June 1 - Around Detroit

June 1
The Henry Ford museum celebrates the American genius. I thought this was a museum about Ford and the development of the automobile, but thank goodness had been informed otherwise. There are amazing collections illustrating the industrial growth in the US. They had a huge display of farm equipment and tractors, early machines used in the textile industry, machine shop machines, printing presses, telephones, kitchen appliances and more. They had an interactive display on automation that kids were involved with. The section on US history was laid out really well but we only had time to hit the high spots. The traveling bed that George Washington used during the Revolutionary War and his personal “kitchen trunk” were displayed. The bed folded out of a trunk, very ingenious. Another display had the chair Lincoln was sitting in at the Ford Theater when he was assassinated along with fabric from the dress Mary was wearing. We could actually go inside the very bus where Rosa Parks refused to go to the back. My oh my! The Presidential limo President Kennedy was riding in when he was shot is there along with many of the other Presidential limos.

George washington's Traveling Bed and Kitchen Trunk

Chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot at the Ford Theater.

Rosa Park's Bus

They had a 1,000 foot circular home that was a hopeful prototype after WWII, but it didn’t catch on. They never actually sold a home. A man involved in the design went on to develop the geodesic dome at Disneyworld.. It was built out of the most modern materials and the whole thing could be made in a factory and shipped. One was made and they family lived in it for 20 years. They entire house it right here. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and large living area. It was called the Fuller Dymaxion and was part of Beech Aircraft. They went onto a successful airplane business. They couldn’t get the $10 million needed for promotion and development.

Fuller Dymaxion Home

They had a fabulous section devoted to the history of the automobile beginning with the very first motorized vehicle in the US. I loved seeing the motor home that Charles Kuralt rode around the US in for CBS doing his “On the Road“ series. Other favorites were the second car to drive across the US covered with mud and a picnic umbrella attached, the very first school bus, an early VW camper bus, a 1929 tent trailer, and the trailer that the Charles Lindberg family used as they vacationed around the US. Lindberg recorded all the places they visited on the shelf paper covering the bottom of one of the kitchen drawers.

"On the Road with Charles Kuralt" Motorhome

Second Automobile to Cross the US
Note the musd and the patio umbrella sticking up.

1929 Tent Trailer

 

VW Camper

We certainly didn’t have time to see everything. Greenville Village is another entire area covering 30 acres and is divided into 7 historical districts. It would be a whole day by itself. The home that the Wright brothers grew up in was moved here. They also have a bus that takes you to a Ford Motor Company tour. It truly is an amazing place and we just scratched the surface. It was crawling the school kids on field trips!

We left in time to see the Cash and Cari Warehouse. Cash and Cari is a show on HGTV that we have followed. Her third season will be on soon. She does estate sales on TV. One of the tings that I like about her is that she seems very caring with the families and what they are going through. Some of the items end up in her warehouse or RePurpose Shop. She was at the warehouse and came out to meet us! She is darling and full of personality. She filled us in on how she got started and ended up on TV!



Cari from "Cash and Cari" Show
Her aunt took the photo and must have moved.

This is a bench she repurposed from a head and foot board, darling.

Norm checking things out.

First thing in the morning we hit an estate sale. To me it was a dirty smelly home full of junk but to Norm is was a treasure trove. He bought a camera for $3.00 that looks like it will sell on eBay for $800!