Cobblestone articles from March 2007

Cobblestone archives from March 2007

Editor's note.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Let's face it--America has a love affair with cars. Ranging in size from enormous SUVs to tiny MINI Coopers, cars are so common today that it may be difficult to imagine what life was like before them. You'd have to go back 100 years to see...

Paving the way.
March 1, 2007... At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States was a nation of 45 states that extended more than 3,000 miles from coast to coast. There were some major cities with large populations, but the United States still was mostly an...

A mechanic is born.
March 1, 2007... He hadn't slept for two nights, but Henry Ford's eyes 'flashed with excitement as he and his friend Jim Bishop maneuvered the odd contraption toward the door of the backyard shed. When they saw that the "Quadricycle" was too big to fit through...

The believer.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Shy, wiry young Henry Ford decided to take dancing lessons to improve his social life. Ford met Clara Bryant, the daughter of a prosperous farmer, soon afterwards at a New Year's Eve ball in 1885. Clara told her mother, "He's different......

Who invented the automobile?
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford changed the way America made and sold cars. But he didn't invent cars. Rather, a number of people--both in the United States and in Europe--played a part in inventing the automobile. How many of these names look familiar to you? ...

Daredevil driver.
March 1, 2007... On the afternoon of October 10, 1901, Henry Ford took his racecar on a cautious trial run around a one-mile dirt oval at the Detroit Driving Club in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. It was the 38-year-old Ford's first time on a racetrack, the first...

A driving force for progress.(Henry Ford)
March 1, 2007... In 1913, Henry Ford put his future on the line--the assembly line, that is. He pioneered a new way to produce cars for the masses. Ford and his team followed four basic principles of mass production. First, they relied on standard,...

Rocky road to success.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford spent the first half of his life chasing success. Most of his efforts failed until he formed the Ford Motor Company in 1903. Yet, he never let setbacks stop him. He once described failure as "the opportunity to begin again, more...

March of the models.
March 1, 2007... When most people think about early Fords, the Model T comes to mind. However, Henry Ford experimented with an alphabet soup of other models before and after he introduced his "Tin Lizzie" in 1908. There are no known records with information on...

Did you know?(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Like most early automobiles, Henry Ford's first ear didn't have any brakes. If he wanted to Stop, he cut off the gas. Then he tied the ear to a pole to prevent the vehicle from rolling away. In 1901, New York and California became the first...

Aunt Ella buys a Model T.
March 1, 2007... Ever wonder what it was like to own one of the first mass-produced cars in the early 1900s? Early customers didn't have many choices or decisions to make. Many of the features and options we take for granted today-such as radios, automatic...

Get cooking! form an assembly line.
March 1, 2007... Experimenting with concepts helped Henry Ford succeed. To get a sense of how his ideas of mass production changed how cars were made, design your own assembly line--but make cookies instead! Check into donating your batches of cookies to a food...

Ode to Henry Ford.(Poem)
March 1, 2007... Creative thinking pays! Take Henry Ford, an original thinker who loved to tinker. He built the famous Model T, called the "Flivver" or "Tin Lizzie." He made them all in record time by using...

A giant in decline.
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford's business success made him extremely wealthy and influential. Yet not everything he touched turned to gold. Particularly later in his life, certain events and decisions tarnished his reputation. The Peace Ship In 1915, two...

Fordism for all?(Going GLOBAL)
March 1, 2007... Not content to simply put millions of Americans behind the wheel of his Model T, Henry Ford thought everyone ought to be driving one. By the 1930s, he had opened Ford plants throughout Europe and even as far away as Russia, India, Australia,...

'History bunk is ...(THE PAST IS PRESENT)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford's ideas about history and education inspired him to create a unique collection of artifacts and a different kind of museum. In 1919, the industrialist was involved in a legal case against the Chicago Tribune. During the trial,...

Valuable resource.(Benson Ford Research Center)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... You can learn more about Henry Ford and the Ford family at the Benson Ford Research Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Dedicated to the memory of Benson Ford, grand son of Henry and Clara and son of Edsel and Eleanor, the center is a treasured...

Leaves of Color.(YOUR LETTERS)(Poem)
March 1, 2007... Changing leaves, red, orange, and yellow. Fall is a time for feeling mellow. Wind in the breeze, everything is at ease. Summer is done. Sarah Bower Camillus, New York

Henry Ford.(Poem)
March 1, 2007... People used to walk or ride horses to work. There were a few people who made cars. A man named Henry Ford decided to make a car that many people could afford. It was called the Model T. These cars were...

The Cross.(Poem)
March 1, 2007... I walk up to your grave and read your name. My family speaks of you as if you were of fame. Your name is written in pencil, then traced in blue. And I slowly start to visualize you. Your cross...

Animals.(Poem)
March 1, 2007... I saw a bunch of animals. Did you see them, too? I saw a pig in Alabama, and a frog in a kazoo. I saw a pretty butterfly just soaring through the sky. I saw a hopping kangaroo leaping way up high. ...

In the works.
March 1, 2007... OUR CONSTITUTION (DECEMBER, 2007) WILD, WILD WEST (JANUARY 2008) THE CIVIL WAR CAPTURED IN ART (FEBRUARY 2008) Write to us! Draw a picture or write a poem or short essay that relates to one of the COBBLESTONE themes (above) on which we...

U.S. pride.(Poem)
March 1, 2007... Beautiful stripes of red and white, fifty stars of navy blue, this is our nation's flag that is raised before our crew. It helps us through our troubles and fears. It is always waving in the wind close and...

Henry Ford: Automobile Manufacturer and Innovator.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford: Automobile Manufacturer and Innovator by Bob Temple (Chanhassen, Minnesota: The Child's World, 2003, www.childsworld.com) describes Ford's determination to manufacture an automobile that the average American could afford, thereby...

We'll Race You, Henry: A Story About Henry Ford.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... We'll Race You, Henry: A Story About Henry Ford by Barbara Mitchell (Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1986, www.lernerbooks.com/) a brief biography of the man whose ideas about cars forever changed the way Americans travel. Grades 4 to 7.

Henry Ford.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford by Michael Burgan (Milwaukee, Wisconsin: World Almanac Library, 2002, www.worldalmanaclibrary.com) traces Ford's rise to fame from experimenting with machines as a youth to the founding of his automobile company and beyond. The book...

Along Came the Model T: How Henry Ford Put the World On Wheels.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Along Came the Model T: How Henry Ford Put the World On Wheels by Robert M Quackenbush (New York: Parents' Magazine Press, 1978, available through libraries) offers readers a look at how the Model T changed transportation history around the...

Henry Ford: Building Cars for Everyone.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford: Building Cars for Everyone by Pat McCarthy (Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, 2002, www.enslow.com/) provides a general overview of Ford's life and impact on automobile production, as welt as chapters devoted to the...

The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan (www.TheHenryPord.org).(PLACES TO VISIT)
March 1, 2007... The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan (www.TheHenryPord.org). Founded by Henry Ford, "America's Greatest History Attraction" offers both indoor and outdoor exhibits for visitors. Tours are also offered at the Ford Rouge Factory for insight into...

Henry Ford Estate (Fair Lane).(PLACES TO VISIT)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford Estate (Fair Lane), Dearborn, Michigan (www.umd.umich.edu/fairlane)The Fords' home for more than 30 years, located on the campus of the University of Michigan, is a historic landmark. Visitors may enjoy tours of the house and the...

Edsel 8, Eleanor Ford Home.(PLACES TO VISIT)
March 1, 2007... Edsel 8, Eleanor Ford Home, Grosse Pointe, Michigan (www.fordhouse.org). This was the residence of Henry and Clara's son, Edsel, and his wife, Eleanor Clay Ford, and their four children. Visitors can see original Ford family furniture and...

Edison & Ford Winter Estates.(PLACES TO VISIT)
March 1, 2007... Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers, Florida (www.edison-ford-estate.com/). Henry Ford and Thomas A. Edison became great friends in their later lives and eventually owned these winter homes next door to each other in Florida. Guided tours...

On the web.
March 1, 2007... For some brief but information-packed essays on Henry Ford's life and his assembly line innovations, go to www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/btford.html. www.ford.com/NR/ fordcom/centennial/flash/flashpage.htm takes you to the Ford...

Ethan rates it ...(www.hfha.org/fordlegacy.htm)(Website overview)
March 1, 2007... Henry Ford was one of the most influential Americans in business. On freeways, city streets, and driveways, the car magnate's company still affects our lives today. At www.hfha.org/fordlegacy.htm, Ford's life is divided into three...

Henry's review.(Model T: How Henry Ford Built a Legend)(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... MODEL T: NOW EMBRY'S FORD BUILT A LEGEND by David Weitzman (New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2002, www.randomhouse.com/). Henry Ford's legacy has dramatically influenced today's auto industry, and this book examines the...

The age of the entrepreneur.(FLASHBACK TO ...)
March 1, 2007... Two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson said, "The best society is the one composed of the greatest number of entrepreneurs." Just what is an entrepreneur, and what makes him or her so special? The words "entrepreneur" and "enterprise" come from...

Brain ticklers.
March 1, 2007... GiVE YOUR BRAiN A LiTTLE TiCKLE TO SEE HOW WELL YOU READ AND UNDERSTOOD THiS iSSUE on HENRY FoRD AnD HiS moDEL T. iF YoU BELiEVE THE ANSWER TO BE FALSE GiVE YOURSELF THE ULTimATE TEST AND SEE WHETHER YoU cAn EXPLAiN WHY iT iS FALSE. ANSWERS ARE...

A final word.(Ford Foundation)
March 1, 2007... iN 1936, HENRY FoRD'S SoN, EDSEL, ESTABLiSHED THE FORD FoUNDATiON AS A WAY TO COLLECT AnD DISTRIBUTE MONEY FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES. ImAGINE THAT YOU ARE A TRUSTEE OF THE FOUNDATION. WHAT ORGANIZATION OR PLACES IN THE WORLD WOULD YoU mAKE SURE...

Cartoon connection with Ebenezer & The Colonel.(COMIC)(Cartoon)
March 1, 2007... CARS have certainly changed the way we think about transportation! YEP! Ol' Henry Ford showed that for Americans, cars meant SPEED and FREEDOM. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] To say nothing of STYLE. Over the decades, CARS have become an...