"Agras MG-1" Drone, with remote control, battery, and battery charger, 2016. Gift of Northwestern Michigan College / THF199347
Curators at The Henry Ford document milestones in their given areas of responsibility. For agriculture and environment collections, one significant recent development involves uses of uncrewed aerial technology — popularly known as drones — to apply growth enhancers (fertilizers) and plant protectors (herbicides and pesticides) to specific locations in fields, vineyards, and orchards. Curator Debra Reid began conversations with the Michigan Soybean Committee in 2023 to secure a drone for our collections to document this aspect of precision agriculture.
Drones flew on military missions, predominately, until the early 2000s. One example includes the 1918 Kettering Bug, described as the world's first "self-flying aerial torpedo.” As a Smithsonian Magazine article explained, “the simple, cheaply made 12-foot-long wooden biplane with a wingspan of nearly 15 feet” included “a 180-pound bomb. It was powered by a four-cylinder, 40-horsepower engine manufactured by Ford.” These precision-based technologies aimed to put fewer pilots at risk.
Employees of the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company Working on the Kettering Bug, 1918 / THF270430
Other drones in The Henry Ford’s collections address robotics in aerial photography and stunts.
3DRobotics Solo Drone, 2015-2016. Gift of Industrial Designers Society of America / THF193809
3D Robotics (3DR) released its Solo drone in 2015 to great fanfare. NBC News claimed the Solo, when paired with a GoPro HERO camera, could take Hollywood-quality shots. 3DR, the largest North American manufacturer of drones for consumers at the time, believed that the quadcopter with its open-source operating software would dominate the aerial photography market. It may have done so, but competition from the China-based Dajiang Innovation Technology Company (DJI) challenged 3DR and outmaneuvered the Berkeley, California, company. In response, 3DR abandoned the drone manufacturing business and DJI came to dominate the hobby market for uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Front view of the "Agras MG-1" Drone with propellers folded to show the radar module, spray tank, spray nozzles, and landing gear, 2016. Gift of Northwestern Michigan College / THF199333
DJI manufactured the Agras MG-1 specifically for the growing market in precision agriculture and advertised the octocopter as “designed for variable rate application of liquid pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides, bringing new levels of efficiency and manageability to agriculture." Farmers found the investment paid off in numerous ways. They reduced input costs by reducing the quantity of synthetic chemicals applied. Additional environmental benefits included reduced run-off that negatively affects water quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions because farmers used less fossil fuel during application. Reducing vehicular traffic also improved field health by reducing soil compaction which supported regenerative agriculture goals.
The rapid expansion of hobby and commercial drone markets prompted licensing regulation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required commercial drone operator licensing in 2016, but some schools had anticipated the need. Northwestern Michigan College first offered a course in Uncrewed Aerial Systems operation at the Yuba Airport in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, in 2010, becoming one of the first schools in the United States to do so. In 2013, NMC launched an Associate in Applied Science degree with a specialization in UAS. Then, NMC purchased one of the first DJI spray drones used in the United States, according to Tony Sauerbrey, UAS program manager at NMC. The Agras MG-1 facilitated the rapid expansion of commercial drone use in Michigan farm fields.
Instruction in Agras MG-1 operation. Gift of Northwestern Michigan College / THF717085
Learning to operate the Agras MG-1, dispensing water, rather than chemicals. Gift of Northwestern Michigan College / THF717084
The Agras MG-1 in flight over a Michigan vineyard. Gift of Northwestern Michigan College / THF717081
DJI designed the Agras MG-1 to carry 22 pounds of liquid pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers — an amount that could treat an average of an acre in 10 minutes. Its “intelligent” operating system relied on global positioning systems (GPS) data to fly level to the terrain and to automatically adjust the quantity of spray to the flying speed and thus ensure even distribution. Operators had to understand the inputs as well as ways to override them if the battery ran low, the tank ran dry or changes in the weather made it difficult to operate the drone safely.
Rapid expansion in drone-aided agriculture led to training alliances. NMC partnered in 2017 with Michigan State University's Institute of Agricultural Technology so MSU students could meet drone licensing requirements. NMC also partnered in 2020 with Unmanned Systems Institute which administered additional industry safety certifications. Instructors need up-to-date technology, not dated UAS. Thus, NMC retired its Argas M-1, and we acquired it to document early UAS use in precision agriculture.
Debra Reid is Curator of Agriculture and the Environment at The Henry Ford.
Stand 44 (left) and Plum Market Kitchen (right) at The Henry Ford / Images courtesy of Debra Reid
The Henry Ford includes five food service locations that have been awarded Green Restaurant Association certification. This certification recognizes excellence in eight environmental impact categories. The Green Restaurant association (GRA) says the standards, "reflect over 30 years of research in the field of restaurants and the environment. Thousands of restaurants and hundreds of thousands of restaurant personnel provide the living laboratory for the continued evolution of the GRA standards. The purpose of the GRA standards is to provide a transparent way to measure each restaurant's environmental accomplishments, while providing a pathway for the next steps they can take to improve their environmental sustainability."
Image courtesy of Green Restaurant Association, dinegreen.com
The Henry Ford's certified food service locations are:
- Stand 44
- Taste of History
- Plum Market Kitchen
- Group Lunch Room B Concessions
- THF Catering
Of note about the The Henry Ford's restaurants and the award scores is that Stand 44 is the only GRA 4 Star certified restaurant in Michigan — the highest rating that you can receive in GRA certification — and one of only twenty in the entire United States. Five of those twenty are in one building on California Polytechnic's San Luis Obispo campus. Three more are dining halls on the campus of Towson University in Maryland.
Stand 44’s waste composting method, which makes use of an industrial biodigester, was a key element of the venue's 4 star GRA certification. / Image by The Henry Ford
Earning these recognitions required cross-functional effort across The Henry Ford. The certification categories focus specifically on energy use, water management, waste management, building & furnishings, chemicals, product sourcing, reusables & disposables, and Education & Transparency. The high points of our efforts to secure Green Restaurant certification include:
- Reducing energy consumption by replacing non-energy-efficient equipment with Energy Star dish washers, ranges, and coolers
- Reducing wastewater contamination by installing oil separators in kitchen drains
- Recycling cardboard
- Recycling glass, plastic, and metals through single-stream recycling
- Recycling scrap metal in conjunction with Facilities & Grounds
- Recycling fresh food scraps to Firestone Farm livestock
- Biodigesting waste and returning it to Greenfield Village fields
- Sourcing green or biodegradable products for food service, including take-out boxes, plasticware, and napkins
- Sourcing fresh foods locally to reduce energy used in processing and transport
- Educating about heritage crops on the menu (in conjunction with Greenfield Village presenters and through presentations to Henry Ford Academy students)
While existing efforts have met green standards for the certification, additional opportunities await future attention. These efforts include composting and biodigesting in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, eliminating single-use plastics, and more robust recycling of aluminum cans and glass bottles. The Henry Ford aims to become the premier example of large institution-wide efforts to achieve environmentally sustainable practices, educating staff, students, and guests about best practices that lessen individual and institutional impact on the environment.
Lee Ward is Director of Food Service and Catering at The Henry Ford.
Spring! A time to celebrate! The season brings longer days, warmer weather, and new life. Budding flowers, baby chicks and lambs, painted eggs, and, of course, the Easter Bunny — all symbolize the return of spring and the end of dreary winter.
Easter Greeting Postcard, circa 1910 / THF113344
The Easter Bunny's ancient origins are unclear, but various cultures have long associated the amazingly reproductive rabbit (or hare) with spring and the celebration of new life. Spring is the time when hares and rabbits — hares are larger and have longer ears and hind feet — produce large litters of leverets (baby hares) or kittens (baby rabbits). This association was a small step toward a connection with spring and Easter, the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ.
The Easter Bunny (originally known as the Easter Hare or Easter Rabbit) is believed to have originated in German folklore, which described the mythic creature bringing colorfully decorated eggs to children. Whether the Easter Bunny laid the eggs or hid them may be a matter of interpretation, especially when inquisitive children ask for explanations. Written accounts from Germany in the 1680s mention the Easter egg-laying hare, identified hundreds of years later as the Easter "Bunny." German immigrants brought the tradition to colonial America, perhaps as early as the late 1600s. A drawing by Fraktur artist Johann Conrad Gilbert (1734-1812) depicting a hare hopping along with a basket of decorated eggs provides more substantial proof of the Easter Bunny in early America. Yet, few outside the areas populated by German-speaking immigrants recognized the mythic creature. By the late 1800s, however, the Easter Bunny — like Santa Claus and the Christmas tree — was well on its way to becoming an established holiday symbol throughout America. Growing commercialization of Easter materials — greeting cards, books, toys, candies and sweets, and other material — spread the holiday celebration across cultures, establishing the mythic egg-bringer as a holiday tradition. In the early 1900s, Americans would shed the monikers, Easter Hare or Easter Rabbit, in favor of the more kid-friendly Easter Bunny.
Check out these other Spring and Easter posts found on The Henry Ford's webpages:
Resources used for this article:
- Shoemaker, Alfred L. Eastertide in Pennsylvania, a folk cultural study. Kutztown, PA: Pennsylvania Folklife Society. 1960, pp. 46-50.
- Winick, Stephen. "On the Bunny Trail: In Search of the Easter Bunny." Library of Congress Blogs: Folklife Today. American Folklife Center & Veterans History Project. March 22, 2016.
Andy Stupperich is an Associate Curator at The Henry Ford.
Have you ever decked yourself out in head-to-toe colors of your favorite sports team? Discussed theories about your favorite TV show? Celebrated a fictional holiday like Festivus, wished someone “May the Fourth be with you,” or worn pink on Wednesdays? If so, then you’ve participated in fandom.
On May 4th of each year, Star Wars fans celebrate Star Wars Day. Once a grassroots, fan-led celebration, it has been embraced by Lucasfilm and Disney and bled over into the popular consciousness. / THF95553
The idea of fandom — a group of fans of something or someone, particularly enthusiastic ones — can trace its roots back to the literature of the 1800s and early 1900s. In 1894, literary scholar and critic George Saintsbury coined the term “Janeites” to refer to the most intense devotees of the work of Jane Austen. In 1903, after receiving numerous letters from the character’s devoted fanbase (and after 20,000 readers cancelled their subscriptions to The Strand, in which his stories were published), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle brought Sherlock Holmes back to life, eight years after killing the character off in hopes of moving on to other projects. Doyle’s “resurrection” of Sherlock Holmes is perhaps one of the earliest examples of fandom shaping the work that it so adores.
Sherlock Holmes’s popularity has lasted well beyond his own “lifetime.” He has been portrayed in film and television over 250 times, and is often treated as a real historic figure, despite his fictional nature. / THF722711
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, fandom communities began to coalesce around the stories published by Hugo Gernsback in Amazing Stories, the first science fiction magazine. Gernsback published the letters and addresses of fans who sent in mail to the magazine, allowing fans to begin writing to each other, too, meeting up whenever possible. In 1934, Gernsback created the Science Fiction League, a correspondence club for fans of the genre. The Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference was held in 1935, arguably the first of what would become known as “fan cons,” or fan conventions.
Science fiction remained a fertile ground for fandom. In the 1970s, fans of shows like Star Trek began to focus on the relationships between characters, producing creative works like fan fiction and ”fan vids” that explored character dynamics beyond what was presented in the original media. / THF362462
The bar for fandom in music was set by Beatlemania. From 1963 to 1966, young, passionate, female fans of The Beatles created a subculture unlike any the world had previously seen. Originally, Beatlemania was confined to Britain; the phenomenon went international, though, with the band’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Everywhere the Beatles went, they were followed by screaming fans, captivated by the band’s memorable hooks, accessible themes, and on-stage charisma. This fervor would last until the group’s last stadium concert in 1966. Beatlemania created the template that later boy bands would seek to imitate, and screaming female fans became a staple of boy band concerts into the 21st century.
At the peak of Beatlemania, there was a plethora of Beatles memorabilia available on the market – whether you wanted to represent the band as a whole, or a particular favorite Beatle. / THF92312
Fandom can be more than just a one-way street. The relationship between Taylor Swift and her fans — dubbed “Swifties” — has changed the face of fandom, both inside and outside of the music industry. Throughout her career, Swift has interacted with her fans on social media, teased upcoming projects with “Easter eggs” for them to decode, and at one point even invited them to “Secret Sessions” — exclusive, invitation-only listening parties where select fans, handpicked by Swift, were the first to hear her soon-to-be-released albums. In return, Swift’s fans have catapulted her to incredible heights of success. The relationship between artist and fandom, however, is not without concern, as Swift herself has alluded to the parasocial extent to which some fans have taken the relationship.
In 2024, Time magazine named Taylor Swift their Person of the Year. The level of fandom surrounding her that year was such that she became what writer Sam Lansky called “the main character of the world." / THF722029
History shows that fandoms have the power to shape popular culture. But why do people join fandoms? The same themes — the feeling of acceptance, understanding — crop up in many discussions around the question. So, too, does the topic of escapism — using another world, or even another person, as a distraction from the stress of one’s own life. It is part of human nature to seek inclusion and comfort, to feel as if we belong as part of a group, that we have found a safe space. Perhaps this, then, is the role that fandoms fill, and why they remain a recurring part of our stories.
Rachel Yerke-Osgood is an Associate Curator at The Henry Ford.
The Jackson House: a Curated Story from Selma, Alabama, to Greenfield Village
At the end of last summer, the story of the Jackson House, a landmark symbol of the Long Civil Rights Movement, took a historic turn. On Maple Lane in Greenfield Village, initial repositioning of the more than 100-year-old structure began, marking the next chapter in a meticulous reconstruction project. With its relocation from Selma, Alabama, to Dearborn, Michigan, the Jackson House is set to give millions of visitors to The Henry Ford the opportunity to hear stories of family, friendship, leadership and Selma’s role in one of the most momentous movements in U.S. history — the organized 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches that helped ensure all Americans would have the civil rights and voting rights promised to them.
Photo by Brian Egen
It was Dr. Sullivan Jackson and Mrs. Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson who opened their Selma home to close friend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his allies in Dallas County and nationally as a place to rest and strategize the path forward to secure voting rights for African Americans. Hundreds of people came through the home, including several Nobel Peace Prize winners, international dignitaries, media representatives, and activists and supporters of civil rights for all. This activism helped lead to the passing of the Voting Rights Act in June 1965.
Much work still needs to be done in the home’s reconstruction in Greenfield Village, which first required preparing the site between the George Washington Carver Memorial and the William Holmes McGuffey Birthplace. Last fall, further reassembling of the house’s structural components, such as its covered front porch, commenced. Over the coming months, the roof will be replaced, floors and walls repaired, electrical and plumbing systems connected, central heating and air-conditioning will be installed, and fire protection and security systems will be added.
Less visible, yet just as critical, behind-the-scenes work also continues, said Amber N. Mitchell, The Henry Ford’s curator of Black history. “The home will look much different than what it appeared in Selma before the relocation,” she said. “We are renovating it to look similar to what it did around 1965, and there are many ways to interpret that time period that we are investigating.
“This is a true collaboration,” she added. “A combination of the actual structure reconstruction, our historical resources and great detective work on the part of our curatorial team and staff to ensure the Jackson House’s story of family and community is as uplifted as the connecting story of the voting rights movement.”
A public opening of the restored Jackson House in Greenfield Village is currently planned for June 2026.
This post was written by Jennifer LaForce and adapted from an article in the Winter/Spring 2025 issue of The Henry Ford Magazine.
The road to diverting waste from landfills is naturally a long one. The process involves more than simply owning a receptacle for recyclables. In Michigan, recycling has waned significantly in recent years, which is why The Henry Ford must be a leading example of the potential impact we have on our environment by reducing and diverting waste.
Single-Stream Recycling
The Henry Ford's strategic goal to "cultivate environmental responsibility" includes tracking our waste streams, educating the wider public about its importance through informational signage, and diverting them to a home where they can be reused instead of wasting away in a landfill.
Receptacles for recycling and landfill waste at Stand 44 restaurant / Photo courtesy of Aias Danier
Tracking recycling (cardboard, plastic, paper, and metal) and landfill (all other waste) usage across the entire campus of The Henry Ford, including facility offices, and educating the public require considerable thought from both an operations and aesthetics perspective. Educating the public (and staff) requires a powerful and effective front-end presentation paired with an equally efficient back-of-house operation. To further this effort, multiple departments are cooperating to improve our front-end museum recycling experience while upgrading our back-of-house programs and recycling areas to accommodate. Operationally modern recycling bins with a historical touch, carefully considered front-end signage, a cleaner back-of-house program for efficient hauling, and optimized roll-off dumpsters for more accurate waste tracking are all significant steps on the road to Zero Waste.
Specialized-Stream Recycling
Our recycling endeavors extend beyond simply evolving our recycling participation within the museum and facility offices. We seek to engage in specialized waste reduction recycling streams that cannot be mixed in with our single stream-hauler. A few of the significant catagories that are being considered by The Henry Ford include:
Glass: Glass is a heavy material of comparatively low value that often requires specialized equipment to recycle. Depending on your location, your single-stream waste hauler may or may not be capable of handling it. However, with the amount of wine and liquor bottles that our Catering Department handles for events, there is plenty of demand and material to justify a special waste stream for hauling. And thankfully, there are a few companies in our area that are capable of recycling it. Once picked up, these bottles can be hauled to a facility where they are crushed into fine particles and can be used for a variety of projects such as insulation, décor, or as material to make new bottles or aggregates.
Batteries: Battery recycling is on the rise thanks to the reuse potential of its raw materials. In fact, when ground down and separated from its packaging and casing, the resulting material is a rich black, almost soil-like color that is colloquially referred to as “black gold.” However, batteries in single-stream recycling and landfills can be dangerous exactly because those raw materials can leach out of the casing onto recyclable materials or even cause a fire to break out in a landfill.
Batteries, just like glass, often require specialized equipment to be recycled effectively and safely.
Battery recycling container / Photo courtesy of Aias Danier
Various Plastic Packaging and Sheeting: LDPE (low-density polyethylene or more recognizably "Number 4 Plastic" like wrap and films), and polystyrene (more recognizably "Number 6 Plastic" like packaging foams and food containers) are often not recycled due to the economic impracticality, but a few businesses across the United States have been able to find new uses for recycled plastic sheeting.
The most common acceptable way to recycle plastic sheeting is through retail stores that participate in plastic collection programs.
Retail stores often participate in these bag recycling programs where customers can drop off their plastic waste and have it hauled to a partnering plastic bag recycling facility or company.
For example, there are companies that make composite decking from a mixture of sawdust and recycled plastic films. Partnerships with companies like these could elevate recycling initiatives closer toward Zero Waste.
Plastic sheeting that requires specialty recycling / Photo courtesy of Aias Danier
Paper: Paper is a generally accepted material to recycle, though can sometimes be complicated to dispose of if the contents are proprietary.
We at the The Henry Ford have a higher demand to dispose of sensitive business documents in a secure fashion due to our administration structure. It is typically more efficient to have a specialized paper shredder company to come on-site with a special box truck to shred our sensitive documents directly on campus before hauling it off to be recycled normally.
Investing in our own paper shredder or numerous smaller paper shredders for a more secure and cost-effective method of handling all paper waste may be of interest to the The Henry Ford in the future, especially if cardboard can be included in that stream.
A collection of paper ready for the shredder / Photo courtesy of Aias Danier
The Facilities team at The Henry Ford remains committed to navigating waste streams, now and into the future. Sharing this work expands our efforts to cultivate environmental responsibility.
Aias Danier is assistant construction manager at The Henry Ford
In 1992, Jill Shurtleff, a designer with the Gillette Razor company, challenged the idea that women’s razors should be limited to the repackaging of men's razors with a different color scheme. Considering how women shave, where they shave and why they shave, Shurtleff created the Sensor for Women razor with a wider handle for better grip and a blade cartridge designed to get into hard-to-see crooks of the body. She might not have known it at the time, but her work intersects with a complex history of body hair removal. Women's relationship with their body hair has evolved tremendously over the past two centuries. Why and how women choose to remove it — or not remove it — reflects changes in technology, politics, fashion, and culture that still impact people today.
The Sensor for Women Razor from Gillette was the first razor designed for women’s shaving needs specifically in mind. / THF803274
Before the mid-1800s, removing so-called "superfluous hair" — the term used for body and facial hair — was rare but could be dangerous. For women who suffered from hirsutism, extra hair growth on the face, books provided homemade depilatory recipes. These remedies often contained caustic and poisonous ingredients such as barium hydroxide, quicklime, and arsenic, but the danger of these chemicals was unknown at the time. Following the American Civil War, electricity transitioned from being a scientific fascination to an everyday utility, and many turned to its power for their hair removal needs. Electrolysis, using electrified needles to zap hair follicles and make the hair fall out, rose in popularity in the 1870s. The process was expensive, grueling, and painful; inattentive dermatologists could permanently scar their patients’ faces. Later hair removal methods were riskier. One infamous depilatory cream known as Koremlu contained thallium acetate, a main ingredient in rat poison; women reported neuropathic pain, blindness, and even paralysis after using Koremlu. In the 1920s, hair salons installed x-ray machines to rid women of facial hair; women exposed to the radiation from these machines experienced ulcerated sores and cancerous tumors on their faces. However, x-ray machines for hair removal processes remained popular until the end of the 1940s.
"Sheer" hair remover, circa 1928-1935. This depilatory cream used the now banned substance, Mercurochrome, a compound of mercury and bromine. / THF802140
Women risked their lives for smooth skin, because the stakes of hairiness were not merely aesthetic. Some women with extreme hair growth on their faces and bodies were put on display for circus entertainment or studied as evolutionary anomalies, practices that caused great harm. Early electrolysis practitioners reported their patients were nearly suicidal due to their hairiness. Prominent psychologist and eugenicist, Knight Dunlap, wrote in a 1921 book that inherent hairlessness was evidence of a woman's fitness for partnership and motherhood. Being hairless was not just about beauty standards; it was seen as proof of one's humanity.
This 1898 Barnum and Bailey’s circus poster shows a woman with hirsutism who was placed on display. / 35.784.116 Image by Kayla Chenault.
Even with these pressures to be hairless, true ubiquity of hair removal came with a change in clothing styles. During the first three decades of the 20th century, women's fashion was revolutionized, and more of the body was on display than ever before. Haute couture designers, such as Paul Poiret or the Callot sisters, created free-flowing, loose-fitting garments inspired by clothing from Ancient Greece, Japan, and the Middle East. These styles came in vogue with fashion-conscious upper-class women in the early 1910s and trickled down into the mainstream during and after the First World War.
Wedding Dress (1918). This Lucile Ltd. wedding dress exemplifies the flowing, popular couture style. / THF29590
These new styles featured short or sheer sleeves, or sometimes no sleeves at all, leaving women's underarms exposed. In 1915, the first advertisements touting the merits of removing underarm hair appeared in women's magazines. The ads featured illustrations of women in the latest gowns, showing off their smoothness, which could be achieved with depilatories or razors. Gillette promoted its Milady Décolleté as the first razor advertised for women. The Milady Décolleté razor was not designed for women specifically; it was the Gillette men's razor with a smaller blade head and specialized packaging. But the advertising worked, and women became a profitable market for safety razors.
Trade Catalogue, "By Request, Gillette Milady Décolleté" (1915). / THF720459 and THF720460
In the 1920s and 1930s, leg hair removal slowly entered the mainstream as popular hemlines exposed more of the leg. Smooth legs were in vogue with young women but caused a minor societal panic over the changing aesthetic. Newspapers ran sensationalist stories about women racing to the doctor after cutting their legs trying to shave them . Some men wrote opinion pieces about disliking the look of smooth legs. The myth that getting rid of one's leg hair made it grow back darker and thicker was a common cautionary tale perpetuated in women’s beauty guides.
Trade Catalogue, "Present Modes demand this harmless preparation," circa 1925. This depilatory cream instruction brochure shows women who have used the cream on their legs. / THF720482
Women fully embraced smooth legs during the Second World War. Wartime rationing programs limited the production of nylon hosiery, leaving women bare-legged. Meanwhile, beautification and personal grooming were considered a patriotic duty for women to boost morale. There was also a lingering belief from earlier eugenic thought that body hairs were "unhygienic" though it had no real scientific basis. Without stockings to cover up these hairs, more women began shaving their legs as a matter of habit.
Photographic print, "Mercury Town Sedan near Suwanee Lagoon in Greenfield Village, July 1941" (1941). / THF134812
In just a few generations, shaving body hair had transitioned from an advertisement ploy and a newspaper novelty to a rite of passage and a necessity for modern women. By the 1960s and 1970s, it was not a question of if someone should shave their legs and underarms but when they should start. Chances are, if you are a woman in the United States, you have tried to get rid some of your body hair. A 2005 study found that 99 percent of women in the U.S. have shaved their body at some point in their lives.
Sears Kenmore Model 820-93942 Electric Shaver, (1960-1970). Electric shavers were advertised to women for the legs and underarms following the Second World War. / THF172751
However, not everyone removes body hair, and there are myriad reasons why. For example, during the 1960s and 1970s, women's rights activists, particularly those who considered themselves women's liberationists, raised concerns about why women removed body hair at all. Some women decided to grow out their hair as a political statement against objectification, as a testament to their gender and sexual identities, and as a part of a "back to nature" ethos. The non-shavers were relatively few, but there was a visceral reaction to the idea of women not shaving. For opponents of the women's movement, "hairy feminist" was an easy punchline and an affront to femininity itself. Visible body hair became shorthand for the politics of the person who chooses it.
Poster, “The Women’s Liberation Movement” (1970). / THF92260
The dynamic and sometimes dangerous evolution of the very personal relationship women have with their body hair continues to inform people’s daily lives — whether they choose to be bare or hairy.
Kayla Chenault is an Associate Curator at The Henry Ford.
Preserving the past is resource-intensive, and The Henry Ford actively seeks grant funding to support its mission "to provide unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories, and lives from America's traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and innovation." Some of these grants focus on enhancing collections storage, stewardship, and accessibility — both physical and virtual. In late summer 2024, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded The Henry Ford a two-year grant to clean, rehouse, and create digital records for artifacts related to power and energy, mobility and transportation, and communications and information technology.
Building on the progress made by previous grants, this project will focus on approximately 325 artifacts housed in The Henry Ford's Central Storage Building that require attention in these key areas. The Henry Ford is currently investing in upgrades to the HVAC system in the building, which will improve the ability to regulate the storage environment. In conjunction with those improvements, the grant work will address overcrowding and previous environmental issues, which in some cases have led to dirt, mold, and other forms of artifact deterioration. Each artifact will be moved, cleaned, and assessed for conservation needs. Registrar staff will update or create catalog records, working closely with curatorial staff to research additional context.
IMLS grant team members meet to discuss work progress. / Photo by Aimee Burpee
Of the 325 artifacts, about 100 priority artifacts identified by the curators will undergo conservation treatment to digitization standards, will be photographed at high resolution and made available online through The Henry Ford's Digital Collections. Curators and associate curators will create digital content, such as blog posts, to highlight these artifacts. Additionally, curatorial staff will write descriptive narratives for the website, providing essential historical context for public audiences.
The IMLS Collections Specialist takes a reference image of each artifact for the catalog record, such as this 1915 Gentry and Lewis V-8 Automobile Engine for the Model T (left), then, after conservation intervention, Photography Studio staff photographs this priority artifact for publication on digital collections. / Photo by Colleen Sikorski (left), THF802658 (right)
Work on the grant began in the fall of 2024, and the first priority artifact to be conserved is a six-cylinder General Motors 6-71 diesel engine — a legend in its own right. Introduced by General Motors' diesel engine division in 1938, the two-stroke unit powered everything from farm tractors and stationary generators to trucks and buses (including the 1948 GM bus on which Rosa Parks made her historic stand). GM produced variants with two, three, four, six, eight, twelve, sixteen, and twenty-four cylinders, practically guaranteeing there was a Detroit Diesel in whatever size and with whatever horsepower a customer required.
For 40 years, this GM 6-71 engine provided faithful service aboard Jacques Cousteau's ship Calypso / THF802646
The Henry Ford's Detroit Diesel just so happened to be used on one of the most celebrated scientific vessels of the 20th century: Calypso, the former World War II minesweeper converted into a floating laboratory by French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. From 1950 through 1997, Calypso traveled the world's oceans for Cousteau's research, and for shooting many of his documentary television series and films. Calypso even visited the Great Lakes in 1980, when it traveled from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River to Duluth, Minnesota, some 2,300 miles away.
It's important to note that The Henry Ford's engine was not Calypso's source of propulsion. The ship's propellers were driven by two eight-cylinder General Motors diesel engines. Our six-cylinder engine was one of two units that ran the generators that produced electricity. Our engine didn't make the boat go, but it kept the lights on — arguably just as important a task. Of course, it wasn't just lights. Calypso's electric generators powered pumps, hydraulic systems, steering mechanisms, radar and navigation devices, and video equipment, among other necessities.
By the time our engine was decommissioned in 1981, it had been used on Calypso for 40 years, with an estimated 100,000 service hours under its belt. Calypso received two brand-new Detroit Diesel engines as part of a wider refurbishment in anticipation of a voyage to the Amazon River. General Motors gifted the decommissioned engine to The Henry Ford in 1986.
Vintage illustrations, like this one from a 1939 GM manual, guided efforts to conserve the Calypso engine. / THF721888
Through the IMLS grant project, conservators were able to clean the engine of accumulated dirt and dust, treat worn paint, and stabilize damaged gauges and controls. We were also able to replace a long-missing panel surrounding the starter button. Using period General Motors catalogs and manuals in the Benson Ford Research Center, we were able to design and 3D-print a new surround. Once the panel was painted to match, it became visually indistinguishable from the engine's original metal components. (Conservator notes, and inscriptions on the pieces themselves, identify replacement parts so as not to cause confusion in the future.) With that work done, the engine was photographed and given a new and much improved set of digital images on the website.
The Calypso Detroit Diesel is only the first of many important artifacts that will benefit from the IMLS grant and our ongoing work in the Central Storage Building. Stay tuned for future stories. It's a project that promises to be its own voyage of discovery.
This blog was produced by Matt Anderson, Curator of Transportation, and Aimee Burpee, Associate Curator at The Henry Ford.
Selma is a sleepy little town in Alabama that has an extraordinary history. Located on the shores of the Alabama River in the heart of Dallas County, Selma is also home to the Jackson family.
Dr. Sullivan Jackson met Miss Richie Jean Sherrod at a family picnic the summer of her junior year in 1953. The meeting was brief, but Dr. Jackson was smitten, and he called Miss Sherrod the next day and asked her for a date. The two started dating steadily after that.
Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson on their wedding day, March 15, 1958. / THF708474
While Richie Jean attended college in Montgomery, Sullivan would often drive over to see her, and they would go out to eat and spend time together. After Richie Jean graduated from college in 1954, the situation changed as both tried to navigate their worlds and have successful careers, and the two decided to end their relationship. But the universe had different plans. After a time, they were soon back together, and on March 15, 1958, they were married and began to create a life together that would shape their roles in civil rights and voting rights activism in ways they never imagined.
Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson on their wedding day with family. / THF708475
It was March 1965, and many thought the fight for civil rights was over. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been signed the year before, and many wrongs had been righted. However, the fight for equality and the right to vote was far from over. Things would reach a point where the president at the time, Lyndon Baines Johnson, would address Congress and demand something be done.
The movement for voting rights spread throughout the South in the United States, but its center was Selma, Alabama. In February 1965, a group of activists and protestors gathered outside Zion United Methodist Church in Marion, Alabama, about 26 miles northwest of Selma. One such protester was Jimmie Lee Jackson. Though they share a last name, he is not related to that Jackson family of Selma. He was at the protest with his mother, Viola Jackson, and his grandfather, Cager Lee. While trying to protect his mother from the escalation in violence, Jimmie Lee was shot twice in the stomach by Alabama State Trooper James Fowler. Eight days later, he died from his wounds.
The death of Jimmie Lee Jackson became one of the factors in the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights. The first attempt at this march resulted in Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965. That event and the subsequent Turnaround Tuesday March on March 9, 1965, led to President Johnson giving one of the most powerful speeches in support of his presidency.
Life Magazine, dated March 26, 1965, discusses the Voting Rights Movement and President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s March 15, 1965, speech throwing his support behind the Voting Rights Act. / THF715927
It was March 15, 1965, when members of the Jackson family and guests gathered in their homes to listen to President Johnson give this speech. This was also the seventh wedding anniversary for “Sully” and Richie Jean. The President began:
“At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.”
His words bring back memories of the American Revolution and the Civil War, two events in which the country fought for freedom. As the president continues with The American Promise speech, he brings up the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson while discussing the violence inflicted upon those who merely wish to register to vote.
Life Magazine, dated March 26, 1965. / THF715929
The speech was written by writer and presidential advisor Richard Goodwin, who also worked for President John F. Kennedy. The President had decided on Sunday, March 14, that he would address the country the next night, March 15. Goodwin was assigned to write the speech at the last moment and had only eight hours to write. As a Jewish American, Goodwin pulled from his own experiences with anti-Semitic prejudice and discrimination.
The American Promise, more commonly known as the “We Shall Overcome” speech, hits on historic and contemporary moments leading to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Invoking Patrick Henry’s famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” to the Declaration of Independence's statement that “All men are created equal,” the speech is the argument. It makes the case for a Voting Rights Act.
The President spoke about the barriers that had been put in place on Black Americans, from poll taxes to literacy tests, while also invoking the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, which guaranteed Black men the right to vote. This right was not always upheld.
The speech was 48 minutes and 53 seconds long. Seventy million Americans watched it, including the Jackson family and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The White House received 1,436 telegrams of support and 82 telegrams against the idea of a Voting Rights Act, and LBJ was interrupted over 40 times for applause.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr watched President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s speech from the living room of the Jackson Home on March 15, 1965. Photo feature in Life Magazine, March 26, 1965. / THF715931
In his speech, the President discussed the need for the Voting Rights Act, his intention to push Congress to pass it, and how passing that act fulfills an American promise to all citizens to be able to vote for their leaders.
Pulling from a song that had become the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, President Johnson signaled that he heard the activists working on the ground in Selma and would answer the call. And the speech that reiterated the American promise forever would be known by a different name: We Shall Overcome.
“Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.”
The full text of the speech can be found courtesy of The American Presidency Project.
A video excerpt of the speech can be found at the LBJ Presidential Library.
Heather Bruegl (Oneida/Stockbridge-Munsee) is the Curator of Political and Civic Engagement at The Henry Ford. This blog is part of a series exploring the history of the Jackson Home, opening in Greenfield Village, 2026.
IBM Selectric Typewriter designed by Eliot Noyes in 1961. / THF802461
In August 2024, a monumental design collection arrived at the doors of The Henry Ford after an international journey nearing 600 miles. The collection was donated by the Stewart Program for Modern Design in Montreal, Canada, and represents decades of collecting by founder and philanthropist Liliane Stewart alongside her incredible staff, especially curator David Hanks and registrar Angéline Dazé. While Liliane Stewart and her husband, David, had a longstanding formal relationship with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (a pavilion named for the Stewarts houses a significant design collection donated by them in 1999), this portion of the considerable collection was offered to The Henry Ford upon the closing of the Stewart Program for Modern Design in 2024.
This poster, entitled “A Lot of People are Waiting for Martin Luther King... We Are It. It is Up to Us. It is Up to You. Marian Wright Edelman” was created by graphic designer Gail Anderson in 2018. / THF721539
The Stewart Program Collection at The Henry Ford includes over 500 objects, a library of more than 100 books and 500 periodicals, and an archive nearing 40 linear square feet. As design touches nearly every area of the museum, so too does this collection. The range in object type is vast — from ceiling lamps to bicycle helmets, teapots to stools, studio glass to adding machines and more, and spans over 140 years of design history, from the 1880s through 2020. The designers and companies represented in this donation are also remarkably wide-ranging and include some of the most celebrated names in design, as well as successful works by unknown designers. They were created by designers of various nationalities and manufactured in a range of countries —but every object had significant impact on American society and American design, through its retail availability on the American market or through its prominence and influence on American designers, reflecting the trajectory of globalization in design.
“Alaska” Vase by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, 1982 / THF802469
The Henry Ford and the Stewart Program for Modern Design have compatible philosophies in collecting design. Both institutions hold a deep respect for design’s role in the everyday lives of people, in the problem-solving nature of good design, and the practice of prioritizing design in its cultural context. The Stewart Program Collection fits serendipitously within the museum’s existing holdings, while also stretching, expanding, and deepening the collection as well as pushing into new areas.
This Model 4706 Electric Clock, 1933-1934 by Gilbert Rohde was exhibited at the 1933-1934 Century of Progress International Exposition with the 3317 series furniture collection, also designed by Rohde. The Henry Ford holds numerous pieces from the 3317 series, including this dresser which is on display in the Fully Furnished exhibit. / THF802510
Collections Connection
In numerous instances, the objects donated by the Stewart Program happily supplement the strengths of our collections. For instance, The Henry Ford has an especially strong collection of furniture by pioneering designer Gilbert Rohde for the Herman Miller Furniture Company, including much of the bedroom set Rohde designed for the “Design for Living House” at the 1933-1934 Century of Progress International Exposition. However, we lacked the table clock exhibited in the bedroom. But as luck would have it, that particular clock was included in the Stewart Collection donation. Reuniting these objects that were designed to coexist will allow us to tell a fuller story about this moment in design history.
Numerous posters designed by Paula Scher were donated by the Stewart Program for Modern Design, including this “Blade to the Heat” poster designed for the New York Public Theatre in 1994. / THF802482
Designed by Women
In 2018, the staff of the Stewart Program for Modern Design embarked upon their Designed by Women project, which encompassed an ambitious new acquisitions program of objects designed by women, an expansive website, and digital exhibitions. Highlighting women designers across the globe from 1910 to 2024, the project has become a resource for the design profession as it showcases both well-known and lesser-known designers. Similarly, The Henry Ford has been working in recent years to expand representation of women in the design collections, with recent acquisitions like Lucia DeRespinis’ Beehive Lamp, Evelyn Ackerman’s Campesina Tapestry, and Gloria Caranica’s Rocking Horse. Many of the objects acquired by the Stewart Program for Modern Design for this project were donated to The Henry Ford, expanding our collection of objects designed by women, including a large collection of posters by pioneering graphic designed Paula Scher, a teapot by Edith Heath of Sausalito, California-based Heath Ceramics, a pendant necklace by Indigenous jewelry artist Angie Reano Owen, and many more.
Paula Scher’s “Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk” Poster, 1995 (left), Edith Heath Teapot, c. 1944 (center), Shell Necklace by Angie Reano Owen, 2014 (right). / Images courtesy of the Stewart Program for Modern Design
Check out the Selections from the Stewart Collection expert set for more information about some of the objects donated by the Stewart Program for Modern Design.
Eva Zeisel’s “Town & Country” Teapot, Teacups, and Saucers, c. 1945 / THF802477
Katherine White is Curator of Design at The Henry Ford. This blog post was adapted and expanded from the January-June 2025 issue of The Henry Ford Magazine.
