The city of Clarkston, Michigan was the site of the Ford Proving Grounds, called Deer Lake Farms. The city isn't very far from me and there is still some remnants of the old buildings and area preserved. A wealthy family owns much of the area now. There is a vintage 16mm movie that was filmed there, featuring "62 New Implements For 1948 " (8N)and we have on DVD in our support list. I'm trying to set up a meeting with the current owners to see what I can learn about the Ford days and if there is much still of interest.

Tim Daley(MI)

• Clarkston, Michigan - Deer Lake Farms Ford Proving Grounds

Tim, how far are you from Dearborn and the Rouge Plant area ? SoS.

S-o-S:
I am about 65 miles north, as the crow flies, of The Henry Ford and the Rouge is just a short distance away from there. It's about an hour and a half drive though depending on what day and what time of day the drive is. It's all main roads, some freeway, but anytime one heads into the Detroit area, traffic is always a slow-go no matter a weekday or weekend. Every summer my parents would always take us to the Henry Ford/Greenfield Village when we were kids. When I was in the 7th grade, we took a class field trip to the Rouge Plant in 1968 and watched them build the Mustang. It was and still is one of my most memorable experiences in my life. We watched as the tour took us from the steel making operations/blast furnaces to the end of the assembly line where we watched brand new 1968 Ford Mustangs drive off the line. Today, The Rouge Complex has been mostly sold off to private companies, a few Chinese, one or two Russian companies, and some others. The line still rumbles along with the F-150 Pickup being produced there and they offer tours everyone should check out at least once in their lifetime.

By the way, I'm championing a special 80th Anniversary Show at The Henry Ford for June 29, 2019. The show is a commemoration of the world premier/introduction of the brand new Ford-Ferguson 9N tractor that happened on June 29, 1939 at Fair Lane, Henry Fords' estate. Details will be made available as they occur. Anyone who has a 1939 Ford-Ferguson 9N is invited to attend and display their tractor. Contact me if interested.

Tim Daley(MI)

• The Henry Ford

I own a 1955 moto tug ford 600 tractor.I have found a torque converter were the clutch should be.Days of bugging all ford people in the know,dealers,experts,three so called smart friends,and a farmer driving down the road on his ford tractor has convinced me I don't know anything more then Maxine or Nancy does about this tractor. Please tell me how I can find and research this unique peace of ford history. Thanks jim hunt cell 321 863 3448

Here is another link to some more info on Clarkston, Michigan and its ties to Henry Ford...

Tim Daley(MI)

• Henry Ford YTies

More history of Henry Ford's involvement in the Clarkston, Michigan area...

Henry Ford Trade School

• Henry Ford Apprentice School