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<\/a>Eventually, the end came, as it does for everyone. But in a way, Henry had died several years before. The first blow occurred when his son, Edsel, died in 1943. And the penultimate blow came when he suffered a severe stroke in 1945, which affected his cognitive powers.<\/p>\n
Author Henry Dominguez wrote: \u201cMy book The Last Days of Henry Ford started out to be the story of Henry Ford\u2019s last day. But I decided to expand it to cover the year before his death, the viewing and the funeral after his death, and the death of his widow, Clara, three years later. The week surrounding his death would have made an interesting story, but I wanted to give the reader a sense of who Henry Ford was, what he had become during the end of his life, and how his wife carried on after he was gone. Some of this material has been written about before in articles or a few pages of a book, but never in such detail.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my 40 years of studying Ford history, I have known that there is plenty of material available pertaining to Henry Ford\u2019s last day. Interviews of Ford employees conducted in the 1950s provide some of that material, particularly the Reminiscences of Robert Rankin, Henry and Clara\u2019s driver, who spent most of that last day with Ford. But it was the interviews of Floyd Apple, a worker at the powerhouse at Fair Lane (the Ford estate), and of Rosa Buhler, the Fords\u2019 maid, that provided the almost hour-by-hour account of Henry Ford\u2019s last hours. Both of those series of interviews were conducted by Ford aficionado Richard Folsom, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Buhler lived in the mansion with the Fords, and was in the Fords\u2019 bedroom with Clara when Henry died. She told Folsom the sad story in great detail.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the more important events that Henry Ford attended in the year before his death was The Automotive Golden Jubilee, in May 1946\u2014a weeklong event that the city of Detroit put on to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Charles Brady King and Henry Ford taking their first cars out on their maiden voyages. Not much has been written about that extravaganza, but the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC) at the Detroit Public Library has a vast set of newspaper accounts, publications, and photographs pertaining to the Jubilee. Interestingly, in the accounts of the 1946 Jubilee, these records were made for posterity and were intended to be listened to 50 years later, for the automobile\u2019s 100th anniversary, in 1996. But they had been forgotten, and were not listened to for 65 years, until April 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cThe information that these records held in their valleys and grooves turned out to be precious to my research. In crystal clear quality, a reporter can be heard giving a minute-by-minute account of the awards ceremony at the Jubilee. If all of my work on this book had come to naught, just listening to that recording would have made all my effort worthwhile. Fortunately, it didn\u2019t turn out that way, and I was able to describe Henry Ford\u2019s last major public appearance in my chapter on the Jubilee.\u201d<\/p>\n During a Detroit city council meeting in March 1946, the idea was brought up to celebrate the city\u2019s sesquicentennial along with the one-year anniversary of the end of World War II and the 50th anniversary of the automobile in Detroit. While the city\u2019s birthday and the end of the war were included, the celebration ended up concentrating on the automobile, since the motorcar industry had become such a powerhouse for the region.<\/p>\n The city council appointed former Detroit Mayor Edward Jeffries as Honorary Chairman of the Jubilee Committee and they allocated $1 million to stage the event, which they called The Automotive Golden Jubilee.<\/p>\n On the evening of Friday, May 31, an event occurred that would never be duplicated again. For the first and last time, 14 pioneers of the automobile industry were brought together so that their contributions could be recognized and celebrated. Fortunately, the event was held then, and not one or two years later, for by then most of these men were gone. Already, a number of famous pioneers had died. Henry Leland, founder of both Cadillac and Lincoln, had died in 1932, at the age of 89. Walter Chrysler had died in 1941, at the age of 63. Benjamin Briscoe, president of the Briscoe-Maxwell Motor Company, had died in 1945, at the age of 78. James Couzens, one of the original 12 stockholders of the Ford Motor Company, had died over a decade before.<\/p>\n A few automotive pioneers were, however, still around, and they were all brought to the majestic Masonic Temple that evening to celebrate their accomplishments and to be inducted into the newly created Automotive Hall of Fame: Edgar Apperson, Frank Duryea, George Holley, Charles Brady King, Frank Kwilinski (factory worker), Charles Nash, Barney Oldfield, Ransom Olds, Charles Snyder (an early dealer), John Van Benschoten (another early dealer), John Zaugg (another factory worker) and, of course, Henry Ford. General Motors founder William Durant and then-chairman Alfred P. Sloan were also to be recognized, but regrettably both were ill and could not attend. One-by-one they were dying off, these men who had created a great industry and put America on wheels. Henry must have felt fortunate to have outlasted most of them.<\/p>\n All of the pioneers were assigned an escort to guide them through the activities of the day. Henry\u2019s escort was his own grandson, Henry II. Dinner was to start at 6:30 p.m. in the Fountain Room of the Masonic Temple. Before that, however, all of the pioneers were taken to a smaller room next door to sign special white cards, from which their signatures would be emblazoned on a bronze plaque for posterity. One by one, the pioneers entered the room, anxious to sign their card so they could spend more time reminiscing with their fellow pioneers. The room was full of chatter when everyone suddenly noticed that one of them was missing. Where was Henry Ford?<\/p>\n Then they heard the door open, and there was Henry, on the arm of his grandson, slowly walking in. Everyone stopped talking, as if there had been a call to order, and there was an awkward silence.<\/p>\n It took King only a matter of seconds to recognize the situation. He raced across the room with his hand out, saying, \u201cHi, ya, Hank!\u201d Everybody was dumbfounded\u2014and Henry II was a little perturbed\u2014for no one ever called Henry Ford \u201cHenry,\u201d let alone \u201cHank.\u201d But King had known Henry before he had become rich and famous, and he had called him Hank back then, so he saw no reason to change.\u00a0Henry smiled and shook King\u2019s hand. \u201cHello, Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n The pioneers were just catching up when they were asked to make their way to the Fountain Room for the tribute dinner. The room was jammed to capacity with automotive executives, government officials, and close friends.<\/p>\n \u201cI went on into the dinner with Henry Ford on one side of me and Charles King on the other,\u201d recalled Holley. \u201cMr. Ford didn\u2019t seem to have the memory that he had ten years before that period, but he recognized different people that evening. He still had a humorous side.\u201d<\/p>\n The pioneers were directed to a long table and sat in alphabetical order. Henry sat between Frank Duryea and George Holley. While he had never met Duryea before (although he certainly knew of him), he and Holley were friends from way back.<\/p>\n Henry passed on dinner, ordering only two glasses of milk. And when the waitress asked Holley what he wanted to drink, he ordered milk as well.\u00a0\u201cHere we are,\u201d Ford told Holley, \u201ctwo old buddies growing old, and drinking milk together.\u201d\u00a0Holley laughed.<\/p>\n Then the finale began. The conductor struck up the orchestra, lights flooded the stage, and the curtain rose. The audience\u2019s applause was thunderous as the 14 pioneers came into the spotlight. They were seated in alphabetical order on a dais, on either side of which were the present executives of the various automobile and truck manufacturers. For the next two hours, the pioneers were paid homage before an admiring audience.<\/p>\n The MC for the evening was the Automobile Manufacturers Association president (and future American Motors president) George Romney who said: \u201cAfter each individual citation is read\u2026, and I\u2019m going to ask each of the pioneers to stand as his name is called, and stand while the citation is being read, and remain standing until our beloved friend and great benefactor, General William S. Knudsen, presents them with their individual award\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Then it was Henry\u2019s turn. He was the pioneer that the entire audience had been waiting to see. Romney stepped up to the microphone: \u201cMr. Henry Ford! Will you stand up, Mr. Ford?\u201d As Henry slowly stood up, recalled Robert Rankin, he was \u201cgreeted by a thunderous ovation as the capacity audience rose to their feet. I looked up to see if the roof was going to go off!\u201d<\/p>\n When Knudsen walked over to the dais and handed the master of mass production the award. In his typical fashion, Henry did not say a word\u2014not even \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n As the ovation continued, Romney pleaded with the audience to let him go on. Finally, everyone settled down and allowed the show to continue. But the rest of the presentations were anticlimactic compared to Ford\u2019s. The committee should have seated the pioneers so that Ford was last. As it was, the remaining 11 pioneers were upstaged by Henry Ford once again.<\/p>\n After his own presentation was over, Henry quickly lost interest. He \u201ckept looking at his watch,\u201d said Rankin, wondering how much longer this was going to take. He didn\u2019t mean to be disrespectful; it was just that \u201che was a restless man. He wanted to be going all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n The highlight of the evening, at least for the pioneers, was the reception after the awards ceremony, when they would get to spend some time with each other. Except for Apperson, Duryea and Nash, Henry was well-acquainted with the other pioneers. He was alert again after the awards ceremony, and he was delighted to talk with his old friends, Oldfield, Holley, King and Olds.<\/p>\n The last time he had seen Barney Oldfield was at the 1932 Indianapolis 500 race. Oldfield had had a cigar in his mouth then, and he had a cigar in his mouth now. Henry walked up to him and shook his hand.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Barney,\u201d he said, \u201cI made you, and you made me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Henry,\u201d Barney replied, ashes dropping off his cigar, \u201cold 999 made us both.\u201d<\/p>\n Tall, lithe and nattily dressed, Charles Brady King was a healthy 77-year old. He was seated on the other side of George Holley, and all through the awards presentation he could be seen leaning across Holley, talking to his old friend, Henry. Obviously, there was so much the two could have reminisced about that evening, and they would not have much time after the ceremony, with Henry talking to the other pioneers. Unlike Henry\u2019s other friends on the dais that night, King had kept in touch with him over the years. Whenever he saw Henry\u2019s name in the newspaper, announcing another one of his accomplishments, King would write him a congratulatory letter.<\/p>\n After building his first motorcar, King went into business building marine engines. After several years, he sold the business to Ransom Olds, who hired him to oversee production. In 1902, King joined the Northern Manufacturing Company\u2014makers of the Northern automobile\u2014as its chief engineer. He held that position for six years, and then spent two years in Europe, studying art and automotive design. When he returned to Detroit in 1911, he founded the King Motor Car Company, and produced his namesake motor car for five years. He did quite well in the automobile business, and in 1924 bought a large estate in upstate New York, living a life of leisure.<\/p>\n In 1929, King had read about the magnificent museum and village that Henry had built, and made plans for a trip to Dearborn to partake in their grand opening festivities that October. While he was in town, he planned to see the old Bagley Avenue house where he had been the witness to automotive history.<\/p>\n Before building the Quadricycle, Henry had built a rudimentary gasoline engine so that he could prove the operation that he had only read about in magazines. He made it out of a piece of metal pipe and other scraps of metal, and mounted everything to a board. When it was ready on Christmas Eve 1893, he asked King to come over to help him start it for the first time.<\/p>\n Clara was displeased. It was Christmas Eve and it was late. Couldn\u2019t Henry wait at least until tomorrow to test it?<\/p>\n Henry could not wait. He and King carried the rudimentary engine into the kitchen, clamped it to the sink, and got electricity for the \u201cignitor\u201d from the light receptacle hanging above the sink. Then Henry spun the flywheel while King carefully poured gasoline into the engine. It would pop, spit fire out the intake, and blow smoke throughout the house. Henry had thought that it would start up right away, but it took them well into Christmas morning before they were able to get the little engine running with any consistency.<\/p>\n Clara finally gave up. Edsel was too wide awake and excited now to get him to sleep,\u00a0so she took him upstairs and they played\u00a0together.<\/p>\n An hour later, Henry and King finally got the engine to run smoothly, and Henry was elated. Now he could turn to building a horseless carriage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was his first gasoline engine,\u201d King\u00a0recalled, and that\u2019s why King wanted to find the house again.<\/p>\n When he wrote Henry of his plans to visit the house, Henry wrote back, \u201cThere is no picture or record of this house. It was torn down and destroyed and nothing left. The Michigan Theater is on the site. I have a small photo of the small shop in rear, and that is all. The house had a second story. I remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n King asked Henry for a copy of the photograph of the shop.<\/p>\n \u201cC\u2019mon out and get what we have,\u201d Henry replied.<\/p>\n When King arrived at what had once been 58 Bagley Avenue, it appeared that Henry was correct: the old homestead had been torn down. But then King went around to the back of the theater and was surprised to see the old house standing there! The historic building had not been torn down after all, but simply moved from Bagley Avenue to Grand River Avenue. The front parlor of the old house had been turned into a \u201cmodern store front,\u201d\u00a0recalled King, but the back of the house\u00a0remained as it had been when the Fords\u00a0lived there.<\/p>\n When King realized this, memories began flooding through his mind. \u201cBefore me was that kitchen where we tested the first little\u00a0engine into the small hours of the morning,\u201d he recalled. King well understood the significance of what had taken place there: \u201cWhat<\/p>\n if Wreford was unable to collect the rent, and what if Strelinger\u2019s tool bill had not been paid?\u201d But Henry did pay his bills, and was able to complete his Quadricycle, \u201cand with it came riches such as no one man ever knew before,\u201d recalled King.<\/p>\n For the next few days, King made detailed architectural drawings of the old Ford home, and took them to show Henry.<\/p>\n \u201cI have found Bagley Avenue!\u201d King\u00a0exclaimed.\u00a0\u201cI can\u2019t believe it!\u201d Henry said.<\/p>\n In time, Henry bought the brick from the old home, replacing it with new brick, and used the original brick to recreate the little coal shed workshop on the grounds of Greenfield Village.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was luck in every brick of old 58 Bagley!\u201d exclaimed King.<\/p>\n \u201cYes!\u201d replied Henry.<\/p>\n That was the last time King had seen Henry until the night of the Jubilee. King never begrudged Henry\u2019s success. \u201cI knew him as an engineer in the Edison power plant,\u201d he recalled, \u201cand I know him as one who later associated with the highest authorities, here and abroad. To me, he is the same Henry Ford of simple taste, direct action and forceful thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n Of all the pioneers present that evening, Henry probably admired Ransom Olds the most. If it hadn\u2019t been for some unfortunate business decisions that Olds had made early on, and just plain bad luck, his name could have been the four-letter word that became synonymous with the low-priced car for the masses. Henry and Olds were not close friends, but they had kept in touch over the years.<\/p>\n Tonight, the bespectacled Olds, short and stocky, with thin white hair and white mustache, looked good for a man of 82 years. He was sporting that perpetual smile for which he was famous, thrilled to be honored for his accomplishments and near-accomplishments.<\/p>\n While Henry was diligently building the Quadricycle, Olds was already in business, building gasoline engines\u2014not for automobiles, but for marine use. Two months after Henry had taken his Quadricycle for its first ride, Olds had driven his first gasoline-powered motorcar; and just a few months later, the Olds Motor Vehicle Company was founded.<\/p>\n By the end of 1897\u2014almost two years before Henry had started his first business\u2014Olds had sold ten vehicles. \u201cI have made a careful study of the business for a great many years,\u201d he said, \u201cand predict that the automobile business will be one of the greatest industries that the country has ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n By early 1900, the company, now called the Olds Motor Works, had a new plant, probably the first building in the United States constructed specifically for the manufacture of motorcars, on the outskirts of Detroit on Jefferson Avenue. \u201cThe Largest Automobile Factory in the World\u201d read the sign atop the building, in which a hundred men were employed.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>The award that each pioneer was about to receive was called the Charles Clifton Award, named after the late president of Pierce-Arrow. It was a 14-inch-tall aluminum statue of a man holding a wheel in one arm and two motorcars in the other, with the words The Genius of Man, His Mind and His Work inscribed on the base. The modern car looked like a 1940s Buick, while the antique car looked like Henry\u2019s Quadricycle. But more surprising, the figure looked suspiciously like a young Henry Ford! It\u2019s unlikely that the old man missed the resemblance.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cWhat a tribute!\u201d recalled Rankin. \u201cI thought to myself, What a tribute! I wanted to go out and holler!\u201d On their way to the event, Henry and Rankin had talked about what he should or should not do during the award presentation.\u00a0\u201cDo I have to give a speech?\u201d Henry asked.\u00a0\u201cNo,\u201d Rankin replied. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to talk.\u201d\u00a0Henry was relieved. He had never been good at talking before a large audience. \u201cHe was very shy, very backward,\u201d explained Rankin, \u201cand I don\u2019t know why. He could take his place with anyone. He could talk on any subject.\u201d Yet, on this night of nights, he resorted to his typical fashion and said nothing. But the smile on his face said it all\u2014he seemed pleased, even though he wasn\u2019t quite sure what was going on.<\/p>\n<\/a>Henry nodded in agreement.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cMrs. Ford would come into the kitchen complaining,\u201d recalled King. All the racket was keeping Edsel awake, and she was afraid that the fumes would harm him. \u201cI\u2019ll give her credit for giving a very definite statement, but we were so busy and anxious, we couldn\u2019t stop for words.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>