46 woodie Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 I just finished reading an article on Henry Ford and his camping trips. On one of his trips he was accompanied by Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, Luther Burbank and PRESIDENT Harding! The story states that his Lincoln touring car became bogged down in the mud on a back road in West Virginia and his chauffeur went to seek help. He returned with a farmer, driving a Model T. After they pulled the Lincoln free, Henry introduced himself and told the farmer that he was the person that built his car. He then pointed out Firestone and told the farmer that "he made your tires". He pointed to Thomas Edison and said "he is the man that put electricity in your house" and pointing to Harding said "that man is president of the United States". When he pointed to Luther Burbank, Henry said "do you know who this man is"? The farmer replied "no but if he is the same kind of liar that those fools are I wouldn't be surprised if you said he was Santa Claus". I don't know if the story is true, but can you even remotely imagine several titans of industry AND the President of the United States on such a trip in todays world! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 No, it speaks to a much simpler time in history. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 4 hours ago, 46 woodie said: I don't know if the story is true, but can you even remotely imagine several titans of industry AND the President of the United States on such a trip in todays world! I think most must remember when the three C.E.O.'s of GM, Ford, and Chrysler all knocked on the President's door, right after pulling up in their private jets back in 2009 asking for money!! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 (edited) No I can't imagine it, but then again I could not imagine those people "camping" as we know it even back then Edited December 9, 2019 by John348 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 John, the camping that you and I think about, was far from the camping trips that Henry went on. The pictures show several "tents" with floors and a couple set up as kitchens complete with chef's. He also had several "support vehicles" that probably had several servants on board. You do have to give those guy's credit though, they thought they were "roughing it". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenie Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Sad that many years later, one of Henry’s SUV’s started to roll over and they blamed Harvey’s tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 10 hours ago, 46 woodie said: ...and pointing to Harding said "that man is president of the United States." I like looking at things logically. And logic, to me, indicates that that story is probably made up. Who wouldn't have known in the 1920's that Harding was the President, and what he looked like? Farmers got newspapers and magazines and could read. And even Henry Ford was a very public figure, probably recognizable to many Americans. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Luther Burbank. I wonder of our local Burbank historian may have anything about that in the files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Could see them meeting at a club in Palm Beach... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 It was actually most likely Tesla that put electricity in that man's house. Edison wanted DC and that would have required a substation every quarter mile and was wildly impracticable. Tesla was pushing AC and that is the reason we have the widespread electricity we have today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 the Four Vagabonds Between 1915 and 1924, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs, calling themselves the Four Vagabonds, embarked on a series of summer camping trips. The idea was initiated in 1914 when Ford and Burroughs visited Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The notion blossomed the next year when Ford, Edison and Firestone were in California for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. They visited Luther Burbank and then drove from Riverside to San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 http://ppie100.org/adventures-of-the-vagabonds/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHuDWah Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 1 hour ago, padgett said: Could see them meeting at a club in Palm Beach... for a round of golf followed by a most beautiful piece of chocolate cake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 One of the Ford biographies I read said that Henry would challenge his famous friends to races, log chopping contests and other "feats of strength" while on these camping trips. Kind of like Festivus, I guess. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 They did go camping! And their camping may have included a chef and servants, but it was closer to real camping than most people today ever get. I would like to add, that does not include my son. He backpacks in, sometimes uses a tent, often, no tent, climbs mountains, and so forth. Been awhile, but done that sort of thing myself a few times. Over the years, I have probably seen at least fifty photographs taken on their trips. Many of the photos show the several greats lounging around, others show Henry chopping wood (he actually enjoyed doing that), or Henry and others clowning around. One photo I have seen shows Henry with a holster and a six-gun, clowning around a bit. I don't know just how many such trips there were. The information given by mike6024, zepher, and JamesR is pretty much in line with much of what I have read over the years. The three main characters were Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and Thomas Edison. Several others went on some of the trips, including Harding, Burbank and/or Burroughs (I have not confirmed either of those two, but have read their names a few times in articles on the camping trips). I know that Henry Ford gave John Burroughs a brand new model T in 1915 (there is a very famous photo of it!). However, John Burroughs was quite elderly by then, so I don't know for sure if he actually attended any of the camping trips. I am fairly sure that Luther Burbank did go on at least one of the trips. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 I can see it now. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Computer, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft giving President Trump a call and asking "hey Donald, want to go camping with us". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 I would suspect that the average WVA farmer didn't have electricity in his house in the 1920s. Rural Electrifiction didn't really get going until the late 30s, with the REA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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