Thank you Ronnie. Now I have more museums to visit. Would love to see the gliders.
Also never really thought about why they were called floor boards and dash boards. Figured it was just a holdover from wagons but this makes more sense. Really Model A’s are wonderful evidenced by how many are still running and the number of enthusiasts.
Oh, they're probably also holdovers from wagons made of wood.
There's only one glider in the museum in Iron Mountain, one of apparently seven that survive out of thousands that were made. It's somewhere between a restoration and a recreation as it started with just the fuselage and cockpit, which had been used as a hunting cabin.
One thing that I found out that was interesting was that while the Waco CG-4 glider was described as having the glide ratio "of a brick", while it couldn't soar, it had a much better glide ratio than a Cessena Cub.
Still a great thing to see when up that way. Gliders while not talked about much played an important part of the war. Germany used them in the opening days in I believe Belgium and we used them in the invasion of Europe.
Not a great glide ratio but just enough to get you to the crash landing.
Alberta, MI is one of those places I drive by all the time but know little about and only see at roughly 60 mph. There is a lake across the highway with "Ford" written in their distinctive script at the little park. It makes more sense to me why it's there now.
So far as Henry Ford goes, was he one of the members of the Huron Mt Club? (I'm pretty sure he was) I don't know about the history of that place, but it is exclusive and they let NO ONE in their boundaries, which is a shame because I'd love to see Canyon Lake someday.
Ford Motor Company still owns land in Marquette County. It would not surprise me in the least to learn they own more land elsewhere.
Henry tried for 10 years to join the Huron Mountain Club but its members didn't want the publicity that it would bring. He ended up buying enough nearby land to kill a road the state wanted but the club didn't. Once in the club he had Albert Kahn design him a "cabin" that would cost $1 million to build today. Apparently Clara stayed there once and hated it. She much preferred their 14 bedroom "cottage" on the bay just north of Pequaming that Henry bought along with the rest of the town, from a guy who became president of the Huron Mtn Club, which helped his entry into the club.
Yeah, it's probably the most exclusive club in Michigan. I think there are 50 full members with cabins and another 100 that have visiting privileges. Guard shacks with gates are on all access roads. When I wrote about Ford and the Club, I had trouble finding photos of either the Ford cabin or a guard shack.
It isn't just exclusive. It's also in about the most remote, most rugged part of the state. One of maybe two times we got lost in the UP (trying to link up two routes to the same waterfall to get where we were going - the Penrose book before the Internet) was in the Hurons.
When you look at the aerials of the Club the "cabins" all have elaborate roof designs. I don't think we'll ever get Google Earth 3D imaging for them, though. When I sort tax bills the Huron Mountain Club's stack is damn near a half an inch thick.
It's easy to get lost up there (and it's still "up there" even to me!), and you don't even need to get into the Hurons to do it. All the logging and ancient mining roads through Powell and Ishpeming Townships present a challenge all their own. I have a coworker who, ever summer equinox, goes on a big circular bike ride west across the county, north around Mt. Arvon and then northeast to Mouth of the Huron River Park (still part of Marquette Co, although you have to drive up US41 and then go through Skanee to get there) and then back down, skirting the Hurons as they do it. His friends have cabins throughout the area, but they do spend a night in tents. Sometimes it rains, but he always comes back happier than before. I don't think I could keep up with them, it is a hellish ride.
Great read, Ronnie. I had no clue about that.
Thank you Ronnie. Now I have more museums to visit. Would love to see the gliders.
Also never really thought about why they were called floor boards and dash boards. Figured it was just a holdover from wagons but this makes more sense. Really Model A’s are wonderful evidenced by how many are still running and the number of enthusiasts.
Oh, they're probably also holdovers from wagons made of wood.
There's only one glider in the museum in Iron Mountain, one of apparently seven that survive out of thousands that were made. It's somewhere between a restoration and a recreation as it started with just the fuselage and cockpit, which had been used as a hunting cabin.
One thing that I found out that was interesting was that while the Waco CG-4 glider was described as having the glide ratio "of a brick", while it couldn't soar, it had a much better glide ratio than a Cessena Cub.
Still a great thing to see when up that way. Gliders while not talked about much played an important part of the war. Germany used them in the opening days in I believe Belgium and we used them in the invasion of Europe.
Not a great glide ratio but just enough to get you to the crash landing.
Alberta, MI is one of those places I drive by all the time but know little about and only see at roughly 60 mph. There is a lake across the highway with "Ford" written in their distinctive script at the little park. It makes more sense to me why it's there now.
So far as Henry Ford goes, was he one of the members of the Huron Mt Club? (I'm pretty sure he was) I don't know about the history of that place, but it is exclusive and they let NO ONE in their boundaries, which is a shame because I'd love to see Canyon Lake someday.
Ford Motor Company still owns land in Marquette County. It would not surprise me in the least to learn they own more land elsewhere.
Henry tried for 10 years to join the Huron Mountain Club but its members didn't want the publicity that it would bring. He ended up buying enough nearby land to kill a road the state wanted but the club didn't. Once in the club he had Albert Kahn design him a "cabin" that would cost $1 million to build today. Apparently Clara stayed there once and hated it. She much preferred their 14 bedroom "cottage" on the bay just north of Pequaming that Henry bought along with the rest of the town, from a guy who became president of the Huron Mtn Club, which helped his entry into the club.
Yeah, it's probably the most exclusive club in Michigan. I think there are 50 full members with cabins and another 100 that have visiting privileges. Guard shacks with gates are on all access roads. When I wrote about Ford and the Club, I had trouble finding photos of either the Ford cabin or a guard shack.
It isn't just exclusive. It's also in about the most remote, most rugged part of the state. One of maybe two times we got lost in the UP (trying to link up two routes to the same waterfall to get where we were going - the Penrose book before the Internet) was in the Hurons.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/how-henry-ford-advocated-for-public-road-building-until-he-wanted-to-join-a-fancy-camping-club/
When you look at the aerials of the Club the "cabins" all have elaborate roof designs. I don't think we'll ever get Google Earth 3D imaging for them, though. When I sort tax bills the Huron Mountain Club's stack is damn near a half an inch thick.
It's easy to get lost up there (and it's still "up there" even to me!), and you don't even need to get into the Hurons to do it. All the logging and ancient mining roads through Powell and Ishpeming Townships present a challenge all their own. I have a coworker who, ever summer equinox, goes on a big circular bike ride west across the county, north around Mt. Arvon and then northeast to Mouth of the Huron River Park (still part of Marquette Co, although you have to drive up US41 and then go through Skanee to get there) and then back down, skirting the Hurons as they do it. His friends have cabins throughout the area, but they do spend a night in tents. Sometimes it rains, but he always comes back happier than before. I don't think I could keep up with them, it is a hellish ride.
Amazing and I should go look at this .
-Nate