Our Second Tour

You could feel the excitement in the air as we departed for our 2nd Annual Cemetery Tour led by Mike Skinner. After departing Piquette, we made a brief stop at the Ford United Methodist Church to view the Edsel Ruddiman grave. Edsel Ruddiman was Henry Ford's friend for whom he named his own son. The group drove on to St. Martha's Episcopal Church, home of the Ford Family Cemetery. It was really interesting to see most of the Ford family resting in one place. My one unanswered question is who was Lolita Fisher Ford (a Ford who died at the young age of 27)? We viewed the resting place of Henry and Clara, and then had the opportunity to view the inside of the church. One of the special features of the building is a stained glass window of a Model T. How unexpected! One of our members even gave a little boy from the church a brief ride in the parking lot before we left. What a great Model T ambassador! En route to Henry Ford Village we passed St. Alphonsus Church, the site of Patrick O'Hern's grave (Henry Ford's mother's stepfather). We then gathered at the Henry Ford Village, the former site of Henry Ford's birthplace that now resides at Greenfield Village. A large fountain has been erected surrounded by plaques that detail events from Henry Ford's life. We got so rowdy security almost kicked us out (Just kidding! The guard was only concerned that our cars not be harmed where we were parked). Then, the group drove on to Henry Ford Estate - Fairlane to crash another wedding. What is it with the Piquette Ts running into weddings this year? We quickly lined up our cars and took a photo before the wedding party arrived. We pulled out in the nick of time and continued to the 75th anniversary celebration at the Dearborn Inn. We were treated to an antique car show on the Inn's front lawn and an ice cream social. After enjoying the festivities for an hour, we traveled to Randy Mason's home for a wonderful lunch. Viewing Randy's unique abode was a real treat! With his six antique cars, about 50 antique outboard motors, two vintage boats, several old toy trains and his vintage Fiesta collection, the tour group had a lot to take in on this stop. Thanks also to Randy's charming co-host Debra Wake-Williams. Finally, we drove to Woodmere Cemetery for a successful conclusion of this year's cemetery tour. Thanks to all who participated and special thanks to Mike Skinner and Randy Mason for putting together a great event!