Letter from Henry Ford II - 1949

[Nobody]

This letter was given to my wife's grandparents at some point in time. Figured it's worth sharing before putting it away.

The envelope reads:
This note was sent to Earl Stepler in 1950 from Henry Ford II. Earl was foreman in Ford plant in Chester, Pa. Retired from there.

[Phillippi]

Very cool note. I would keep that protected from little hands. Thanks for sharing.

[Ranger Dave]

way cool.

[tekatlarge]

Nice piece of History there.

I would definitely make sure it was kept safe for generations to come.
Thanks for sharing with us.

[clem]

As the auto industry expanded into Canada I feel that letter is a piece of North American history, I'm sure you all know that a lot of vehicle's were and are still produced in Ontario, Canada. The auto industry affects a huge number of people's lively hoods. I,myself get a lot of work from Michelin tire, as there are three plants here in Nova Scotia, One of which is often the highest producing in North America. As the demand decreases for cars and trucks so does the tire industry as a result we are quite slow right now. In short ( can this be deemed as short?) I feel the U.S and Canada should remember that we are all part of North America, we are all in this together. Buy NORTH AMERICAN, support our troops ( both countries, as we are over there too). Live strong, live free.

[tekatlarge]

As the auto industry expanded into Canada I feel that letter is a piece of North American history, I'm sure you all know that a lot of vehicle's were and are still produced in Ontario, Canada.

I feel the U.S and Canada should remember that we are all part of North America, we are all in this together. Buy NORTH AMERICAN, support our troops ( both countries, as we are over there too). Live strong, live free.

Very Well said Clem.

BTW: How is the weather for you this time of year?

[clem]

It's getting nice. I'm going fishing tomorrow 19 deg cel. Thanks for the support.

[Nobody]

I thought about finding next of kin to give them the letter....but then my wife clarified that she is the next of kin. It was sent to her great great uncle.

Definately a pretty cool letter. Probably came with a check!

Here is an interesting article about Henry Ford II - Some very similar parallels to present times

http://www.websters-online-dictionary.o ... rd+II.html

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Henry Ford II (September 4, 1917 - September 29, 1987), son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford, was president of Ford Motor Company from 1945-1960, the last member of the Ford family to hold that position. The company became a publicly-traded corporation under his tutelage in 1956.
Named president of Ford in 1945, Henry Ford II served in that capacity until November 9, 1960, when he resigned and became Chief Executive Officer of the company. On July 13, 1960 he was additionally elected Chairman; he resigned as CEO on October 1, 1979, and as Chairman in 1980.

When his father Edsel, the president of Ford, passed away in 1943, Henry Ford II was serving in the Navy during World War II, and was thus unable to take over the presidency of the family-owned business. The elderly and ailing Henry Ford, company founder, therefore stepped in and served as president until the end of the war. During this period the company began to decline, losing over $10 million a month. President Franklin Roosevelt had been considering a corporate bailout of the company in order to ensure continued war production.

Henry Ford II took over the presidency of the company on September 21, 1945. Since it had been assumed that Edsel Ford would continue in his capacity as president of the company for much longer than turned out to actually be the case, Henry Ford II had received little grooming for the position, and took over the company during a chaotic period—its European factories had suffered a great deal of damage during the war, and domestic sales were also on the decline.

Henry Ford II immediately adopted an aggressive management style. One of his first acts as company president was to fire Harry Bennett, head of the Ford Service Department, who had originally been hired by Henry Ford to stifle attempts at unionization. Next, he hired former General Motors executives Ernest Breech and Lewis Crusoe away from the Bendix Corporation. Breech was to serve in the coming years as Ford II's business mentor, and the Breech/Crusoe team would form the core of Ford's business expertise, offering much-needed experience.

Additionally, Ford II hired ten young up-and-comers, known as the "whiz kids." These ten, gleaned from an Army Air Corps statistical team, Ford II envisioned as giving the company the ability to innovate and stay current with the times. Two of them, Arjay Miller and Robert McNamara, would go on to serve as president of Ford themselves. As a team, the "whiz kids" are probably best remembered as the design team for the 1949 Ford, which they took from concept to production in nineteen months, and which re-established Ford as a formidable automotive company. It was reported that 100,000 orders for this car were taken the day it was produced.

Ford II's mercurial management style caused the company's fortunes to fluctuate in more ways than one. For example, his offering of public stock in 1956 raised $650 million for the company, but the "experimental car" program instituted during his tenure, the "Edsel," lost the company almost half that. Likewise, Ford II hired the creative Lee Iacocca, designer of the Ford Mustang, in 1946, but fired Iacocca due to personal disputes in 1978. Nevertheless, Henry Ford II's overall influence on the company was substantial—by the time he retired as Chairman in 1980, Ford Motor Company was the fourth-largest industrial corporation in the world.

In 1988 the "Henry Ford II Distinguished Award for Excellence in Automotive Engineering" was established by the Society of Automotive Engineers as an annual honorarium "to honor Henry Ford II and to recognize his enormous impact on the mobility industry".[1]

[lostexan]

. Buy NORTH AMERICAN, support our troops ( both countries, as we are over there too). Live strong, live free.

Wow, Well said!! A bazillion rep points for you if they had them