Abraham Lincoln Mask at The Henry Ford

It's pretty weird to see Lincoln's death mask, but it is there at the Henry Ford in Dearborn and since today is his birthday, February 12, 1809, we thought we'd add that bit of trivia. When you think about it, they do have some pretty macabre stuff at The Henry: his death mask, the chair in which he sat when he got shot, the car Kennedy was assassinated in.  It makes for an interesting tour of the museum!

Rosa Parks Bus at The Henry Ford

Today, Rosa Parks, the mother of the freedom movement, would have been 99 years old.  At The Henry Ford in Dearborn, you can see and get on and sit in her seat on the bus where she refused to obey the driver's order that she give up her seat to a white person. A recording of her voice plays above your head. This 1955 act of civil disobedience in Montgomery, Alabama helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa was awarded numerous medals and awards including the Congressional Gold Medal.

Pride of Detroit at The Henry Ford

In 1927, just a few months after Lindbergh made his historic flight across the Atlantic, two men from Detroit, Ed Schlee and Billy Brock, tried to fly around the world. They had made it from Michigan hopscotching all the way to Tokyo, but a monsoon and pleas from their families and maybe an ounce of sanity made them abort and take a ship to Seattle from Japan, thus completing their journey around the world in 18 days. Their plane, the Pride of Detroit, is displayed at the Henry Ford with details of their heroic efforts.

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn

The Henry Ford in Dearborn is a spectacular place--a world class museum-- that we return to again and again.  Every out-of-state visitor has to come to here.  It is a national historic landmark that began as Henry Ford's personal collection. Today, it houses such jaw-dropping artifacts as the chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated, the car Kennedy was driving in when he was shot, the bus in which Rosa Parks made her protest heard round the world (and they even let you sit in her seat and hear her own words) and an original authentic 1946 diner restored to perfection. Then there are the magnificent displays of locomotive engines and airplanes and power grids as well as a special exhibit on the fascinating George Washington Carver. We love visiting in the wintertime, because it is less crowded.