Here we were drifting around the nation’s rust belt, Detroit and Dearborn Michigan, when we stumbled into America’s attic. Maybe not exactly stumbled, more like encouraged by long time friends Jim and MaryKay and their daughter Kati and hubby JT. We arranged a rendezvous in Tipp City, Ohio and enjoyed a long visit.
The attic is The Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn Michigan. Henry Ford had a passion for collecting treasures, our nation’s treasures. Because of his passion we all can go and rummage through these treasures in Henry’s attic. That is what we have been doing for the last two days.
We got to see huge steam locomotives, C&O No 1601, an Allegheny Class 2-6-6-6 locomotive. We also saw historic locomotives, like the 1831 De Witt Clinton, which looks like a toy beside the mighty Allegheny. We also saw huge stationary steam engines that powered early industry, and replicas of Edison’s first electric generating stations
On the second day we visited the Greenfield Village, a living history type museum. Here Henry gathered famous buildings from around the country including Edison’s complete Menlo Park Complex from New Jersey, the Wright Cycle Company from Detroit Michigan and the Logan County Courthouse from Postville Illinois where Abe Lincoln once practiced as a circuit court lawyer. Of course Postville is now Lincoln, Illinois. There are many more, but I need to leave something for you to discover.
Near the end of the day, we were exploring the infamous Smiths Creek Railroad Depot.

(This is where Henry Ford was evicted from the train as a teenager for catching the baggage car on fire with his experiments. Ford’s friend Edison had the depot packed up and rebuilt in Ford’s own Greenfield Village without telling him about it. Anyway it’s a long story, go check it out.)

I was having a detailed telegraph discussion with a lady who portrayed a conductor on the train. She had a telegraph key and sounder set up as a demonstration. Of course I stepped up and bragged that I was a telegrapher on the Northern Pacific Railroad in the 1960’s and offered to demonstrate. She handed me a telegraph form that had the code printed in a table on the back. Only the code was the international code, not the railroad code. I spent the next quarter hour explaining and demonstrating the difference. For example an “O” in International Morse is dah-dah-dah and in American Morse it is dit – dit. Not di-dit like an “I” but dit – dit like an “O”. Also “Y” becomes di-dit – di-dit instead of dah-di-dah-dah.
As a reward for all my effort the lady conductor offered us a ride on her train. So for my kibitzers I have a steam locomotive video on the website this time around. (Note: I have not been able to insert it here, so jump to my Facebook page to see the video clip.)

We did have some excitement the first day. When we returned to the coach for lunch there was a big puddle of antifreeze under the front of the coach. The heater core had sprung a leak. To get by I connected the inlet and outlet hoses together. We don’t really need the heater this time of year. Temperatures run in the 80’s by day and 70’s by night.
It is just after nine here and the big red meatball of a sun is just setting at the Isabella County Fairgrounds in Mount Pleasant Michigan. We have the whole campground to ourselves. Good Night and pleasant dreams from Gary and Judy in Michigan.