9-24-2021 Ann Arbor, MI

 

Toonie time at the KOA on
Greenfield Lake

It’s hard to know just exactly where we are.  The name of our park is KOA Ann Arbor/Detroit.  The address is Ypsilanti or Ann Arbor, depending on who you ask.  In any case, we found our spot, even though the office was closed, there was no staff in sight, it was raining, cloudy, muddy and nasty.  It has been raining nearly steadily since we boarded the SS Badger on September 20^th.  All last night it sounded like marbles falling on the roof.  But today, Friday, it finally broke and we got blue sky and sunshine, at last!  We emerged to find that our site is just feet from pretty Greenfield Lake where ducks, geese and swans swim.  An absolutely fantastic, serene and tranquil park.  What a lucky find!

Serenity on Greenfield Lake

 

Our attractions for today are the Ford F 150 Factory (where our BFT was built) and The Henry Ford Museum.  Photography was only allowed in certain places and none whatsoever in their apparently top-secret factory.  One of the first places to which we were taken on the tour was a glass room up top where we could get an aerial view of the factory, or at least part of it. 

Ten and a half acres of green roof

The “green roof” on the buildings is a 10.5 acre garden of sedum, a succulent plant that can absorb millions of gallons of water.  This layer keeps the factory up to 10 degrees cooler in the summer and 10 degrees warmer in the winter.  One whole section of the factory will begin production of electric vehicles in about a month.  

Paint fume recovery stacks

The many stacks we saw capture paint fumes (instead of blowing them into the air) and they are processed  to help power the paint factory.  The entire complex, more than 2,000 acres, was purchased by Henry in 1915 for $12M ($325M today).  It was marshland but Henry, a visionary, thought he could make it usable.  Today’s factories are standing on the wooden pilings he used to stabilize the land.

 

Continuing on, we were herded up to a deck around the perimeter of the final assembly line where we could look down to watch.  It was fascinating.  Everything is fully-automated and each truck is on its own “skillet” where it can be raised and lowered, depending on what the assembler needs to do his particular job.  Robots are everywhere and two of these monsters await each truck as it comes around on its skillet and stops.  The robots each have a windshield in their claws and they articulate and install the glass in seconds using a series of lasers.  It is hypnotic, almost bizarre, to watch.  The factory is bright, clean and state-of-the-art.  Henry Ford was always innovating and was unhappy with the fact that it took 12 hours to build a Model A.  He visited other factories and saw the moving production line and decided to copy this model thinking, “Why have the mechanic move to the work?  Why not have the work move to the mechanic?”  Well, he succeeded with this innovation, creating the moving line (at Ford) and brought the assembly of a Model A down to 93 minutes.  The factory we observed today exceeds Henry’s wildest dreams, I am quite sure.  Today, one shift turns out 12,500 F150s per day.

 

After the factory tour, we had tickets to visit The Henry Ford Museum.  An astounding collection of artifacts is housed in this facility.  In many cases, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  This is another place that would cause old Henry to beam and burst with pride.  It is so immaculate and richly done that it is reminiscent of the White House.  This is a breathtaking experience, not to be missed.

Stagecoach - original

Look familiar?

This DC-3 was built in 1939.  It
logged 84,875 hours and flew
12 million miles.  It was donated to
the museum by North Central Airlines.
My sister Bootsie might have been
a stew on this airplane!

Do you think Henry's wife drove a
Ford?  Wrong!  She drove this 1914 Detroit
Electric car.  Women liked these.  They 
didn't require a crank to start them
and had no transmission that they
had to try to shift.

Noobee's predecessor?

The Allegheny locomotive, the second
built in Ohio.  This beast weighs
1,202,000 lb.  It could haul 160 coal 
cars weighing 27 million lb.
Can you believe they scrapped all but
this one?!  To get it into the museum,
they had to take the doors off the 
building.

Abe Lincoln was murdered
while sitting in this rocking chair
at the Ford Theater.

1970 VW Bus.  Another predecessor
of Noobee

1927 Model A, cost $630

1903 Model A

A "Gem" Grain Grader from 1899.
It sorted seeds for planting or to sell.
This model was advertised in a
1916 catalogue for $9.50.

What else?  The gorgeous 1956 T-Bird!

 

1958 Edsel.  

Just your everyday-need flywheel.
How did they make this thing?!
And how did they get it into
the museum?!

The limo JFK was riding in when he
was murdered.

Henry's "kitchen sink engine" that he
clamped to the kitchen sink.  His wife
Clara pumped gas into the intake valve
while Henry wired the spark plug to an
overhead light.  It coughed to life.
This is what Henry was doing on
Christmas Eve, 1893.

Not such a proud moment in the
legacy of our USA.  But a part
of our history, nonetheless. 

The Henry Ford Museum

Beautiful entryway!  Is this
the White House?!

Snow plow.  This much snow?
Nope.  I'm outta here!

Built in 1831.  The DeWitt Clinton 
stagecoach train using real stagecoach bodies
for the cars.  First working steam 
locomotive in NY state, traveling 17 mi.

When he was 19, a neighbor asked
Henry if he could get this steam engine
working.  Of course, he did.
And the rest is history.

Insulation braiding machine from 1885
with 16 spools of thread.  This machine
wove threads around
electric wires that were already covered
with rubber giving them an added layer
of insulation.

We all know what this is!

We wrapped up our day with a cocktail at sunset on the lake shore and watched the beautiful birds float by.  It is now Saturday morning and can you guess? It’s raining.  We packed up and are heading for Fort Wayne and once again, we get some Kraus family time. 

Serene Greenfield Lake in Detroit or
Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti...