The New Ford For 1937

Here's a glimpse into the 1937 Ford passenger car line-up. Not all encompassing by any means, but a fine set of cars!

1937 Club Cabriolet

1937 Fordor Sedan

1937 Slantback Tudor Sedan

A rarity today. 1937 Ford Standard Fordor. Note the different grille treatment, and the interiors were not as fancy either.

Harry Bennett - Lover of Cats

Harry Bennett was Henry Ford's "Man Friday" as Charles Sorensen liked to say. Bennett carried that same ass kicking tough guy persona into his pets.

Bennett had many pets from flocks of geese, livestock including a big steer named "Joe", birds and of course cats.

The cats included lions, tigers, panthers, and other large cats. At his various homes he had special pens or in some cases complete buildings for the housing of his big cats. To see a example of the cathouse at Bennett's Castle in Ann Arbor, check out Retro Kimmer's 1984 Castle photos here...

Bennett would let the animals roam the grounds at night and would turn a couple loose in the various tunnels under his house as an added measure of security. I'm sure this was a highly effective method of securing the perimeter.

Stories still float around to this day about how Harry Bennett would take a lion or tiger on a leisurely stroll around the Rouge plant controlling the feline with a small collar & leash. A visitor to Bennett's office in the basement of the old Administration Building might find a big cat dozing on a large mattress Bennett placed there for the comfort of his pets.

As can be seen Bennett enjoyed his big cats, but he was by no means stingy with them. On more than one occasion he made gifts of tigers & lions to close friends and even new acquaintances.

After Harry sold off his Michigan properties and moved to Desert Hot Springs, CA he kept small cats aka pussycats. David Lewis perhaps the most well known Ford Historian, photographed Bennett holding a Persian cat which can be seen in his book "Ford Country Vol. 1" Bennett even had these small housecats trained to when he made a circle with his arms, all of his cats would jump thru his arms.

It's safe to say Harry Bennett was many things, but he was a lover of animals.

Who is this man?

That's Orville Hubbard the 15 term mayor of Dearborn, MI, seen taking a meal at the great establishment known as Bill Knapp's. Why should you be concerned with Orvie?

It's quite simple. Orville Hubbard was the first person to break the great political machine that had been created by Harry Bennett & Ray Dahlinger in Dearborn to assure that people friendly to Ford Motor Company's interests would be elected.

Hubbard served as mayor of Dearborn from 1942 until 1978. Later Hubbard and Henry Ford II joined forces for various projects.

A note about Bill Knapps-

Bill Knapps was a reasonably priced restaurant chain predominant in the Midwest and in places where Snowbirds frequented such as Florida. The author has taken in many fine meals at various Bill Knapps locations and to this day still misses their departure from the scene.

The Ford Rotunda from the Postcard Perspective....

Continuing on our Postcard jag- be sure to look for more as I spent the better part of the weekend going through my postcard collection, here's a few Rotunda Postcards....

All are from the author's personal collection.

Model T Fords on Daytona Beach, FL

Era Postcards showing lots of Model T's on Daytona Beach. At least you don't have to worry about getting stuck!