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Steve (58L8134), thanks for going to all the bother of explaining the financial situation of 1949.

Ernie (Ernie Vitucci), thanks for weighing in on your thoughts.

John (JW), that is really too bad. Some few pics remained.


sources
snippet #1 - Toledo Blade, April 29, 1949
snippet #2 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 3, 1949
Click to enlarge!

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As basic regulatory measures I asked BigKev to move the thread from the prewar towards the general department, since it drifted away.

Kevin!

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Hi Guscha

You're welcome, there is more to come when I find that Cormorant article.......so stand by. When I start leafing through back issues, I have a tendency to get sidetracked....!

Great period clippings! I enjoy reading every one, a real window into those times.

Steve

Been wondering where this parking lot was. Think I found it. That lot is where building 84 is now. The small, square building with 5 over 5 windows and chimney at the right is the boiler house for the Gemmer plant, which is still standing. The long building with the water tower is Chrysler Amplex.

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I'm pretty sure this would be the bar at the Hotel Fort Wayne, later known as the Hotel American, right next door to Masonic Temple.

The room that the banquet is taking place in is the Rainbow Ballroom of the Masonic Temple building.

It was a quiet fact that the path to succeed in management at Packard was to be a Freemason. It is a natural that Packard use the fantastic Detroit Masonic Temple for their gatherings, the building is an amazing labyrinth of rooms.

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Steve (58L8134), I was sweet 14 12 at the onset of first symptoms when the screenplay of life starred me next to an open waste paper container. In the final szene I sat in the waste paper container.


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Steve (Steve203), Google Earth and Maps are helpful to visualize former outlines of developments.


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John (MrPushbutton), that's an interesting aspect and new to me.



[picture source: LIFE] Click to enlarge!

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With this post one could earn a lot of Brownie points from female Packard fans. The above shown image reminds of the television series "Little House on the Prairie".

Tissue alert!

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I suppose the FreeMason stuff explains why there are so many pictures of His Majesty the Grand Imperial Buffoon and what not posing with Packards.

Any company with a policy like that is going to go bust. However, I'm sure Nance would have turned down the job unless he was chosen because he was a member of that.

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That kind of cronyism, unfortunately, is not rare in US industry. A company I worked for in the late 70s demanded that anyone who wanted to move up, play golf with the honchos, have the same politics as the honchos and, most importantly, be Catholic. I know for sure of one person who was bluntly told that if he wanted to get above an entry level job, he had to convert to the Catholic church. He converted.

If I recall correctly, in the Ward book, it is stated that Hugh Ferry couldn't stand Paul Hoffman of Studebaker, because Hoffman was a "liberal". How liberal was Hoffman, a Republican and personal friend of President Eisenhower? He didn't like Joe McCarthy.

In some areas of the US, success in business or politics required membership in the Klan. The late Senator Robert Byrd had been a member of the Klan. President Harry Truman joined the Klan in the 20s when it was politically expedient. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black was a member of the Klan, also to get votes.

The US government was dominated by Masons for decades after the formation of the country, including Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.

Henry Ford was a Mason. If you tour the house he grew up in, in Greenfield Village, you will see a Masonic plaque on the wall.

Hi

Look closely in picture 59, on the right side is a '49 Ford! What's that doing there????? Who had the nerve to drive a Ford to a major Packard event?!?!?

Hmmmm, had to be a FreeMason to succeed in management....

.........well, that would've left me out!

Steve