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I don't know if it's been addressed before but I'm curious to know if there are any former PMCC factory employees or Packard Dealership owners that are also current members here at PackardInfo.com. Considering that the last "real" Packards rolled off the assembly line in 1956, it seems likely that there are a lot of men still living today that are in the 77 to 87 year range that would have been 18 to 28 years old right after the war. At that point in time, they would have been eligible for employment with the company and worked there long enough to develop a love for the car and the legend. To me it would be worth hearing about their experiences so they can also be preserved in the Packard History books.

I seriously believe that maybe less than 5 PMCC employees are on PackardInfo.

First there is the age of the employee. Packard left Detroit in June 1956 and went to South Bend - that was 57 years ago. Say the employee was 20 at the time, that would make them 77 today. If you wanted someone with time and experience about Packard, then they would be in their early 80s today. Second, folks of this generation are not as interested in web forums as the younger folks are.

But, if you want to see and here some Packard employees, then (cue the broken record) you NEED to be at the 2013 PAC National Meet starting in 9 days.

On Monday, June 24 we are having a "Picnic at the PPG." After the catered lunch we will start a program starring the "Ladies of Packard" with:

1) Fran Hale, executive secretary to Hugh Ferry, and
2) MaryEllen Dohrs, contract employee on the 1955 Caribbean and 400 interiors.

I will also be bringing my two "aunts" who worked at Packard during WWII with my mother where they inspected Merlin engine parts before assembly.

So now that you know this, can we expect to see you in the "target rich" environs of Detroit to actually MEET some Packard employees?

Well, Florida is a bit far from Michigan but by all means come if you can, it should be quite a gathering. But as far as articles and interviews with prior PMCC employees, there have been quite a few of these over the years in both categories published in PAC's quarterly magazine The Packard Cormorant. Many back issues are still available and there is a complete index to magazine going back into the 1960s on PAC's website. If you find one or two that interest you and the back issues are no longer available, let me know and I can photocopy for you, I have all the issues back to 1963 or so.

Well Roger, I didn't know that your family had such a rich historical association with PMCC and that in itself is a very interesting bit of information to know. I would like nothing better than to be able to attend the PAC National Meet but as Dave pointed out, Florida is a tad far away from Michigan however I have a couple of more years to go before I retire and hopefully I can make plans to attend at least one meet...who knows, I might even have the opportunity to make the trip in my own Packard when that time comes.

Dave, thank you very much for the offer to make the photo copies, I'll see what I can do about getting the past issues of the Cormorant first and if I don't have any success, I may call on you.

Gator:

I don't know just where your interest lies, purely with interviews with ex-employees, articles by ex-employees, articles by decendents of employees, or articles about Packard employees. Or in a particular era of time. There were several long-running series on Packard Artists and Packard People. I did just browse a small sampling of back issues of The Packard Cormorant and picked a sampling of some that might interest you, these first mostly in the vein of interviews or articles by PMCC employees or their decendents.

The Nance Papers, interview and commentary. No.s 27, 29, 31, 33, 42, 43 & 45.

"I Remember Packard" by Walter Hackett, private secretary to W. D. Packard. No. 44.

"The Inside Story - The Twilight Years of Packard's Interior Styling Group" by Stan Thorwaldsen. No. 136

"Packard People - Roger Bremer" by Roger Bremer. No. 122.

"Packard People - Michael J. Kollins" by Richard Kollins.

"Ask the Man Who Worked There" by Ed Cunningham (Packard styling dept . from 1952 to the end). No. 89.

"1926 - A Tribute to the Founder" by Alvan Macauley. No. 95

"Reflections on Being a Packard Dealer" by Raymond J. Anselmo. No. 121

"The Last Days in the Bunker" Al Remington interview by Gene Stout. No. 115.

"Packard People - John Reinhart" by Jay Reinhart. No. 129.

"Movers and Shakers - George Lewis Weiss" by Roger White. No. 51.

In terms of articles about former PMCC employees written more contemporarily, here's but a very small sampling.

"Packard People - Walter Lees (Packard's test pilot) by Robert J. Neal. No. 127.

"Colonel Jesse G. Vincent" by Robert J. Neal. No. 134.

"Packard People - Lionel M. Woolson, Packard's Supreme Engine Designer" by Robert J. Neal. No. 139.

"Packard People - Charles H. Vincent" by Roger J. Neal, No. 118

"Packard People - Edward Macauley" by Michael Lamm. No. 123.