Posts Tagged greenfield village
There was a Grimm celebration at Greenfield Village today when descendants of jeweler Engelbert Grimm came from near and far to meet in front of his store to kick off their family reunion. The actual reunion is tomorrow, but many had the opportunity to meet today at the well-love artifact for a photo opportunity in front of "great-grandpa's" store. The charming little building, designed by architect Peter Dederichs, Jr., was built in the late 1880s and moved to the Greenfield Village in 1940.
Engelbert Grimm was a German immigrant who ran the store for 45 years. He offered mass-produced, inexpensive jewelry and watches to Detroit-area residents. He and his family resided on the second floor. Henry Ford enjoyed visiting the store and talking to the store owner about fixing watches and working with machinery.
The family members meeting today were related to Engelbert's daughter Marie. Marie had eight children, the seventh and only surviving is Josephine (née Lefevre) Smith, who will soon celebrate her 95th birthday.
It was fun watching some family members introduce themselves because they either hadn't yet met, or it had been years since they laid eyes on each other. As one told me with a wink, "After 50 years, some folks look a little different."
Some had photo albums in hand and were eager to show Josephine to share or learn more family history.
Family members came from California, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey and Michigan.
Josephine's daughter Cheryl Koeh said at her mother's 90th birthday, the discussion came up that it would be nice for family to come together for an occasion other than just weddings and funerals. They began planning for the reunion far enough in advance to give time for out-of-state relatives to arrange to make the trip. This is their largest family gathering.
More than 60 relatives met for the fun and a the photo op. They even welcomed the knowledgeable presenter at the shop to be part of their family photo.
In addition to the big group photo, families captured their own mementos of the event.
Colette and Dick Sheridan had last visited Greenfield Village 55 and 60 years ago, respectively. They are both Michigan natives and used to come to the village quite frequently. Colette said when she was young, her mother always sent her for visits to the village when company came to town. The Sheridans said that the village had changed a lot since their last visits, but they also agreed there were so many parts that seemed the same. They've long been California residents and were happy to travel to Michigan for the reunion. Four of their eight children were able to make the trip, too.
Even the youngest of the family enjoyed a look through the store. The displays show items that would have been sold in the shop near the turn of the century.
This little guy, Jonathan, decided to see if he knew the combination to the safe.
The weather was just right, and the mood was festive. By the smiles and laughter I heard, I'm sure many of the family would agree, it was a great day to be a part of the Grimm family.
events, Detroit, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village
Last week The Henry Ford posted this photo its Facebook timeline and asked friends for clues to identify what artifact it depicted. There were some crafty replies.
Some clues related to the artifact’s location in Greenfield Village, others to its former and current functions, others to its name. Examples of some of the clues are:
A few clues made fortune-telling references, perhaps connecting some of the artifact’s similarities to the wagon Prof. Marvel used in the Wizard of Oz (where he looked into his crystal ball to tell Dorothy what he saw).
And although those clues were slightly off base with what the artifact actually is, the Owl Night Lunch Wagon is somewhat of a marvel on its own.
The Henry Ford's 1890s Owl Night Lunch Wagon is believed to be the last remaining horse-drawn lunch wagon in America.
The social discussion about the wagon inspired The Henry Ford’s Facebook friend Dennis Russell to share this photo.
It’s of his father’s high school class during a Spring 1940 trip to Greenfield Village.
The photo prompted some more investigation about the treasured lunch stand. This information comes from the rich database at The Henry Ford:
In 1927, Henry Ford acquired the wagon from John Colquhoun for Greenfield Village. The wagon was refurbished and parked in the village where it served as the sole refreshment stand for visitors through the rest of the decade and into the 1930s.
The 1933 fare included hot dogs, hamburgers, buttermilk, sweet milk, coffee and pop. (The image itself does not have a date, but Cynthia Miller, curator of photographs and prints at The Henry Ford, said it is circa 1933.)
According to The Henry Ford’s online collections, since its initial arrival in the village, the Owl Night Lunch Wagon has undergone several renovations. The wagon was in dilapidated condition when Henry Ford acquired it. He refurbished it, having it painted white with red trim. It was later "renovated" into a popcorn wagon. Few traces of the original lunch wagon remained. The most recent refurbishment was completed in 1986.
Jeanine Head Miller, The Henry Ford’s curator of domestic life, said that there are some late 1930s photos of the Owl Night Lunch Wagon hitched to a horse, but it was usually stationary, as shown in the above photos.
Early on, the wagon was the only place to get food in Greenfield Village . The Clinton Inn (Eagle Tavern) was dedicated to serving lunch to the children who attended school in the village. Miller also said the wagon wasn’t always in Greenfield Village; it spent some years on the floor in Henry Ford Museum in the horse-drawn vehicle collection.
The Owl Night Lunch Wagon still operates serving up nostalgia and history along with some good food. On the Owl Night Lunch Wagon's menu for 2012, visitors will find:
The Owl Night Lunch Wagon is located in Greenfield Village right in front of the Ford Motor Company building and across the street from the Miller School.
Kristine Hass is a writer and long-time member of The Henry Ford. She frequently blogs for America's Greatest History Attraction.
Greenfield Village history, restaurants, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, by Kristine Hass, horse drawn transport, food
If you watched any news over the weekend, you probably saw at least a few images of some spectacular hats - from the beautiful to the extreme. Fancy hats have long been a tradition - meant to bring good luck - at the Kentucky Derby.
You don't have to visit Kentucky to see some really stunning hats: Mrs. Cohen's Millinery in Greenfield Village has its share of beautiful one-of-a-kind headdresses right in Dearborn, Mich.
There's always something new to discover when you visit Mrs. Cohen's Millinery shop.
The store was built in Detroit in the 1880s and was run by Mrs. Elizabeth Cohen. She was a young widow who opened the shop to earn money after her husband’s death. She designed new hats and redecorated old ones. She also shared with her customers news about the latest fashions. She lived with her children on the second floor of the building.
The hats that are made and displayed now in the shop are representative of those made during the shop's operations in the mid 1890s.
The presenter at the shop showed off the lovely hat boxes and the display of hats that are for sale.
In years past, the hats made in the shop were sold at the Greenfield Village Store, but this year for the first time they are displayed and sold right from the millinery shop. Guests may choose a hat at the store where they'll receive a sales slip to take across the street for payment at the Emporium. When they present their receipt at the Mrs. Cohen's shop, they'll receive their hat, packaged in a lovely box.
The hats range in price from $40-$65. Girls' hats are $40 and women's hats are priced at $45, $55 and $65, depending on the embellishments. All of the hats are hand embellished at the shop by skilled craftswomen.
Although there isn't a record of what Mrs. Cohen charged for hats, an 1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog lists ready-made trimmed hats ranging in price from $1.50-$5. (Montgomery Ward's prices were often less expensive than other catalogs at the time.)
If you're not purchasing a hat, there are many hats you can try just for fun. There are also some beautiful hats that are only for display.
There is a display at the shop of boys' hats that were typical for Sunday church-going. The hat this young visitor is wearing is a style that boys wore until they were about 10 years old.
Sorry to say, you're out of luck gentlemen - Mrs. Cohen's shop doesn't sell any hats for boys or men. But, there are some dapper hats for boys to try on for size.
Women of all classes (not just those going to the Kentucky Derby!) wore hats when they were outside. Some women may have only had one or two hats - one for everyday and one for church or special occasions - while wealthy women may have had many. Women of even modest means would buy trimmings or have someone like Elizabeth Cohen refresh their hat’s trimmings to fit current fashions.
Don't miss a stop at Mrs. Cohen's shop when you're in the neighborhood. You may find the perfect hat that's just your size, and if the hat fits ... buy it!
Kristine Hass is a long-time member and frequent blogger for The Henry Ford.
19th century, women's history, shopping, Michigan, making, hats, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, fashion, entrepreneurship, Detroit, design, Cohen Millinery, by Kristine Hass
In explaining Mr. Ford's interest in the past, I think that in every person, after they reach a certain age, they begin to reminisce...in Mr. Ford's case, he was able to carry it further than the average person.- Ernest Liebold, secretary to Henry Ford, in the book Reminiscences
In the beginning of the 20th century, the American elite were collecting European and English paintings, sculptures and decorative arts...but as cities began to grow and rural areas grew more and more scarce, those same people began to long for fine American furniture, glassware, porcelain, rare books and more.
That is, except for a handful of people like Henry Ford.
To him, humble machines were an expression of the "genius of the American people" and a reflection of American progress. He believed that everyday objects told what wasn't recorded in written histories and reflected a way of life that was quickly slipping away.
As early as 1912, Ford was collecting "relics" that represented American industrial progress, such as wagons and threshing machines - but it was this progress that prompted him to his first restoration and renovation of a building.
In 1919, a road improvement project in Ford's hometown of Springwells Township, Michigan (now the city of Dearborn), meant his birthplace would need to be either moved 200 yards from its original location - or destroyed.
Ford decided to move the house and restore it to the way it looked at the time of his mother's death in 1876, when he was 13 years old. Ford personally took charge of the birthplace restoration, meticulously recreating the details of the house down to the original or similar furnishings.
For example, Ford remembered sitting by a Starlight stove in the dining room as a child. After 18 months of searching, he discovered the exact make and model on a porch in Stockbridge, Michigan, which he purchased for $25 and loaded into his car for the journey back to Dearborn. And when he couldn't find the precise pattern of dishes his mother had used, he had the original site of his birthplace excavated and had replicas made from the pottery shards found.
Ford dedicated the restoration of his childhood home to his mother's memory and her teachings, particularly noting her love of family, her belief in the value of hard work, in learning "not from the school books but from life," and her belief in trusting one's intuition. His mother had encouraged his early tinkering and youthful inventions, and he felt sure she had set him on his unique path in life.
When the restoration of his childhood home was completed, people were awestruck by its authenticity. It seemed remarkable to him, and others, how a recreated environment could catapult one into another time and place.
This was the beginning of Ford's interest in preservation of historic buildings, and after several other restorations of buildings at their original sites, he began looking to create a village that would represent the early days of America up to the present. Working with Ford Motor Company draftsman and architect Edward L. Cutler, Ford began laying out plans for Greenfield Village.
It wasn't meant to represent any specific place in the United States, or even serve as a particular town - Ford created Greenfield Village primarily from buildings that he had purchased and moved to the site, organizing them around a village green with a courthouse, a town hall, a church, a store, an inn and a school. He placed homes along a road beyond the green. He brought industrial buildings, such as carding mills, sawmills and gristmills to the village and made them operate.
Today, Greenfield Village is organized into seven historic districts, with real working farms, a glassblowing shop, a pottery shop and more...so that, just like Henry Ford when he surveyed his preserved birthplace, you, too, can be transported to another place and time to learn about the ordinary and extraordinary people who shaped America.
(Editor's note: Much of this information is excerpted from Telling America's Story: A History of The Henry Ford, which explores in-depth the origins and history of Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum and its artifacts.)
Have you been to Greenfield Village before? Which buildings and/or experiences are your favorite, and why?
Ford family, home life, books, Greenfield Village buildings, Henry Ford, Greenfield Village history, Greenfield Village
Winter in Greenfield Village: Hanging Hams, Bacon and Fatback at Firestone Farm
Every winter, Firestone farmers work hard preserving meats from our December butchering. Hams, bacon and fatback are all cured using a process that would have been very familiar to the Firestones in 1885.
Every day, Firestone farmers rub these cuts of meat with a mixture of salt, sugar and various spices. The salt dehydrates the meat, while sugar prevents it from getting too tough and the spices help to give the meat a nice flavor. It takes several weeks for larger cuts of meat like hams to finish curing. Once a week, old cure is removed from the meat and it is replaced with fresh cure.
Once the meat is cured, it is wrapped in cheesecloth sacks and hung in the cold room located in Firestone Farm’s cellar.
Near the meat are several other foods that were preserved last year, including dried chili peppers, pickles and crocks of sauerkraut as well as jars of tomatoes, pickled green beans, applesauce and more.
When you visit from April through November, make sure to check out the Firestone home's cellar and cold room - you'll be sure to notice our cured meat hanging from the ceiling in our cold room...and as the year progresses and the time for butchering once again approaches, there will be very little cured meat left hanging in cheesecloth.
#Behind The Scenes @ The Henry Ford, home life, food, farms and farming, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, winter
My husband, the kids and I spent the better part of Sunday at Old Car Festival at Greenfield Village. After all the bad weather we've been having, it was truly glorious to be out and about admiring the hundreds of vehicles displayed (and driving!) in the show.
Vehicles at the show are those built from the 1880s to 1932. It was fascinating to see how many unique ideas different vehicle manufacturers had building some of those really early machines. Since this show is more about what you could see (although the sounds of the old engines were like music), below are (some) photos of this wonderful event. And here's a video of the 1770 Fardier de Cugnot in action.
Kristine Hass is a mother of five and long-time member of The Henry Ford. She frequently blogs about her family's visits to America's Greatest History Attraction.
Michigan, Dearborn, 21st century, 2010s, Old Car Festival, Greenfield Village, events, cars, car shows, by Kristine Hass
As a precursor to the school year, we took a visit to the one-room schoolhouses at Greenfield Village. And well, I think the thought of a summer being over was a little overwhelming for certain members of my crew.
We spent some time inside the McGuffey Schoolhouse, erected in 1934 by Henry Ford to honor William Holmes McGuffey. It’s built from logs taken from the Pennsylvania farm at which McGuffey was born in 1800. The McGuffey Eclectic Reader series of texts were commonly used in schoolhouses across the United States. Our nine-year-old Henry eagerly stood at the teacher’s podium and began to lecture his five-year-old sister on the Civil War. I attempted to explain to him that the Civil War hadn’t even occurred at the time the readers were written. Chronology wasn’t going to slow him down.
When we looked inside the Miller and Scotch Settlement schoolhouses--school’s Henry Ford attended in the 1870s--I have to be honest, I yearned for a little bit of their simplicity.
Blank walls.
A clean slate.
No clutter, wires, smart boards, website passwords, Internet policies, consent forms, security doors, and bins of paper waiting to be recycled. Don’t get me wrong, I think technology is great and a welcome result of much of the innovation showcased at The Henry Ford. But I can also say, one of things I like best about Greenfield Village is how a visit transports you to simpler times. And I’m sure that many parents who have been presented with the infamous “school supply list” and navigated through back-to-school shopping mayhem, might just agree with me and find themselves (at least occasionally) hankerin’ for the bare walls those 1800s school houses.
Henry Ford moved the Scotch Settlement Schoolhouse, and the home of his favorite teacher, John Chapman, to Greenfield Village in 1934. When Ford was nine, Chapman left the Scotch Settlement Schoolhouse and went to teach at the Miller Schoolhouse, Henry Ford transferred and remained Chapman’s student until he was 15. (Built at Greenfield Village in 1943, the Miller Schoolhouse is an accurate a replica of the original building.)
The Scotch Settlement and Miller Schoolhouses remind me of the schoolhouse on the 1970s television show “Little House on the Prairie.” I remember visiting the schoolhouses at Greenfield Village as a girl and pretending with my older sister. I was always (appropriately) outspoken, freckly and big-toothed Laura. She was beautiful Mary. I remember hoping my parents would just leave me so I could imagine all the Laura Ingalls Wilder stories I had read and the sentimental NBC/Michael Landon versions I patiently waited for each week. Oh how I yearned for one of those bonnets. (Which, by the way, are for sale in the gift shops!)
Students used to walk several miles to school each day since the one-room schools were in rural communities. (You can tell your parents that there is no evidence that the route was uphill both ways.) If children arrived early, they could play with their friends until their long school day started. Students of all ages shared that one room with girls on one side and boys on the other. They learned arithmetic, spelling, geography, music, history and art, and older children were assigned necessary chores like washing blackboards, preparing firewood and clearing snow.
Children shared books and brought books from home. Books like the McGuffey Eclectic Reader and the Webster’s Blue Back Speller were passed from generation to generation. The main focus in education at the time though was proper moral training and character development.
school, Scotch Settlement School, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, education, childhood
We’ve seen some excellent reenactments and military drills for that conflict when visiting Mackinac Island, which is always interesting. But I will say, there is something so engaging to me when ordinary folks take a break from 2011, pack up their treasures and come together to set up a camp and participate in little muster on the side. This truly is an example of history coming alive. And as a family, we continue to be inspired and learn so much from it.
The campsites and demonstrations were set up near the Porches and Parlors area of the village and were quite modest compared with some of the campsites we’ve seen at the Civil War encampment. The fact is, there are many more organizations and groups that come together to take part in Civil War reenactments. There isn’t quite the network of 1812 reenactments, but after talking to some of the participants, the numbers appear to be increasing. Most of the participants hail from the Midwest, one of the primary theaters of the war.
My nine-year-old son, Henry, enlisted as a soldier. Again. It was his second enlistment this week. The doctor at the encampment quizzed Henry on his heath and physical capabilities, after passing that, the enlistment officer gave him his papers. He was then issued a musket.
The Captain who trained the new recruits was really fun. The kids enjoyed his instructions and sound effects as they learned the procedure for (pretend) loading their (pretend) muskets. Actually, just watching most of them figure out left from right was entertaining. A ragtag group to be sure.
And. (Drumroll, please). There was a cannon. We always look forward to the cannon. That demonstration was also up near the Porches and Parlors, so we got a good close look. And boy was it was loud. Ear-plugging, heart-thumping loud. Henry loved every minute of it, and by the expressions of the bystanders, he wasn’t the only one.
With my daughters, I admired the Grecian-inspired women’s fashions of the late Federal era. In comparison with the corsets and layer upon layer of garments of the Civil War times, these walking dresses seemed almost practical. (At least they could fit through a doorway.) Although some women at the encampment were dressed in fine silk fabrics, most were wearing muted lightweight cottons. If you’re a Jane Austin fan, the Federal era in the U.S. is similar to the Empire style clothing in England with high waists and long flowing skirts. If you like Emma, you’ll love these gowns.
I asked a few participants what first inspired them to take part in these kinds of events. Some were reenactors for other time periods, the Civil War, colonial times and the Revolutionary War. Others had family that reenacted. We met a pewter smith who started collecting metal forms 40 years ago but only recently decided to participate at events like the one in the village. It was his second. He had some beautiful buttons, spoons, coins and other various items.
I met Chuck LeCount who came from Rochester, New York, to participate. Chuck was just 15 when he decided he wanted to participate in reenactments for the Revolutionary War, he talked his parents into it and continues the tradition with his wife and son, Wilson. Wilson also drums for a fife and drum corp. Turns out, Chuck is a director for the Genesee Country Village and Museum near Rochester. It has a large historic village much like Greenfield Village, complete with teams. His interest in living history as a teen led him to a profession he obviously loves. (I’m sure not unlike so many of the folks who work at The Henry Ford.) Meeting him made me take more seriously my son’s comments when we left the event, “Okay, mom, that seals it. I’m doing that. No matter what.” Maybe this wannabe will end up becoming a reenactor after all. Inspired once again at The Henry Ford. Hmmm. Stay tuned.
The Firestone Farm corn field is making some terrific progress, even though a flooded field in May forced us to replant. (The weather is something farmers struggle with, regardless of the year— whether it's 1885 or 2011!) In fact, it looks like most of our corn plants will still be "knee-high by the Fourth of July," despite all of our spring flooding - huzzah!
Last week, we cultivated our corn for the second time this year. Cultivating is when we loosen the soil and remove the weeds around each corn plant.
Because the Firestones did not use herbicides to kill weeds in their fields, they planted their corn three feet apart in each direction so that they had room to cultivate. And like the Firestones, we use a horse-drawn cultivator remove weeds in our cornfield.
We take our cultivator down each row from north to south, east to west, and then diagonally. This takes a great amount of patience and skill on the part of horse, driver and operator.
We used one of our newest horses, Henry, to cultivate. Although he is very young and new to this job, he handled the tight turns well and only stepped on a few corn plants. It looks like Henry and his partner Tom are turning out to be great additions to Greenfield Village!
Ryan Spencer is manager of Firestone Farm in Greenfield Village. Working at The Henry Ford was a childhood dream of his – although he did not realize then that it would involve so much manure.
farming equipment, horse drawn transport, Greenfield Village, farms and farming, farm animals, by Ryan Spencer, agriculture
You've Got Mail! Restoring the Phoenixville Post Office in Greenfield Village
In the 1800s, the local post office was the epicenter for community events, functioning as both the town hall and gossip center.
Guests who have visited Greenfield Village recently may have noticed that our own historical "gossip center" - the Phoenixville Post Office, where you can purchase today's stamps and reproduction post cards - has been undergoing some necessary renovations, but luckily it's only for a short while! Let's take a closer look at what has been completed in the past month as we prepare for its re-opening in the next few weeks.
When the Phoenixville Post Office was moved to Greenfield Village from Connecticut in 1928, it was placed on a foundation that was smaller than the building. This size difference caused the entire building to shift, bow out and lean forward with time. This movement also caused the front door to lean and become crooked.
To fix the problem, our team of builders and engineers lifted the whole building (about an entire inch!) and straightened the door, as well as extended the porch in front of the post office to prevent rotting of the natural wood. A very daunting project for only a month of work!
Even though the Phoenixville Post Office will re-open to the public very soon, there still are a few things that need to be finished up for the renovation to be totally complete! Builders will replace the siding and roof as well as re-paint the exterior of the post office, although it will stay its original color.
Connecticut, Greenfield Village buildings, Greenfield Village, collections care, #Behind The Scenes @ The Henry Ford
