Buy a new Ford and get a free bag of charcoal briquettes!!!

[deestafford]

At least that's what Henry Ford offered in the '20s.  I got my new issue of  Cook's Country today and in it they had a blurb in it about Henry Ford's love of the briquettes.  He didn't invent them.  The patent was actually granted to a Mr.  B. A.Zwoyer in 1897 who envisioned them to be used in industry.  Ford hated to waste anything and made the briquettes from by products of the wood in his factories.  I don't remember the complete story but he had a man working for him named Kingford and his name ended up getting on the charcoal.

Anyway,Ford loved to camp and one of his favorite camping buddies was Thomas Edison.  Ford's production methods let to the Model T which became affordable and allowed people more freedom.  Ford saw this and offered a free bag of charcoal with every new Ford.  He even sold them in his dealerships and repair shops.

So, if you ever buy an old Model T, check the truck to see if that free bag of charcoal briquettes is still there.

Dee

[Pappymn]

Great story. I have watched a few documentaries on Henry Ford......don't think he ever won father of the year or any popularity awards.  Interesting man

[deestafford]

Pappy,  From my studies of great men such as Ford, they are so focused and so driven that they have little time of emotion other than what is the point of that focus.  If they do have something else outside of that, it is usually the wife and not the children who receive what little adoration is available.  They feel their obligation to the children is to set a good example of hard work and providing for the family and by doing so they will follow in his footsteps. 
Unfortunately, many times the children feel neglected and estranged from the daddy and want nothing to do with what he has labored so hard to leave them as a legacy.  I'm sure you've heard that saying, "From shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in three generations."  The granddaddy made it.  The children spent it. And the grandchildren had nothing left for them and they had to go to work as did the granddaddy.  That holds true unless the granddaddy is like a Rockerfeller who made such a fortune that his heirs couldn't spend it all.  Dee

[TMB]

I was told Mr.Kingsford was his brother inlaw, but not sure if it's true

[Pappymn]

Not judging him. But like most genius people. Another side to the coin. His contribution to America is beyond reproach.  In fact, for me, the only American car I will buy next is a Ford. And I have never owned a Ford.

[drholly]

Not judging him. But like most genius people. Another side to the coin. His contribution to America is beyond reproach.  In fact, for me, the only American car I will buy next is a Ford. And I have never owned a Ford.

One of the stories I heard / read was that Mr. Ford required that all engines be crated in specific crates. The wood was to be of a certain type, the length and width of the crate was specific as was the placement of the screws. When the engines were received, the crates were to be carefully dissembled and the wood was used for the bed of the "pickup". A very early example of sustainable manufacturing.

My Fords have been a 1965 and 1966 Mustang, a 1977 Pinto (it went over 250,000 miles without exploding!) and an F250 pickup.

While I have owned many other cars, I have always thought of my self as a Ford guy.

[Ka Honu]

... a free bag of charcoal with every new Ford.  He even sold them in his dealerships and repair shops.

He was just marketing his own product.  The following from the Kingsford web site...

     Simply a Matter of Taste

     And has been since the 1920s, when Henry Ford learned of a process for turning wood scraps
     from the production of Model T's into charcoal briquets. He built a charcoal plant, and the rest is history.

     The Kingsford Company was formed when E.G. Kingsford, a relative of Ford's, brokered the site selection
     for Ford's new charcoal manufacturing plant. The company, originally called Ford Charcoal, was renamed
     Kingsford® Charcoal in his honor.

[deestafford]

Fairly recently there was a program on the History Channel (I think) about Five Men Who Built America.  It was fascinating.  It was about Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and I have  the Turtle's disease CRAFT and have forgotten the other two.  It gives a great lesson on what these men did for America and made it the greatest country in the world.

I find history so intriguing and wish I had taken the time when I was younger, or had the time, to have read more and become as knowledgeable as I think I have become since I retired years ago.  Is it wisdom or just thinking I know more than I do?  Do any of y'all suffer from the same self-delusion?

Dee

[squirtthecat]

Great stories!

I always thought the blue in the Blue Oval and the Blue Bag looked awfully similar...

[Tailgating is my game]

Not judging him. But like most genius people. Another side to the coin. His contribution to America is beyond reproach.  In fact, for me, the only American car I will buy next is a Ford. And I have never owned a Ford.

One of the stories I heard / read was that Mr. Ford required that all engines be crated in specific crates. The wood was to be of a certain type, the length and width of the crate was specific as was the placement of the screws. When the engines were received, the crates were to be carefully dissembled and the wood was used for the bed of the "pickup". A very early example of sustainable manufacturing.

My Fords have been a 1965 and 1966 Mustang, a 1977 Pinto (it went over 250,000 miles without exploding!) and an F250 pickup.

While I have owned many other cars, I have always thought of my self as a Ford guy.

i see myself as a Reagan guy

[Tailgating is my game]

I bet the ford salesman would do the same for you today

[Ka Honu]

... I find history so intriguing and wish I had taken the time when I was younger, or had the time, to have read more and become as knowledgeable as I think I have become since I retired years ago.  Is it wisdom or just thinking I know more than I do?  Do any of y'all suffer from the same self-delusion?

A lot of it has to do with the fact that there was a lot less history when you were young and you remember stuff you lived through more clearly than stuff you read about in school (back when they'd barely invented books).

[sliding_billy]

If I could get a smoker out of a new car, I might bite.

[Tailgating is my game]

If I could get a smoker out of a new car, I might bite.

A few years ago you could have got a free GM car is you bought a bag of charcoal


My dodge is closing in on 250,000 miles & guess what it is starting to turn into a smoker