mr. For4 voulSn't st&ad for it.

The raosie roosa and llvlog room VBT® doase, bat Mr, Ford

dids't ajârove of it. They vere boî like the dining room, aat-

ural woodwork, and he did not lik« her eharsgiag it at all. It is

not a light color, & dark grey. I donH know why she mirted the

polished woodwork changed. This **&as done abcnit ten or ti^lv© years

ago. Mrs* Ford mated a change «rr@a though the painters didn't

approve of it, because it wags a paint that would crack In tiiae, Hr.

Ford always left any changes that vers sad© is the house up to Mrs,

Ford*

Mr. Ford seldom \«@nt doim in the baseront uhere everything

i s stored. I think ha nnlj want &&m therm when fa® wmt ©at tbroagfr

the tuoaiCL

I think 1 <sm say Why Mr, foa?i wmmr ttttwrftoNKt vWi th»

frhmase. ! Qb® tJMi wfeea Hrs. Fern! « i in litr fork, Mr* Fort! told John \W.-

the houseman, to go in th« study asd elesm it up a littl®

b i t . He said, B?to>y, John, I want jsu to take the drapes and ctarfcalns

dowj aM have thâ cleaned,B

Jolm kiMHf tbat Mrs. Ford wuld not lik« i t , b i t b© obejed

Mrs, Ford noticed i t tttet she cam© feck asd was

tislalt Mp* Fusift rti»M isU№j№r»« Mr

haw » t t i ^ to aayt* . J.«-»»

at ftcy price,* he often said to me.

Mr. Ford was a great antiqnie buy^r* ead so wm Mrs, Ford.

They had so much of that oil hand. Smetimes Mr. Ford woold go over

to the Village and lode arova&t. He'd probably s©« a spa.ee &nd thisAc*

"Sow, what could X use here?9 He*d hav® it sent ov@r. Most of the as*

tique© in the house ease trcm the Mttsem*

H;HLFP.I

I never heard any discussedm ecssparing their hceae to

more mo&mn mam* 1 al'âys understood that tfeey alwsjs liked tlieir

and n@ @r tired of i t* 1@ know th&t when thegr fd been ««^f» they

•32-

always glad to got êk hos®. She nay tef» been iaterest^d la

other peopled feons^s, but she a#v*r Aimmsmi, that. Shs wemM ob-

Mr. ?«H3*« portrait nitid to be is tbe h&Thjay. I s paintings

have be«a che iged sloe© Mr* Fort passed msyv f h ^ sever chaaged tit®

pictures very such. Th^ didn't haj as - pietitrea, to apâk of, during

oar t ins ,

L*

They bad a few paintings done % !«fr. Liader. He's Fttmish.

He ]mint®i Mr. Ferd^ ssofeer fn» & regular photograph of hm- i s &

plain l i t t l e white collar. fh© picture is mt the teck of Mr* Fordfs

b»3t in titeelir bedrock. I t was Mrs. Ford who thouît sb® wwld like

to have a ptisiing ftaa "Hits photograph, so Mr. Under did i t , asd

dM A good job.

On® day, Mrs. - Ford had us take this picture and a pillow,

aad teen sh© hwirtî up an old-fashioned silk dress, oss of her ov»

lace collars, aw3 & harooeh of her mother's. I had % pack this in m

suitcase and go ten to 'ttw 8oc&-Cad iliac wb«r© Mate* tftagtrii* ^re*

Ford told me how X had to flat this ttpf I had to pat the dress over the

pillow, fix the collar, pin on tfa© broods aa<3 ttiea pat the pletwr®

ther«. I did this , and Mr, Under did «» excellent job. I t is in

the music rom.

•33-

The gas© room In the baseaent was never in use, not i s a

day. I t was always aa«d as storage, Th®j ns*«r u«sd the bovliag

alley? X imagine i t has not bma n®®& for the past twenty years.

of thea w$r» storage tomm9

I t probably usw ia wm SM the very tegiimlng, before Mr.

S s t l was M®n-ied. Itm a n ' t t e l l , 1 t b t ^ that ©re»tuaHy Mrs.

ford wssd «vexy ro«® dowa ttere as a stororoc^. km tim© went OB»

there was rsor© aai more pashed la .

I don't fcxpv tf t t a n a s a billiard, tabl« 4o* a tbere

Joh» C«B®. f be bowling all®r was closed sven wfe®s th© gyandehil«3x«si

tei the gssaa room was always open. Th©

ecmld raa i® aad out ther« and hM@« I t was jtast a stoyeroce.

I t was Rsver :r©ally fixed as a playrocttj peThap® i t was

in ths vwrj beginning, I yas told % John that whea th®

n a i l , tlusy used to fix the Ckristsa^ tree daws thsr®.

I t was a nice looking room, I saw pietares of I t . Th©y had

tbst book of pictures wfe@a ttie ho?;s© first opened up, t% was altogether

different than wliat i t is now. fh® pictar«s show jon tliat room jttst

as I t m s -with, the t$z®$m,m g©iag» ®a& tb* tattles- «a& th»

ami «?«rytihis,g» I t «ms quite alee,

fixe sviamiag pool ?as open merj y©sr»

1% mv «Md every mnunr. I t vag û»t f i l led dtarlr^; th«

master. When the grand children w©r@ here, th^gr n@»t in , «deid saostlj

Mrs. Ford's relatiLTos and ths i r children. Mr. and Mrs. Ford, never in

JB^ time, nsed the swiH tijig pool. There ver© SOB© pictia«s of Mr.

Mr», Ford in the mriiasdng pool. I suppose the? just posed for the

picture.

s&riasslng pool *a® buil t priasorily f«r Idse l ' s

AM the yovmger

Mr, and Hr»» Ford had regular hoars far sl®@p, Sp to the

la s t four or five years, th«y went upstairs every weniag a t teas

o'clock, and la te r a t Bin® o'clock,

Down South, th(^ tia«d to stay up locgerf (larijag th&t

sea-son th&^r had caa|»nj» Quests were forever reading or talking.

Often i t «as ©levaa, bttt »SV^P l a t e r . Of course, i f thay !iad a

party, that was difforeoat —» A& aacc©pti<m.

Lf

Hr. Fca?d liked to go to his bed early. He eoald taka a

nap easily, too. Mrs* Ford told m& once that i t took the® a good half

hour t® get reedy for b®d., and that grw Ford was always ressdy f i rs t .

I-Telther one slept ©tt a pillow, Mr, WmA had a smll half-pillow.

X don't know wtet f t was rs&le of* but ft ns» under ta© mattress.

Ford lay flat . She had m VKSJ, l i t t l e , 4mm pillow am she said that

Mr* Fofd wmdd nt^sr fa l l , mmj mmi&g %toem tihe^ m«r® râiy to go

to bed* to p> ®wrt aad pat ter Ht t l# pillow aal fix I t foe her

before she lav' dotm. Th© last two jears he te& to sleep on m

pillov, also Hre. Ford,

MP. aad fes. Ford was?e teth wsy ^»od at asopiag. ¥#

Issar t b ^ dewtistali?s« & ttsslr test ymmg ttey alept ps^tty

In tlie l&st years, «MM№ of titew had. to take a sloeplrig p i l l .

the tisis » « mm taok sicks Mr. aai Far*).

têthsce la a tosKls bed » the gieepljsg pc <ti« Mr* Posed gc* so

I t kept %«# Ford &vake all night, so Firs. Foi'd decided to

get twin beds, Mr, Ford. dMs*t agree vith I t at a l l . 8» just tetet

tiss id©a# Those are the beds ttait are la th»iy betexm now. Be

f imlly gme l%: SJS tia«al,

Hw oM dîbl® btd aattrasa i s ^©rj oM M % asd Ms'S, Ford

had I t ii) sd.T3d to tew i t fIjccd jiist shortly befores they deeicted to

haw tfa© t ^ B la^ts, la«t abe n6«r«r liai i t f t » i * №• smd Hm* tact

r®ry foud of ttot ted. I t wwi t o %« widei'j and Mrs. fwA had i t

narrowed about f ive o r s ix inches l a order t© as® regular shee t s . I t

vas an unusually big bsrl. They always had t o fejw» ex t ra sheets m&&&

for 1%, t o cover the m t t r s s s .

T iey weald occasionally have ©light cold®. I reaa«ss.ber tha t

Mrs. Ford had two severe eoldg a t two di f ferent t l ises, yhen rim bad to

stay in bed for several days. Mr. t o r i always put himself on tb®

a i l k d i e t or water Aen he had a cold. 1 don ' t resssaber him taring

a r ea l ly bad tx>M, j u s t s n i f f l e s .

TBCKPBOIf*

He had a l i t t l e b i t of a O9o#i a l l th«5 tij-«. He did i t

fro© force of hab i t , X thiric, bat he vms ge i^ra l ly frm from oolds

while w» w^^ her©* Oemaioia l ly wfe« Hm» Foi^ ^l«d « b i t of » cold,

«©fd give hm blade currant j u i c e . Xt*s an old B ^ l i A remedy. I t

was sad© fron black currant j a s dlsgolveci l a a l i t t l e w t e r . She'd

driak that hot.

Li

Hr, a»4 Mr*. Fetel didaH like to <aU a d©et<» r i # t

usually tried to remedy th@ir mm l i t t l e colds &xg3. ailssQa

If

Mrs. Fo*fl dida't wat'ry about Mr. Ford1* health until th®

later years. If there was any worryitig done, i t y®s never doae clows*

stairs ,

Mr. Ford*© favorite breakfast dish ms patscakea. In the

-37-

l a s t years he had a tas te for^ps

He had vater with his meals at all times,

aafi dinner. In th@ earl ier years, he liked a pitcher of bot water

which he dilated his drinking water. He'd get eMUei , I s

ie» at ; any t la* . B@*d tixixk $3m mater Ivfotmm* la l a te r years, j

during i l lness , he preferred cold water, though aot iced. Oeeasionall;^

Mr* Ford went on a milk d ie t . He'd get an upset atoejach, aid the milk

diet voild ess® i t . That's a l l lie WOJM take,

A long time ago h« had a nm on black beans or l iver . H«

bad i t for breakfast, taaefc and disner* Be waa ir«ry fo»i of tlte

blade bean sottp far a long t i»» . QB occasions when ttMsy were

a diaiwr party, Wt» Fowl wcmld haw? MI ^^rve Ida: t i n blaefe beaa

as a demitasse, rather than coffee.

When he had petnmkm for breakfast, h»*d »oiaetia«» haw a

sausage with ttaa, but generally he bad just buckwheat psneaksa. H©

also had pure maple syrup Biade her® a t Fair Lane. Half the t ine be

wraltia't tis© the ssaple syrup. He preferred hoa^ .

I wouldn't say Mr* Ford's appetite d©eliB®d raieh over the

years, becs«se be never bad been a very heavj eater, food didn' t

Es&ke mudi difference to h i s . He'd eat those things he took a fancy

t o , such as puddings and custards. For ft couple of years ve had cup

custards. Be said to aae, "I t soothes my throat ."

his i l lness , he used to chaplain abotit bis tbroat.

1 would bear- his at the table*

I t ustg only Mr, Ford who changed hi» tastes In food this

%»y. for quit® a anslser of years, fe«M tiriate fruit jmlees e l l the

t&te, or -vegetable Jnie®&» He wemM have oaly thea# jNdeee for

Isncb for two or •ftere« ysart , bat then I t f laal ly stopped.

'Mr. FoM llksd el««lin«#g la th# p ^ ^ r a t l o n of food,

very as*tu 1© likad rmy plain «o*iBg, witii ao gravy —<• nothing

fa,n< ". Mrs. Fori was Just "tt« OK5®®^*® ^ 14»at. She aliwy* liked

gravy, Mr# Ford vss -nor*- Ksi®ra In n ^ t r i to eoeleing tt«a Mr»»

Mm* Ford #tadc to the eld-fashioned way*, for Ia»1»aee> # w t

pa^dlHg for Chrl0'b%s» We always had to ha.1^ I t eeatat la- aj

aad though i t always ttaraofl ««t to be a failure* tit® very next j: I

Christmas we had to do the v«ry »m» thing over.. There «r® so ®a«y II

new, mo&m?n m.y® of coiAl^g thlngv^ bat etw «onM not h«v® l t « Shm !i

clung to her n©Mi«rla l ^ l i s h style of cooking* j

Mr. ford was very proud of he.vl.Bg 'Mrs, forfl eedk,

very seM<m» If e v ^ , Mre. Fart ¥oaM ^ « « <!««« «v«sry

to talk ovisr the <3ay*a K»was# She- »l^»ys smvei reelpee f!rcn «»olcbo©k«

or from the newspaper. Sb.8 also bad Go^SSiSi »agasiiie f i t» whicsh she

saved r©cipa@,

Mrs-, Ford pat a creaa s«nee on a3ao#t #r®rythl^» l ike

scalloped i»^ftt©es» ere«B@d saaets «nd er»^»e«i fish# whleh people

-39-

nowadays don't do. let she was very concerned about her figure.

She denied herself tatter and ersam all these years, except O B

rare occasions when she went out. Sometimes on a Sunday evening,

she'd prefer just a piece of bread and tetter, and then she enjoyed

herself. At mealtimes, she would never take any.

Mrs. Ford liked her food highly seasoned. However, when

she had her arthritis years ago, she was off all salt and pepper for

months. In her last years she wasn't permitted any* She had to take

a substitute for salt. Once in awhile she'd ask for salt.

Mr* Ford tried to convince Mrs. Ford she should have as |I

interest in the soybean products, bat she never did* She never |

thought mich of them. Mr. Ford had a ran on soybeans. W© had soybean

oil, soybean butter and soybean lee eresca. In fact, there was a time 9

uhen Mr. Ford made Foster com© over, when they gave a dinner at the I

laboratory for some scientists, and the whole menu was soybeans, all 1

the way through. Me offered soybean bread every day at the table*

That's all Mr. Ford would eat for awhile. Mrs, F©rd would take it

occasionally, but it didn't appeal to her so Bsueh. He ate it all the

time for about five or six years* About two years before he died,

the soybean diet vent out. The soybean dinner for the scientists was

before the war.

there used to be a cracker the Fords lifced aaie from the

heart of tfe® i*ii©&t gem* W« called tltoae "Radel

M*» ford ws®d to «st soybean soap emmy day 4t»ing

period he was interested i s those experimental h© wanted a <$uort of

soybean soap and a: quart of soybean paste. This would be seat over

froo the cafeteria a t the laix^ratorles. That and the bread was mad®

mer there, n»t ia the haatm Imstm* Hrt. PoM dMa' t g© for

soup.

11

Whan George WashlrsgtoB Carver ^ms tt«x*@ In AMrbstmt Mr.

Forf WOTM go 1» tti« ' l i t t l e «abJjB that ««•» oHgtaN^ly Ifeaa &MI*K1*«

They would tak© a certain grasss cfeop i t wpj season i t a l i t t l e b i t

and pat some in a sandwich. £f«ff day for weeka or jaoaths csste

five sandwiches frees the cafeteria. I t was cjuit© uraisnal. I t vas

acsae-Uiing new.

11a did not hsva to eat the®® things. I M S grat^ftil for .

the soybeans, because they v©re aor« healthful. I went out to ^ the r^

sojae grass myself to Mice sandwiches. . I donft do i t any inor®, but .

when I go oat sad ©«e tt» 1 pick i t ami wash i t and ©at i t so, with-

out asking a sandwich.

Th© carrot diet y^nt OR a few years also, and

I served sotap, I 'd s«rv© a siarip of •eaarrot *dtli i t , Mw># Feasl U3smk

the carrot juice. Mr* and Mrs. Ford «v©ntaally broke @m& Tr<s& i t .

m ferar y©ars b©for® Mr. Ford &i®d., ttwra «Ht a m t any

fm him.

Their food n i t »ot gsaefa different wh« they ht$& gs&ats

than I t was mtai they «•*• alcmej w,yb© i t ms n l i t t l e ®3r© elab-

and fljeed. ^ m l i t t l e

Th® ?<mia alines had wmX tm Ivmh, tîloh ima thslr big

of th@ day. Ordinarily tar mppr* x®a th@y «»pe aloi^, to

asy t tos, th#y ®igts.t haw lad. silk t-o®st or s«eihisg l i t e tlmt,

had m light

Both Mr. a d Mrs. Fan! w t partial to oysters, |$p. ford

liked oysters. I4P. FOM liked an ©ystar soap. H® also liked Ms

&appsd sp fin®, nhil© Mrs. Fe^d liked hers J5^t to&pped I s

pas «at th№ taJ^n cast. Th»j mmmlomXLj ate t h « xwt as well.

Semi i s Geoaîa wh#n Mr* aj*i l*?s. Ford bad gtissts, they

had th@s© «fster roasts. f«m»d build a fire, tafet & large plats or

pi®c« of st«sl, g»t I t piping bat, tbsm shsfêl crystal mx this

plftte. W®*& @o«er th®a with a w®t saek oatll tfe@y v^re 0t©a®e

with & SBffiill shovel, put them on the plates. They mm® eat«n with an

lee-pick, in ixlae© of a fork, &»d & gi^ve was wm& to iioM tfe« fast

SBJ that Mm* Ford watehad the grocery bi l ls too

-42-

closely. Occasionally tfa»M mm mxm tmaSl lto&s and «peak to

U

Mrs, torA oftom a»k«d about taping thing* from tlse

m had grewiBg o© t l» f&aee.. Oase »h® asked about frssfa

radish which we'd bought. She asked us %&\j we didn' t get ten*

th« gaM«n. ¥# dM, Mrs* ?©rd 1&«3 to nm ^mix" OMB food*

ever possible. Site didn't l ike us t o buy food® out of ©©&©em;

berries, now, Mrs, Ford didn' t have tbea unt i l her own w®re r ipe .

That smm thi.ng applied t o gra-pefrult and orang«e» sltbotjgh w

hers tree-ripeised. on trees dovn iis Florida,

x-ne i&st jfnttn^ HI?, Jroru costviiiccfii Mrs, j o r o oow

good oa-b№al yas, so for the l a s t two or tliree years, th®y ted ogt-

«M «Biiag«, ¥e had that mmry S«^8f aMtrniag*

fiwy asaa l l j bad •te>«skfa«t ayotmd «i^,t»tli-irt.y» Ife Xatar

f®&rst î®a If , Ford dida*t g»t wpoaad to »»ehf ito*& at« tog«'tt#r»

Before that , hefd have his breakfast anmad 8©Tea-tl5irty and go off.

Half the: t ine hefd \m out of the house Iff six o'clock — before dawn,

•OMtittMU If h® dM t3satt h#*d fo to ^ « eaftstwrl* l a t a r on f«r

The same thing applied do'.«i in Georgia. He often used t o

go to the other residence, Chcsrry Billy for his breakfast* He'd}

stay dows their® conferring with his secretary and contacting Dear- j

born, Mr. Ford would have his pancakes there before we knew that !iI

lie had gone. Iefd e«e back boo© wad say he wasaH hungry. U®fd J

find out indirectly that he*d already eaten his pancakes, Bto w«#d

to like then aaall and thin, fhe first three paneakes were saver

used. He fd want the second three.

Mr, Ford used to sometimes come back -to Fair Lane in the

morning whea he was norkisg,' rest »p avhll«9 and jost 'before iuaeh- .

time, he'd go beck to the laboratory and eat lunch with the executives

ao3 engineers at his rrnuni table. He mml& hare lunch there w>st of

the tine with his guests.

fhe For4sf b % M»al was at noo®, asl dimer wwild be at

six*4hirty or mmm o»eloek. Thia.inui a very light capper, they were

fussy about having aeals on -ti»e» Meals were always ptractaftl* eaêp*.

wiien we «ere in Georgia, and they had guests. They might lie a little

late then when they'd wait for the guests coming. Meals here vsre

right on the dot, except when they had guests, aad then they W « J M

be at seven or seven-thirty.

On rare occasions, Mrs. Ford might serve a cocktail at

these tiaes. fhese were very rare occasions. If they dida*i have

cocktails, they mi^t serve sherry. Mr* and Mrs. Ford werald als«

, have soBie, though Mrs. Ford would, »ore them Mr. Ford, H» wonld

-44*

take a »ip and tbea pat i t aside. I altfaja kept & peach or brandy

liqueur in the pantxy for h l a . l o t s of t iaes A s a Mr. Ford waanH

feeling well, he*4 ease ©at a»S tak# a coapl* of te&spaoasfol of

brandy cap a l i t t le- win®. That always helped fela throat , h»M t e l l &e*

Lt

Daring Mr, Ford1® l a s t f«w years f № s , Perd k«pl « bott le

©f wiae upttalrflfi aa i I f he f e l t a l i t t l e s*®a3t daring the o l # t , tlw

doctor wanted Mrs. Ferfl to g i t * ktat soa»# Mrs* F«ni(3 hadl t o do tii#

safflft thing (torlag b«r l a s t f«tf years. Bowser* Mr. ttxei. mm vmw ft

drinking aaru

YHOKBQMt

1 reca l l one t l a e In Georgia -when Mr. Ford had a toothache t

arsd Mrs. Ford was u |®tairs dresaiag. Ee yss already <3o-*mstairsu I

walked l a on him t o take a look a t the f i r e . I t -ms near th© f i r e -

place, and I ^©lled acssethisf. He aaid, wh@B I looked arooai, "Do

you «B»11 sswrthli^f*

I •aid* *fm* »lr»*

He ask®at *What does It siseli like?"

1 sali, 8It aacUA Ilk® liquor to w*

9 »IJP,*

He reached in his hip pocket m& brougbt out this little

flask. '"Do ytm w«ast a sbotf* he 'SaikM*. *I |u»t hwA a little alp awi

spit It out. I had a bit of a toothadhe.*

He was just feeling good, and be wanted to have some ftua.

He had a very good sens© of

I dot*1* IMzk Mml*a i&Rxuiam bad anything to do with the

For4*s aerviug an oee&sloaal codctall. The Idsel Forde were m%

frequ»atly dinner guests* Mr. sad Hp»« Ford i«®si oat to diimsr partieis,

and would oooasloimlly take a cocktsil ttoere* I knew Mrs. Ford woaM,

She would sow® homi (th«y had drinks so seldom her©), m& she would

t e l l me yfeat t h ^ had for dinner. She'd t e l l me they'd had a coektall

aadi "Cb, the hors d 'omr^resi^ Sh® *d say that sfee tms over a t so-esd-

so*s, airi they served th i s , and served that .

However, 1 very seldom had to ss&k© horg d'oeuvres h®ref

because lfr« and Mrs. Ford didn ' t v®Bt thera.

LI

Mrs. Ford v/as very observing when sh© «ras a t dinner

abemt the food, clothes and everything. She could talk for

after about til® food. I t mwm& that the food always tested better

her own. This na« true ©specially when we vent down South, and

g«t this senjthern cooking, Svexy oae» i« a »M1», tlieyM

scmething ^nr on h«r in the"Miy of aoatlwra cooking,

her, and ahe'd ask a l l abrmt i t . She'd probably gmt the r®cipe frosa

the lady who s©rred i t , and sh©*d us.nt her cook to try It*

fee ttoe «he wemt t o Mrs, Hodges1 haê wtoejre rib* vas

s©rv«3 soni kind of frozen dessert siade otjt of p@amt b r i t t l e , lira.

Ford liked I t so taadt ate asked her cook to Bake i t for the next Sua&ay.

-46-

Of course* all the cream, batter and ailk were shipped from here,,

and oar ©res» was sajeh heavier ttum what yw. bay in the store. So

this dessert turned out to be w e b better than the one at Ifes. Hodgei

Mrs. Pord served it one day when Mrs. Hodges was there for luncheon,

and Mrs. Hodges, said, •Cfe, what a woaderfal dessert?"

Mrs. Ford *al<3« •Well, that's the recipe yow gave aej*

this dessert was set in the icebox trays, and was @m®*»

thing like a sous Be whip* it wasn't an ice ere&m. It had this i

peanut brittle ia it, chopped up fine. 'She really liked that, I

Sometimes when sh® had aoaethiag outside* she

like it as well at ho»», «r®a If it was the same brand.

Qfte tiiae Mr. and Mr»» ford went cm a fishlog ' tr ip, and being

outdoors, they got feeling hungry, l a !»ii&a guide went aloag, «Bd

he cooked the Itmcheoa. fhey ««m® hosie, and' fe8.:ford had ^raght a ji

basi?. It was the first fish she had ea«ght ia her life. She told \I

ae how -wonderfsl tbis ouioia aoap wa» "ttat he*d had oatdcora. She

itsk#d me, "Coald yoa find out fro» Hrs» Wateaaan how to make th® soap

so we cotiM eopy It?*

S slyly weat around to find oat and found that Mr»» Water-

man jaat got a can of onion soap.; I got the same. brand and ®m>m&

it to Mrs. Ford. As I s«nred it, I smid, ^bis is the &amm onism

that was served to you at the pienie,*

*Ah, not* sh© ©aid, wit doesnH tast© the saaef •

Ion a®#» the other time her sppstlte was different frc©

©stag aataoers, aafi thai was BnataaZ for then, far they w r y mldc*

w»»t oat for p£ca£es«

BKHIBQ**

There was & large tarttomnr in cocdcs here. Mr. and Mrs.

ford were picky about their food. They lived simply> toot at tfa®

tine they %ast«d tMngs done their way. Th^- lik®d isost of their

ia«at8 and roosts well steaded..,

Li

Audi 6am so well teat th®y fell apart.

All the nutriment asd Jtiioes are taken out of It. It may

make it tender, bnt it takes all the nutriment out of it* It makm

it striagy too. You canH carve a roast that's fo*®n eooked too long.

It gets stringy, Mrs. Ford did like rare roast beef. I think he AM

too.

~\t

Mr. Ford lik«d th® «all iraiividnsl b#®f steaks. It tasted

good.

He likadjtha. lean.

Mr. Ford was alwg is very aeafly (branimd*. Hi# elo-tee« -mem

veil-tailored. He bought w w eloth«« «tiit« often

as ft-eelor. Of eeaars®, en fSamsl occasions h© had darte #oi*a» j

I f h© uas goisg cut anytîere dressy, he would laeaar a taasdo or fu l l '

d*M* suit* Mr. fasti, dMii»t MM di*®is«ii2g up a* a l l , M® actually

don't know how often h* bought & mm mil beeatis® h© had. his ta i lor

over at %h® laboratory, sad the j were i3ade '.sp SIKI Js pft over there

unt i l be bad ttaest m®% mm? to tbe ho^se. Be had fosir or five mm

sui t s & year perhaps.

i*

№e&, Foi?d did not always «kl®ei M» md&» tat Ma» bat •

did so most of the time. Of eotirse, she sltmys selected his t ies

*ad a l l his s h i r t s . She haB his mjsraas Blade. The baying of

w©a.r aad sock® was also «p to her.

Mr* Ford liked }>laid and &®mll prtiiî l a hia t i e s , or

Jm@t plain colors, such 80 gr©ea. 4 Ifeisl©y t i e was also a favorit©

of h i s . I® a l ^ ^ s wodro * fottf^la-^sai tim,. a®r^ a bott

Mr. Ford, al'âjs wore a stiff-collared shirt with a separate*

collar. He never bad them attached t o the sh i r t . In tfe© bsgitmlng

irfiea % mm here, he alwaya ^ r e colored sh i r t s , & tJie l a t t e r part -

of his. l i f e , he just wore whit©. Sosiehow, Mrs. Ford thought he

looked nicer in a white sh i r t , and he wanted to please fr©r bgr wearing

. Of course, Mr. Ford preferred A white collar even with the

•49*-

colored shirts until the styles changed, sad then he'd choose a

collar to match m shirt. It m e la the twenties that he would

wear, say, & white collar with a blue shirt.

HOtggQft

AtUar work Mr. Ford would wear the mm clothes, it

would never change. The first thing he would do yfeest fet «a»» ia»

hemrrar* would be to get his slippers. He would never take off Itis

coat la th« house.

Mr. Ford never went to the barber t© get shaved Is the

priffi© of bis life. He was never shaved by anyone until his latter

years when the barber mm mm? to the house. I would say he had

his M i r cut mms? tw» or three weeks. 411 the tiae he shaved him-

self he used a safety rasor. I think it was about four years before

be died that he began having his barber shave M a . The barber's

chair was kept near the swimming pool.

it

2 wouldn't say that Mrs. Ford was more clothes conscious

than the average woman. However she was very anxious that no one

else would have the same style hat or dress that she had. She bought

vest of her clothes at Walton-Pierce is Detroit. Ifow and then when

she went to Hew York, she bought clothes at Ptein-Blaine or other

shops that were recowended.

She had one style most of the time and was very fussy about

small de ta i l s . Many t&saes she would have alterations done on, JierKan-mm«i>«n*~'""'•"'"7-1'*- " "*

clothes, or I would a l te r them. At tlraes she wotsld enjoy talking

about her clothes, particularly when she was getting ready for a party*

or something like that . She'd always l ike sse to admire her in her

dress, or she would ask me i f I liked i t .

Mrs. Ford was very fond of maroon because that m.& Mr.

Ford*s favorite color on her, I suppose, for he always spoke sbc«t

l t When she wore i t . At her golden wadding she wore a iserooa dress,

whicfe she had had for several years. Sh® did not have t tee to bay

& new one for that occasion.

Mrs. Ford i#or» loi^ flmmmm for fofsal (MWtJdoni* tot

efternoon dresses, she wcmld hav<s tte» regular leagth or i^featever was

the s ty le , 1 of^te^ had to lengthen or shorten th® dresses.

keep a dress »l»c»t fa i r car five years, ttooa^bi «5b®.*4 to^ a«r

©very year for eatdi #f the «aTOn§» :

Ibtb I r . exd Urs, Ford topi their «t t«at t«t t o

ap to- tto® veiry last* Of eoore*,. fe. Feart ««m*t «fel® to tMrtt amii

ab ut dressing up the l as t two years. H© preferred darter sui ts

then, even though he always looked so nice la grey.

Mr. Pord never ted a val©t. H© chose his own sa l t ©acfe

day. 1 took care ®t his m i t s , sending thes td lie cleaned aM getting

thesa pressed, Often in his absent-minded nay, h©'d pick the t roos-

era frcsa crae suit and the jacket froii another. I f Mrs, Ford, saw h i s ,

-51-

-abe'd mmL bla right «p9taiara to dteage. &*i jaat giro a l i t t l #

smile.

f i t t e r Mr. or Mr»» fowl ever wor« sport clothes, Mr. aai

Mrs, Foard were not tb» tjp» \to& %mm apt t# eliaiig® i*®ir wty of

At fcron Majntela |»opl# -woald CSB« In la »1»<A

do at a mmsmr VMNnrt* MP» aa4 I6f*8» Fear$ wwiM ge to

club at different times at soon or at nl^tt, aad they always

their clothes to suit the occasion.

M*. foiî pat oa s cl®«a abirt «iêy is^# % at the

ap Sarth, Wh»# f&sA wassg tt® sr t imiy typ® of ta»Io«s «iilt« Sa

seldo© went fishing, and for hikes in the woods tee fe&d on Ms r«gulsr

suit. Usually hi» tbaxdtmat Asm® himf aisd Mr, ford waali get oat

of the car, hiking for seme distance.

the only BMkiNQp :№?«* Fort wof® vwa Iip»tl<9£* , Sh@

aatmul flae«rasll polirtti dim tmwr warn larl^bt .r«il* Sh« al

a l i t t l t lipstick*

2 aever li@»ad Mr* Ford say anything abcst.it lipstick.

mlf ttsed i t oo

or if §he was exj>ecting

S«tt@tl»es sh© had I t on l a the house. . . .

Waea she was expecting somebody.

Mr* Fort had his shoes mad© for hi®.

f

H@ had that doss© over at tt\© Village,

There was sessebotly who used to laak© them for him. Mr. Ford

did have soae Bade for him tn

Li

Sosaewtiere tip near Boatoa....

Oatside of Boston.

Li

This fellow had Mr, Ford's K©asm*eme2its and evexythlng,

Mr. Pord was very ftissy with his shoes. Be had very tender feet. Th©

shoes had to be very soft, am! the older they were, th© better he liked

Mr* Ford would try to keep shoes m long ilmt* fit had a

wooden box where h© had his shoes. I s soon as Mr. Pord stepped in

hous«, off came the shoes. Us hunted for tlie step~ia s l i d e r s , and |

hai to look f©r thssa. ^^

- 53 .

Most of the tiffi® My. Ford used both the shoes from the

t i l l age and ffem to1n« 1 think i t ma- just l a the l a t t e r jwsem

that be used the OMSS £ro» Bostoa. They were a l l hasamado, lot t ing

was done by

The ones he used to wear on the moccas la-order were kind of

interwoven a»-} interlaced. Matthew ftrothera ûs tfee Boston ftea.

They were in Weôtrth, Maosactesetts.

I t was jast la thu 3*»t ten ymr® that №r,

Mr. Fond wore the moccasin typ® ©Ten sroairf fbe plaat,

ft»t*» vlwt he wsr« a l l tt» t ins* I t mm -rosj l l^nt Xmthnv*

©f tb» shoes • %» ^ iniwrlae&i to l e t tt@ «Jjf Hmmg&, I t llkad

black shoes. Be got brown and he got A l t e , ' tet h© n©v«r wore thesi.

Lt

Vfam goiag to a foarol pwrtf* >6P» F«pi oifly wo*» patent

afc»®s — a "my ©Id pdfe, B» hai about iiarigr palam of ®fe «-

altogether. Fie had qnitti m few ^pstairss and a iAole boxful down

h©r©» and here and there were b o m yhere he tucked them awaj.

Mrtu Ford 4id «»t «Pier tola stw«s, Ifer, f©ri- todc «KP» of' "

his own shoes. Utea h® had tbt® sade in th® ¥il lag«, lit v/ottld just

in' a t *he ©okbl«r sh^j . I soppotw he would* o y

order shoesj maybe his secretary weald order his

^rp. Ford would buy most of Mr. Ford's t i«s, Sh« ug@d to

go tip to Jfev Tork and she benight several ties* there. He nersreir bothered

to toy aay M«uself that I know of, not in th« tima I was here. Mr.

Ford always seemed satisfied with what she bought.

Quite oftea in the morniag Mr. Ford used to cesie ajad sey,

^C&nie, do you tfairic t h i s ' t i e £• a l l r i # t w i ^ this snitf*

alwaysi Iik«d Hr», f®s^*« ©pinioa* f&ethar i t IM» Jmst to

or if h® r®ally aaa'tea hm aAvim* I d«»ft

Stme of tine clothes he 'had were jaardhased ia Muf folk*

the 3mst ikem or foor yîr» of Mr, fwd1* 1JJ».» they wet®

h«pe ia Detroit. la faet# a»»t of fete <A» tt»8' wtare JMB5« If

Mr,. Si»&« flwiw «p© a f«w suit® •feat teav« » Saw loffc TUfoA t» a

label. I dooH ttdLak thwra wra nor* tlwai « da«m 8nit»« H i

Mr* Ford had »«» »•$• by a &»ton ta l l e r tAum h« swali e«»e

hers.

U

fct

-55-

•{

?heap»" -were only abcat at half dozen of them* «ad there were all

of *at»rJ.al, Thew #*» about 100 suits' upstair*

It

So, I r a . Fo»a gaw® mway q a i ^ a few of the idater a a i t s ,

Seventy—fiwi sa l t s c^se cwwr froo th® Tillage. fhe*» a»e not worm

than aix or se^»a stilts in his closet, otrfcsicie the

s a l t s t*agp© i a th« Ti l lage l a e o l i stor«8e« Ss^fj spring

1 tisad t o seM over the u i n t e r softs t o p a t ill s torage, end

s@ai •over th» swraa«r «oit»» t h a t wa* MI «E«fea!3®e «vef3r year . Of

coarse, 1 coald not keep a l l the mil ts h@r®.

l a h i s act ive toysf Mr* f o r t feai 1C» s o i t a 9 tait tl№f a l l

WKNMDIH i n circulation,, *ft«y imnt j t ist kept o w r l a 'Was T t U a ^ 9

miits from yaere gooft by# to- wooldnH wwr ttuat* To be finale*. I

think I had more than twenty-five s u i t s i n the house a t on© t l s e ,

oae ti-se Mrs. Fortl gave ayay forty or forty-five s u i t s t o

tli© MariB»Ffa Church aM to tifc« Qm& H i l l , • • < - <_J

Hra, FoM awxt f a i t e a few of hia l a t e f s a i t s t o Bnglaod

a f t e r W?9 Ford paseed »wfcy» f t e № aaro not w f l e f t Jja tti« c l o s e t .

She seat th№ to Mr, Waddell, aid he jssnt tb« i t o England.

Mr, Ford dida*t use the services of a valet. H© h&A his

clothes pressed over there % that pressman ami Hie colored man.

-56-

2 had to lay out his clothes. 1 had to take car® of hia

«u?ir©b®# When he went oat of totm* X bad to p&ck everything out-

side his ov@raight bag, that hi always packed himself. "*•*--*»_.

Mr, an! Mrs, fm& liked to travel much more in e&rllsr years,

la latter years they only vent up to Huron Mountain, or west on the

boat, of when they wmxt smith Id Georgia. Occasionally th«y vent to

far York? tiiey'd nak* a day trip to Stew York, Formerly they used to

go to the Wayside Inn.

Their trips were almost always together. SomtiiMMi Mrs.

Ford nest alone to Wav York to garden t»®*ing» or HCA meetings,

if Mr. Ford w o t tttftx* for a tMsinsw© meeting, she*d go along. Mrs.

Ford sa&de it a point to do a little shopping or lookiag sronnd.

mmmout

Mr, Ford v»ry seldom ênt on busis:t®8s t r ips to lev fork.

H© went with her, and then he wotsld go on a spree, t№Qdag a lot of

antiques for the Museum aad so forth. Basin®«s people would cone to

Dearborn t o see hiis, thoiigh they n©v©r caiae to the r©ald@nce.

U

W« never knav t ien they were going to tak© a trip, M«

prol»bly wcmldn *t know until a few days befor©baiad where they

going to go. Mrs. Ford knev creeks ahead» but she would never tell as.

Tforee or four days beforehand, there fd be a rash to get everything

ready. If she was going to a place like New lark, it sight be the

sight before.

Mr* and Mrs. Ford didn't take a lot of baggage. Their own

private car was always stationed by th© Village. I gathered their

clothes to take to the private oar. I usually knew what Mr, Ford

wanted, though sometimes Mrs, Ford picked it out. I took them to the

private car, over in the shed of the flour still before it left for the

station, and arranged thera in the closets sad drawers*

I fixed everything for them so they would have comfort in

traveling. I did the smm thiag on the vay back, gathering it up.

All they had to do was bring their overnight bag from the house to the

private car, and vice versa.

Mr. Ford would probably take just three or four suits with

him, even for a two vmk trip, unless they were going to a dinner party,

and I had to put la the dress clothes. Mrs. Ford vss always worried

that I'd pat too much in the private ear. "Sow don't take too miehi*

I never traveled with the® on the private oar.

tt

I was on3y twice oa the private oar. Before they ballt

their new home in Georgia, we always had to go ahead.

When I vest wit* them on the ear, we stayed at the Kits-

Carltoa 5JR Mav lork. This was before tfe© hcs&e la Georgia was built.

We traveled via Hew fork, ami they vent to a dinner party while m

vere there, Mr. Ford «as quite excited. He asked Mr«. Ford, 8Are»*t

you excited?"

Mrs. Ford answered, BHo, act any iwre. I used to be.*

It insist have ba®n qaite a social affair. I don't vmmh®r

tliat party \m.s. It was in 1934. or 1935.

№ » . Ford liked to go to w 2ork» bat Mr. Ford dlds»t. Mr.

just vent along for the sake of giving her M s ca&p&agr, or if she

asked him to. If he could get out of it, he v&a only too glad, to stay

at hose.

I server heard Mr. Ford say vhy h» didn't like Sew fork, All

Mr. Ford did in Ifew York vas host up antique shops. That âs the

thing that be wsnted to shop for.

THOMFSOHt

I thltdt Mr. Ford uas afraid of b-lag lHtervi«»e(i. I doa*t

know If th^r ssade it a plan when they stayed &t hotels of eating la

the main dining room or having their sseals seat to their rooms.

I* :

;

Th^- had tfeair meals served in, their roases. They had a

of rooas at, each plae®.

fhat was the aaitt thing in

Qfte» they stayed oa the private ear. I t vas big

for themselves, fbty stayed oa tfas yeSmte ear, «l®pt and ®%m

Every time Mr. asd Jfcre. Ford vent to ffew fork, th«f always

got the same suite of rooms. They jaotifled tfe® hotel ahead of t iae,

aiid those rooras y&ee always ready tor tbrn*

I think in recent years they pxit in a lot of tim& oa the

ear. They would go to the station, 70a )OK>W. They 1mA m

special sidetrack at Grand Central Terminal. I think in mem% jmm

thoagh ^my ®i©pp®d hcviag #i»cial tra^te fm- primt® wt*+ fl^y

woulda*t allow them to have the prirat® car. They had to go to a

uHr. and Mrs. Ford haven*t ted their private car oter

liad to »®H i t to the gcj^traa«it <Jterii ih® «»# a®i tteaa

Just rant«d a mac. Of momm* t «loa*t -ksDw be« i t i* rfi^ ye» r«Bt a

e«rf ^b«th«fr you €«a hove i t sM®tr»ek@i aad •№« mm of i t , I

know. Many times thoj iarvit@d guests to the prtmt® car for

or for lunebeon.

That could have been OH account of th@m using th© railroad

oars.

It

Mr, Ford enjoyed golag to Hew York while Mr. Plantiff was

living. He w.s the most interesting asa to knovj he knew ever so

interesting things to do. Mr, and Mrs. Plantiff always entertained

Mr. and Mrs, Ford. They were just kind. They wowldnH pot the® up

at their house, hit they would just show th«a armmi, Mr. Plantiff

di©d before he left the company. Mrs. ELaatiff kept it tip till the

very @ad.

1 have hemn in Mr. and Mrs. Ford's smite at th© Eita-Gsrltoa.

It had two bedrocsss, two bathrooms mid a sitting rom. It «&s very

nice. I stayed there for a f@w day» with Mr. and Mrs. Ford, sad she

said, *le« mm. tern® Wt» Fork's XQOBU41

1 sever accanjjaaied Mrs. Ford t© & v York except oa those

few times we went dowa South, She often took her relatives alosg,,

sni then Mr. tvatA alleys took hia secretary. They vooU take Mr, and

Mrs. Plckert on thss© tri|»* Tlisey want very often yfoea Mrs* Ford weal

to Nev York.

Mr. and Mrs. Ford used to stop at tit® terry Schools either

on the way down or back from Georgia.

t t • ' .

They always did. 1 remember tAen Mrs. tmA took m down there

fosr the first time, before their a@w home was bui l t . 1 donH

but I think I t was tiie second year I was a t Cherry Hill* We stopped

at the Berry School oa the way hcsa®. That time Mr. Ford gave about

11,000,00c to the Bsrry Schools. He vas very generous. They thisk a

iGt of him down there.

rarmsomI don't Hiink the ford Motor Gaamny s«ni@ flotar down there

aujôre. They'v© dons sway vitJi I t . fb@j used to seM m lo t of flour,

e t c . , down to the school.

Li

Mrs. Ford vas very imidb interested in til® Berry Schools, bat

1 think Mr. Ford %*as the most generoujj to

Mr.- Fo»i dM a 1c* of tMagii iadtoMftly^ fer tfae tery Schools

that Mrs. Ford didn' t know about. He used to m i that a l l that floor

and so forth -ms sent down a l l the time* X thiak i t v»a ft staiadiag

order. Mrs, Ford knew he wsed to n&nd i t do^m, laat I 've forgotten

they really did teke now,

LI

The girl** dorraitory and i ta iag rooa are just like a church,

tha t nas a gift from Mr». Foti .

Mr. and Mrs. Ford did not always stay en their ps*ivat« car,

the "Fair Lane," when they went -to v i s i t the Berry Schools. They often

. 62 -

stayed a t a cottage, Bven If w» just stayed from Bowling t i l l night*

they wmld go I s the cable to rest up. Mrs. Ford told Be theis that

when they did stay, th® c&bin i s t&«r» they stayed. When 1

doim tilth 'Mr. aaft lira, Fosul* they d i d s t stay ovwolght*

early in th« aoraing, and we 'left l a t e a t night.

Going back to the ear, a l l the ây frcia the school to the /i

gate •— I ^hirite I t H two I U M — ttM» hoy* ana g i r l s w©ra «-feM^l^ on /

©ither gMe of the road with caudles aiad %f©re s i t i n g , "God B© MitfeI

You f i l l We Meet Again." I t i « i s isost ismnsss&v® sight. j

I saM to Krai, yord, "that m» too «oeh for CMB® 4 ^ » # ^J

Miss Bes^y and Mrs. Banxy, her secretary, were op fees*© %

coiiple of tiiBfes. Miss Berry was a guest here, X think, in. 1915 ow 1934*

Tli©n she utat uj> to Huron Mountain with hm niece, Miss Caa|*®ll.

Virginia Campbell was & ir«ry be«iti.ful girl* Mr*. Campbell di^J mm

jmm ago. Mrs. Campbell sM Miss Berry vera s i s te rs , Miss Beiry hsd

flv® s i s te r s . Miss Berry and Miss Caspbe&l vmt «p to Hsiroa Mcmutaia

for A vmk vdth Mr, aai Mrs. Ford. They eajojed i t very

Ther® was another lady who used to earn up here ft^s Berxy

School, who was Miss Wingo.

Lt

Sh« was one of tfe© teachers, I think one of the f i r s t

teachers who started otit with Mis a Berry. She used to cease to the Ford

-43-

Banpltal , Mra. Ford fead givm law firee treatment. I cfoa-H know

i&tettacr »b# ,diad o r n o t ,

TBCKFSOKt

She wsk» kind of a- stoat lady*

Mrs., Ford and Mlas Berry got aloag a l l r i ^ i t . I recal l

I was %rit!t ttMot ttsat Kr» F o ^ tts«I t o ^> arf ^ I s l t the

Mrs. FoM stayed idtb Miss 8errj, fte№ m® always afternoon tea ia

tte« Btiry «;«»ioa i^^» a?reii5*<^ fathers wi^j Mls« Bsapfy ani 'trimuSm

Every day at quarter to eleven, th&y have a fifteen miaat©

cimpstl service. Th© boys eoa® I s froa one side and the g ir l s frcia

another, and as soon at they reach the church steps, on© boy m& onm

girl join and mxdh. in together, the g i r l s push back their basnets.

tlMjf eoaduei Hhm- matwim: tbmMfibnm*

Mr» Fotsi did «j«it© a b i t of char i ty wwk» Mere so ttowi .Hr««

Ford, and b© entered i t

Of course, Ms -work was don© indirectly. Ther© w©re « lo t

of things h® did ia that lisa® that Mrs. Ford didn' t know ai^thing about.

Li

Mrs* lead ^«s more earwfcl • .•te h«r iwsiMf and p«>te.b3j wml&

not have approved.

Jbtr

I Itnow ha brought up a couple of ftwilies £&«&

and he ha€ aoi© of these -white people arouni baann *•» %hlt@

they called then ctewa there. They were right fro© th® 'back of th®

woods, One t iae he browght a Âu&e family «p h«E^f a«rf put $bm ia .

one .of the houses on Ford Road and kspfc ft nurse for tfeesa. Ths childr®a

^ t i t e d a t Fcari Bosidtaal a l l of the t i ^ * Ss ,g®f» tt© isaa a Jab

a t tlia plsoat* EvfjntuHlly they just pined for the Georgia woods

and vanft tka^: there* They left h®r«, ai^ wh@n they got down there,

-je hsard that t>ie nan got ao drank that lie laid oat in tJie woods

dis^. I® was a heavy drialcer.

While I wa« ia tit© hospital eoeoe yemm ag8# sone of

cMldrea v«re there taking t rea tses t . The Qrdmly «®SM ae eboat th ie

yoang boy especially. 8e told a t ab<»t oae tMibridteal 'easel he-

Just a y«uag b<^ aboat tea* There «a# •f?<«e | « i « f i t t ing ea a

th« las t day he came for Ms treatment. After ho got his treatment,

he tesa®d a«t«aa to th# orderly aM »ai4j, -*№«t| Wo corn i&dakft*-

Whea Mr. aai Mrs. Pos€ were togetherv they woulct esrry oa

ft general eonversatIon. They probably tslked about SOB©tiling on the

outside, l e might t e l l her something that mm goit^ on or what he mm

doing a t the plant. I f he ever asked hm &dvie© a beat anything a t th©

plant, they never disaissed i t a t the table — they may have discussed

i t among tha»a«l?»s.

Most of the tine wh©» >%•. Ford vaa active, he vould leave

-65-

early in the aorning, and cam hmm a»S t e l l her j t » t vfcerft fee- had

been and tihat he'd teen planning* For exaispi©, a few years- ego wtasa

Mr. Ford ma active on the d y a d i c kernels yfceat expsrSjieBt, he wouM

t e l l her a l l aixsit lt« Mrs, feM w fery widt Interested In i t*

fe. a»4 Mrs..- Ford W W M B H joke a t tb» tatMl® too BRt«b.» t o t

uiiea th^r *.«re s i t t i n g «x*oand« l r , f«rd nl^ttt t a l l Mm, Pcnpt a |ok@

or sorwthlnc he heard nsd thonight %seu5 funny, Octmsionally he wctild

play a practical joke on her. For exar?^le? on April Fool*s Day (I

always had papers dated bade ten years) I woniM s l i p v®s*y old news*

papers out to !x>th of them and he wcmld hand i t on to her, A l o t of

tixms Mrs, Ford would be reading the paper before she caught on. Mr*

Ford need to do those >:ind of things al?w of the i i a e . He «as a

great -practical joker.

In general, I would say ther« wasn't much difference in

UmAx personal i t ies . They *êre rawtty ve i l suited to each other.

They sever argraed about l i t t l e things airo«ind the house. Whatever Mrs

Ford said or did around the house was okay with him. There i s no

question about the fact that she dominated him in l i t t l e tilings,

BOHI Rl

. . . pa r t i cu la r ly in matters of the household. His favorite

phrase was* "Bgae© a t aay -rariee,*

YHCMfSOSt

-66-

I rmmbmr several years ago when Mr. and Mrs. Ford were

do*m 1 B Georgia with lady Aster, I&dy Astor would talk to Mr. Ford

she was straight free the shoulder —• and she asked his down there

once, "Who is the boss around here?"

He said, "You know who the boss isI 2 don't have to tell you!

Mr. Ford m s contpletely confident, I didn*t notice aay

change in his moods, any varying frm day to day, except after he had

his sickness. Then at times he was & little oat of sorts aad moody.

H© wanted to do tilings that ho couldn't do. It was hard on hlia because

he was always so aetiire, ~™~~~

U

Mrs. Ford mM not too uneven ia temper.

A lot of times she would drop in os Mr. Ford when he

busy or on his way, and yoa knew sh© dig&iiprQWd of it.

U

If Mrs. Ford «&s irritated at something, sh© wouldnH hold

B. grudge.

I have never seen Mr. Ford irritated. Be was always the

same? always a pleasant person. He vas always a gentleman around Mrs.

Ford.

If Mr. and Mrs. Ford worried Batch, we didn't know it. They

sever worried about little things, for campX** what time tlwgr

were goteg -to start fear a trtf•

U

I often recall when X had to tak© the clothes over to th©

private car. Of course, Mrs. F®3rci took her good old time about

patting tJh® clothes otit for me to pack. I always packed Mrs, Ford1®

things. They would call me and tell me to tarry over because they

didn't want to hold th© train up. Mrs, Ford said, "Let thtsss wait.

When I*K ready, 1*11 giire you the clothes."

I would say she was not too considerate about little things

like that, Mr. Ford was aaich sore considerate. However, cm holidays

she would always give the help permission to go off, whether th«y had

their day off just before or after the holiday or not.

I think Mr. Vm& liked to be aloee oa dlfitore&t occasion**

However, he enjoyed eonpaagr, «q»«iaHy tbe <MMrgra^. I« ntrrar tirsi

of to© ehiMren., i»rt h® w«tM tire of tee® a4olts» w a y mtcb » •

Mr. FISKI vmiM oe perfeotly bafpgr withoat then* He

perfectly content to lay dovn and read the Râdere;* D.ig^t or whatever

he vas read.ing«

Lt

Mrs. Ford said to me once that she mm? felt lonescsae, That

before Mr. Ford passed au»y. After Mr. Ford had passed away, she

-68-

was very lonely. &ft«r Mr. Ford passed away, Mrs. 3Ford dirt not try

to go out in the evening and see sore people than she had before. Sb©

vne content to be alone, though lonesome.

my that the forte wwwi ahy wi'Sh aaw prtepl®, Mr

Ford wa» a little warm r^ssrved, I® would meet you halftey and te

Mr. and Mrs, Ford were a very affectionate

№?.* Ford sore so than Mrs. Ford. 1 guess Mr. Ford showed

i t sK>r®» Often h® WOTM OQH» «ad pat hie saws «rooa^^ h.«r« I r ^ » i l

os® occasion. OH® Sunday afternoon & telephojj® laessage eaê, airf X

was looking ftw Mw. Foal. I ws^ isfe# th» l i t e ^ y , tti ttow® ws«

Mr. fm& s i t t ing on a sbalr, axsd Mrs. Ford stending mart to hla* -It

said, ^ a l l l ® , s i t on ay lap,*

Jfeither of thin MM Jtie, aM instead of t s l l l ag thea the

aeesag©, I wanted to s«« th© outc«»!e of i t arad me If Mrs. Ford would

s i t en Mr. Ford's lap. I really hoped she wmld. № had to repeat

i t four or fif« t lae« 9 «aai jtwt as J6»» Fort^ mutt«il to s i t &®m9 Mr.

Ford looked up, saw me aM said, "Oia, there i s £bhler.H Poor Mrs.

Ford, sh® ja s t ja»|»ri up* % that tin©, I ted ftotfottHi «y t ® l # ^ a e

message.

Urs. ford dSdnH waot anybody to s«« her giv« h«r mfftstias

to Hi» TeariU I s was n a y affectionats. Ibsa h© @m> hose in th® <

comings, he always whistled t e Mrs. Pord, and she always

back.

Mr* f w i would leave decisions and j«dps@sts up to № • • Ford.

OT@r aha said was right. They wotild not aak© a quick decision

m judgasat abowt & person. They noaM protebly think it ov&t and

sake a decision. If th«r© was a case like that, » wouldn't knc^ it.

Until tfea last fm years, № . aad Mrs. Pord both fend

good a№c»ries. They begsu to slip, althotigh mm* Ford neror

that she slipped herself. They both had -<mtj good i»eiaori®s -ap ?mtil

the last f№f years.

1 ctoB*t knew whether № . Ford kaew he was loaing its

or t№&, B it one thiag I think he knew •was that h® m» sick,

he often saidj "I'm * ery sick mm** However he didteH ever

That •was after B I M I * « death aad after his asm 3ictoess.

Mr. Pord took sick Is 1945* and from that tise O E , he vent gradually down.

This flowed Itself both physically a M nsstallft teeans© it s®est@d small

matters ant so such to him. H© worried over th^ss. If Mrs, Ford, said,

B*Jow, «©'re going to A veddiog on such and mask a day,

8 te feept callisg

to aii, sPut out ®y clothes." It v&s even foar or five days is adf&nee.

-70-

I suppose Mr. Ford jus t had nothing e l se to do , and

things worried him,

THCMISONt

We notice*- t h i s a f te r 1945* af te r he took sick when be mm

base.

Mr. Fort got i u to the hab i t of going oa t r id ing ulffat Mr*.

Ford i f she mist efo«ato«s t o do ft l i t t l e shoppiBg* Be would go vitls

her for tii# ricfa. When h® tmm& out he w going oat aaS f l a t Mm*

Ford i*.s going' out l a the afternoon, h@ might cose out and sey t o ss«

"Better get t ha t ear down h®re.a He wmM say t h i s t o OM> in the

morning, a,rtd he wonldn't go out \ m t i l l a t e i n the afteraoon, H© was

so anxious t o be o» %iam, m 1m vmM bo wm&? for htHr»

ftp. Fora becasie more ct«sp®r»<3ent on eWme peopl®, ©specially

Mrs. Ford. Bo would neirer leaim her . H© alvAyg « s behind her , always

along vrith h@r. I t «as a s t e a l a on Mrs., Ford. I t vas sad t o see I t ,

He got so he l iksd to lay tfeva in tJi@ isoraing. Mrs. Ford

didn*t want him t o l ay down — she tented hi® t o sove aroaad. Be t

would get up on the couch, and xix&n he m U hear foots teps , be would fI

j w p up quick aM a i t up to see vho i t wa».

Mrs. Fort would be doling her l e t t e r writing and answering her

mail. He'd go la there and s i t down beside her. I rsnenber one©

X Itagpmtd. to y&Xk into th© row* I t was «TO«B4 luaofctiMU

*^f !•*» tea a buy day.*

3ft m d l say,. •He too* €aKU.»«w

W« «s©d to joto abotst I t # teamiSsg how .asfiiw h® imA tons*

H© was s f i t tag iwaandU. i#*€ IMI SO rastl&ss —• tip ami dtnus —• wp «iA

X oftas vâd0^©d i f h« had pains. W@ mxM saver

That M@ Hit sars^losss PET% afeoat M»» M y t b i ^ cn^ of th©

of rotitina, vmiM eosftis© h te . For ssHspl©? tAwB tbs j

Sooth ttoe las t tat? eg? thr@# tlB®ss in 1946 «s> 1947» l t e s bs «as OR th®

pr iwte gar, h^ csmpl^tmlj forg^l t t e t h« was on ttst privat® M

wasted to go tipstalrs. i i № tlisy e«5« t o ih® b@n»»t i t «as th#

thing, H© «Kmldn*t i MsabOT- that- he had te« ther© b®f©3 »

A few da ys »®s®d, siri ©vexytfilrig waa a l l right agate,

Uta! tee axriiwd at the botxs© 1» Qwvf&i) te eo?ildB«t

Aft€w % tm &%&&* MM mtnd garaduslly beestf» cl®ai

If jm. au^^ Mr* fotsi a^vthing of the i^^â pot9tt

and so forth, hs ecmld vmumhrnt ©TWj'thinf. Aboiit tbe

j w «o«M aay wotild. &t®y in his ntel* His mmarj mewed to be better

abots* tfeii^g th&t hapfjensd a fmy lotsg titas ago, less maM mk Mm

№o mm? yârs bask, and h@ wttM know l t e H® had real bsd

at tl?^3» s a t yots. ew.ild see that h& was g r i m i l y gett lrg

Th© clear maamntB became fewer sad fewer, but sever so that he wouldn't

know you. He always knew us.

fBCIffSOSt

Us would know p&ople frosa the plant. However, there v&s

one tla® when I bad to tern ftomrthlag done her©, and I had to fa*ro

Charlie Voorhess l a her©. Mr. foogtM** said, "iiow do you do, Mr.

Affcwr h# l e f t , Mr. Ford «aM t o an, *$H№ mm th»t mmtm

1 said, "That yas Charlie Voorhess."

He said, *di t j s s | » He hadn't been In contact wltfa him

for & long tire© and had protebl^r 3lip|«K3 up oa him,

Mr. Benjasin Lovett was here vh&n 1 f i r s t eaiae h®pe. I t

eonld &4ave been, as recorded, that Mr. Ford didn' t recogui^ tote

he cane back. B« ia» teek here two or three years aft®r Mr. Ford

died too, because, Mrs. Ford told » arm of th® boys over there got

married, sad they went to the Lovett cottage fear thei r honeymoon.

They lived in th© las t* outside Boston, fbsre i s & possibil ity that

I t might have bmn r ight after one of his sicicaesses, and he probably

didn't recogniss© him.

l a tile las t years of his l i f e , i t eouM be tru« that Mr,

Ford went through a period when his early l i fe appealed to htm more

ard r'iore to remssnber than did the period after he had started the Font

Motor Ccsapai '. We kmv he was different in his l a te r dayg. He*d get

-73 .

his mind set on ft certain statement, bat he didn' t cam oat sad ask

you in a natural way.

Li

Mr. Ford lived more in the past. :

. Mrs. Ford wmM t e l l him i s th© neralAg that she was going

oat in the aftersoon, and i t got to be he'd l lk# to tek« m t r i p with

her, s i t beside h«r in the car just for th© rida. Just soon after

breakfast, i f he knew fe© WM going ©»t, he wcmM erne out and say, ^

t h e r e ' s the car?1* Th© car probably hadn't beea ordered unt i l the

afternoon at two o'clock. He said, BIois better get i a aroiiad her®."!

He thoisght i t m i l be in th© morning a t ten o'clock. lm ecml& t©ll i

him i t wam*t unt i l the afteraooa, and he'd be back again and be back/

again. "Well* you better get him around her©,* h«'d say. S h e ' l l |

b© 4mm in a feu mimites. She ' l l be ready.8 ' .. . . |

I«m just couldn't t rus t Mr. Ford th® las t few years. Re was

eway in his mind. He had moments vhen he was l e t t e r than at other

Maes* AIQT exciteffieuft that mm nx> a b i t more than the usaal tiling

eo&fueec! hte sere .

the aigtot Mr* Ford passed away, that was one of his best days.

You would №V®T have noticed that there was anything wrong

with him, never.

THOMTSOMi

He was normal and bright and cheerful. In the last few years,

he realized that he couldn't do the things he used to do.

is

In his later years, he read very little, Mrs. Ford read

to him. He usually just followed Mrs. Ford around th© house.

THOUfSQIsit

The social activities almost ceased altogether....

BOHLSU

Almost completely. Occasionally some relative would come

over.

In the last few years, Mr. Ford -went out for a rid© with I

Sankin. He perhaps vest out occasionally with Mrs. Ford, the walks

hm used to take stopped.

lit the last few years, there were times when 'be mm®& to f

take an active interest in how young Henry w i coning along running tfee,

\Company. At ttees I overheard Mr. and Mrs. Ford talking together, i

and then the next mimrfce it mm%A slip his Bind. Sov aad then it appear-

1ed that lie could go Just-SUB raich as a t the beginning. | -

.75-

the day Mr. For€ arrive*! \»<k frets hi* last. rl&* with

Rartkin, i t was just, Like any other day. He seessed very well that day*

a very Intell igent t a a . They retired early, 9tOD p»»» ftanaptGa went

down to see the damage done to the pownriieaae. X took <sver. Mr.

Ford ease oat and asked for a glass of s i l k . .Be said, "I sleep so

well a t night i f X teen & gimas of atUk* We're going t o j bed aow»*

X- said, ^He >rent down to the powwtens® to se« the daE^ge.••

Jnst by l i t t l e things like that you could t e l l his Jaind

was far off. They vent to bed, and. I retired to©. X mm l a a deep

sleep when Mrs. Ford krjocked on the door. Mm* Ford ease to my rom,

wok© ise tip sad said, CT1*BI afraid that Mr. Ford se^gjs

had no electr ic l igh t , no heat sod naturally m

She ask©d i f X wo;ildnft go, and Icssk for th© watdhman aad

sesd hia over to the cha«ffearfs homse to g©t Eankin t o get Dr. Mat®er

X vmA oat, scad she said, "Hurry back, and c«se right away to our

bedrooa*" So I did. Wmm 1 got into the roora,. X saw ri^feit mmj that

Mr. Ford was dying.

X jtist didn' t team what to t e l l Mrs. Ford. 8® t as Jsreatfeing

very heavy, and X st^ggested to Mrs. Pord that «m prop bin op higher,

H® was Tiijc««fortable. After w» had given bin another p i l l (^ , he t r iedI$

t o get up in bed, .aid -m \mnt armmA to. the other side ami hftl|3ed him. ;

He wag able to s i t up and he p i t his head on Mrs. Ford's shotilder,

|ust like a *fr»fl chilA, jMm, Ford k»pt saying, *Sesxy» please Bgoak t® «#!• j

After & while %» laid him back, Ms heairy breathiiag ted \|

stopped. Mrs, F«r€ saidt *If only t&» doctor « « M coaej What A© JI

yea think of itf • IIto M m . forff «I think Hr, f<№4 ts lâvi^ «#•* *6r»* /

Ford couldnH grasp it. She seemed as if she ms paralyzed. f

Sit® said, nl think I'd better get dressed before the doctor

comes. l<m stay witik U P . Fori.*

While X watched M E there, h© tried to fold bis haads as if

in prayer.

Will® waiting, 1 could see the change In Mm face, and I

called Mrs. Ford back to his bedside, and she said, "What is Itf* \si

I said, "We'd both l e t t e r stay here now." We both sat on

Mr. Ford's bed and watched MM. 1 loam- i t was Jmtt ft Batter of a fev

mcments.

B® died on his own bed, but we gat on the edge of Mrs, Ford'a

bed, between the two beds. I fe l t bis poise and listened to his heart.

I t -ms just ebbing out* 1 told Mrs. Ford, *1 think h© bag passed away." |

You know & funny thing, that day was ose of Mr. F o r i ^ best |

days. Ha a t * a good Itmeh and «A@ feeling Haft. H« vent doui t o the \

powerhouse —- 2 think u© both went down — and fa® case beck and went

to bed. I took hi© up on the elevator. That was & nightl A

of hoars after that h© died.

ti

Hr» Ford didn't say & word before he wsmt. !tet I

£t sow, because th# doctor smid, "After thsy get a eerebral

are unconscious." ,

Mr. Ford did ask Mrs. Ford irtwm they went up to bed for

he called %ls l i t t l e p i l l , " his sleeping p i l l . He weat to bed,

and Mrs* Ford vas s t i l l fixing her hair asd getting ready for b©d

^j®a h© called for a glass of water,, That was the time 'Mrs. Ford

casse to my r©c« arsd call®i for K®.

The doctor caja© about twenty ®imites after Mr. Ford bad

passed away. 1 s t i l l w&s dcmbtftii i f Mrs. Ford realized that Mr. Ford ;

m* gone, bat Âien the doctor cam©, I net bin ia the M i l ami told I

hi® tha t Mr. Ford had passed a«ay. H® cam© im. moA s a t nsatt t o Mrs.

Ford and s&M, ""Sow1!1® wonder"hil. l<a%® tomvci^* |i

She said, "tfiat else could 1 do? I'Y© got to talc© i t , " iI

Then, of coarse, th© doctor called Mr. Henry and the family f

i

At fotsr o'clock Mr. Ford %ms taken out of the house, sever IiI

to return, because he VB,B laid out ia state at the Masmai until be |i

was buried. I

ffc® H«®inlse©iKses of Miss 9®m Bihley aadi Mr* J.B. U m p

Just Jessies, 9Baabl. 10Barrysore, Lionel, 16

Bassett, Harry, 24

Berry, Kerths, 63*63Berry :3choolB, 60-62

Btngay, Hslcolm, 12Book-C«dillf.c, 32Bryent family, SD-21, 25, 30Burke, Mill®, 16Ceseron, M.J.f 9, 22, 24C«s|»b»n# Vlrgini.fi, 62Ca»plx»ll, № . v 62 (Berry Sehool)Ca^bel l , l%*s., 62 (Berry Sefaosl)C«®ps«ll, Fretfik, 12C«rv»r# George tfaehisgtoa, 11, 30, 40Qmsrj 1 U , 5* 30, 43, 61^ Q | 16*Dr. ,Chrysler, l o i t e r s 24Detroit Free Bresa. 12Detroit ^H£> ^2S«troit Tiaies. 12Duke af Windsor, 22, 24

, Willim C, 24

Village, 16, 52-53, 55,y Ford Hbsssa, 56, 77, TfeaEaa A., Ife

Fair Lsite, ^ j jp^The «F8ir Lene," 61Fats sad Qe^de» Club, ISFord, Benson, 19, 24Ford, Clara, ffffgHifFord, Ca^fte, 21Ford, Ms«lv M» 45

De^th, 20, 69Fair Lame, v i s i t s t o ,

The BoNdnlseeseea of tils* Rose Bahler and tftr.

Ford,Marriage, 33

Ford, Heary, ^ffiFord, Henry I I , 19, 24Ford, Josephimt, 19, 34Fordi, Mfers* Benson, 24Ford, knxn®9 24Ford, UUlira, 21Ford, Hilli«« Clay, 19,Fester, Bsul, 4 , 39Foster, Stephen, 16Gaukler fbiat, 20$&m With t ^ Wkyi. 11Good ¥111 Industries, 55

Qrwad Gentaral T«ndaal9 59Grey, Fferold, 12Gross® Point© lsple>p«miGposse iblnt® Qsrdeti Club, 23

, (cook) 5Mrich,« 9

T M Hospital, 64Henry, lass , 62Badges, Mrs, Chsrlss. 4-5«-'46Hofft№«, Urs., (BJCA), 27

Ibovsr, Herbert, 22, ftps, fterbsrt, 22

Berae with tl^s ilreen %»a#* 14*I*11 Take ton &«© Again, WrtOmm,*I w s , Barl, 16"Jiggs,* 12Jojte^jr B^ ,jj T . 14tady Astor, 66Lsudou, Alfred, 22Lewis, Ted, 1.8Liader, ftmerd, 32" U t t l s Orwell Airni©,* 12loirett, Benjaain^ 72la tes , Dells, 10

12Ohanreh, 55

, 8Meteor, Dr., Joto G«, 75

-79-

fit® Hsmirsiseenoea of Mlsa Ease Bahler e»i Mr. <!•&•

Index

Mstthew Brotliers,, 53

McClure, Hrs. Koy, 26, 29MeOuffey Societies, ISIhgt, Bishop lMt№9 22, 29fieg®( Blrs« Bet Ty 29Plclcert, Colonel (Detroit Chief of %li<m)» 19*n.^^s%y №*&•£ 60meamt, Gsston, 69Plantlff, Mery Him* 16, 29, 60

f 'Brs^ 20Site," t

n, Hobsrt ? 7-4-75Readar'a Digest. 12-11, 67^ S Cross, l i "Richaond Fiill, ?, 21, 27-29Mts-Csrltoc, mt 60Soger, Cporier in private

f 5

Sibley, Miss,

Sitting f^flte 15SLosa, Alfred C,, 24

, Clsrs, 21» Charles, 24

f, 49

Charles, 72, Rex, $5

, 46 (dress6

Inn,

t 15*Wbo Tter&v tfo& Overalls In l^*s. Murphy1 a Chester,'* 24

g , Kiss (iterry tlnhools),World Series, 16

Documents

The Reminiscences of Miss Rosa Buhler and Mr. J. D. Thompson