Any model A factory workers alive?
 

Does anyone know someone alive who worked on the assembly line building model A's? They'd be not much younger than 100 years old I would guess. For no reason. Just curious. There's probably someone but I'd bet they're disappearing fast.

Re: Any model A factory workers alive?
 

The guy that made the interior for my rdst. PU back in the early 70's had installed interiors in Model A's when new. That's as close as I can come to a direct connection with a Ford plant worker.

Re: Any model A factory workers alive?
 

freak ..................
Not likely. If he was 20 years old in 1930, he would have been born in 1910, making him over 100, today. It is not impossible, though. Same way with original owners.
MIKE :)

Re: Any model A factory workers alive?
 

I imagine quite a few started younger than 20, maybe 16?... and if they started in 32... Still pretty old today though. It would be neat to identify living workers or original owners. If they exist they're not going to be around much longer. Reminds me of when the last WWI soldier died recently.

Re: Any model A factory workers alive?
 

Hi fr,

Met quite a few elderly, retired Model T & A workers when I was single & lived for a short time in Detroit in 1966.

Was most interested to talk to them because I had already owned, drove, & did extensive work on Model A's for (8) years since 1958.

All of those that I spoke to were very gentleman like & appeared to have a certain sense of pride in relating how they were specialist & had mastered one (1) or two (2) areas of Ford's Production.

One guy (about 70), & his wife used to sit on the 1st floor exterior steps of our multi-story apartment building, (between Woodward & 2nd Avenue on Euclid Street near West Grand Boulevard), waiting for me to get off of work so he could chat about Model A's.

He was a differential assembly specialist, never owned a car, & smiled when he said he knew nothing about carburetors or distributors.

He said most of the ideas to increase rapid production came from Ford's workers on the assembly lines.

He chuckled & remarked that this was before the Unions who later tried to slow production so Ford had to hire more workers; hence, the Unions could collect more Union dues.

He said they were very well paid at a time when a large part of Detroit had very poor residents who stood in soup line three (3) times a day for meals.

He commented that "immediately" after the 1929 crash, the auto manufacturing industry "immediately" laid off thousands of auto workers followed thousands of lay offs from supporting industries that provided materials, parts, & accessories for the major auto industries.

But, with such hard times, he said nobody locked doors on their houses -- families had picnics & slept in the park on weekends -- one could safely walk anywhere in Detroit in 1930 with no street lights -- nothing at all like the famous "Crime-City-USA" we saw in Detroit in 1966.

The following year after I left, (1967), it was so sad to see this Virginia Park part of Detroit in flames.

The Model A Ford assembly line worker generation were no doubt a great team of honest & hard working citizens who looked for "work" as opposed to looking for just a "job". Very proud citizens -- just glad to have met a few.

Re: Any model A factory workers alive?
 

Grand Pa was born in 1902. He went to work for ford in 1916 instaling the 3 gears under the steering wheel of Model T's. One day at lunch the guys were gonna rat him out for being only 14,this scared him... So he walked away and never picked up his last paycheck from Ford! He went and joiend the Merchant Marine for 3 years. Then at 17 he joined the Marines!!
Grand Pa would talk about T's untill his Death at 95 years old....But his love was the Model A !!! I've got a few of his Ford Wrenches,and remember his T tool box.