Ford Home Almanac and Facts Book for 1938

Anybody who is bored on a consistent basis is a complete moron. I could easily peruse ephemera for a century straight and not get through an inch of the percentage of interesting documents and books out there remaining in the wild.

This 1938 Home Almanac, like the other 3 almanacs by various makers that I found at a Westland estate a week or two ago, put out by Ford is a work of art. While some take a jaded view of Henry Ford, I take an Atlas Shruggian perspective on the man who probably did more good for mankind in one year than 10 million do-gooders did in their lifetimes. The fact is, we wouldn't have the things we do today technology-wise and in general without such individuals as old Hank.

Yeah, he was a prick to Edsel and said some unsavory things about Jews during the early run of The Dearborn Independent but it doesn't diminish either his accomplishments and innovations nor his massive charity. The man basically rebuilt the village of Inkster single-handedly and lifted blacks from the ranks of peripheral citizens to equal footing at his plants. Overall, he was a Plus-Plus on the scale of difference makers.

Included is a page on the Ford Trade Schools opposite the brief history of the month of April up to that point. I wish that I had the time to scan this and every vintage and antique booklet or pamphlet that comes my way but I have to prioritize towards the Nankin Township side of history and make it first on the list.

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A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

I bought this Milestone 2 poetry Magazine at a Livonia estate sale this week. Milestone was the literary publication of Wayne (State) University and this second issue dates to 1949. While I don't recognize most of the names, Dudley Randall was both a nationally known poet and the librarian for the Wayne County General Hospital at Eloise via the Wayne County Library System. The poem featured is The Southern Road which was a revised version of the completed poem from 1948 that h as a handful or two of word differences between the two. I don't know if Randall edited the poem for later collected works editions or earlier but this link features it in its likely final form in 2009. Neither version particularly enchants me but the block print in the magazine is an added bonus.

A Cabinet Card of a Dead Man Lying in Repose From Wayne Photographer Susan Doolittle

The City of Wayne, Michigan was not a large village at the turn of the 20th century so it stands to reason that there wasn't a glut of photographers practicing their trade there. As such, the 3 cabinet cards and carte de visites that I own represents roughly a quarter of the early ones. Considering that the wives of Frank Hickok and William Corlett, first Village President of Wayne, took over after Frank's death in 1892 the list grows smaller beyond those two families. Had I snagged the Doolittle dead man cabinet card I'd be even that much more Wayne-rich in photographs. Speaking of Susan Doolittle, of whom I have learned very little about, it is interesting to note that Wayne had three women photographers in an era oft dominated by men in that very field. This photograph of a corpse is a startling example of her work.

Frederick Soop: Not An Equal Opportunity Restraunteer

Detroit Free Press , March 28, 1890 If you don't want to hear a racist tale of a suburban namesake then close your eyes now. As early as 1876 Frederick Soop had left his Belleville farm once again, having done a stint at the Hawkins House in Ypsilanti during the Civil War and the City Hotel in Detroit thereafter, and ventured off to Chatham, Ontario to run the Rutley Hotel , which was conducted as a Temperance House. Detroit Free Press , August 17, 1879 In 1879 he was searching for a good restaurant or small hotel to operate. Eventually he ended up on Washington Avenue near State Street running a dining hall which he ran until around 1890. Detroit Free Press , April 16, 1890 It was in 1888 when the aforementioned racial incident occurred at his dining establishment. It was then that William H. Haynes, a black doctor, sat down with his former classmate S. W. Barkwell for dinner. The men ordered but when the food was served none was placed before Mr. Haynes who, ironically, ha...

The Nankin Township Historical Society

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