Cigar Geeks

On June 16, 1903, the Ford Motor Company was established. Henry Ford was the founder. This was not his first venture, as he had previously operated the Henry Ford Company. He left that company and took his name with him. What became of the Henry Ford Company? They became known as the Cadillac Motor Company.

 

What does any of this have to do with barbecuing & cigars?  Well.............

 

Ford’s Model T, which would number in the millions sold, required 100 board feet of wood to build. Ford despised waste. His motto was, “Reduce, reuse, and recycle.” He was also a nature-lover, an environmentalist of his time. His escape from the stress of life was camping in the great outdoors. 

 

Frustrated by the mountains of sawdust his lumber mills created, he and his partners sought a way to utilize the scrap wood and sawdust into a useful (and profitable) product. 

 

An idea came to him one day as he was camped with some friends in the wilds of Michigan . After his party spent a long time collecting sufficient wood for a campfire, an idea sprang in Ford’s mind. Upon returning back to the lumber mill, he shared the idea with some of his partners and set to work on it. 

 

The idea? Lumping a fistful of sawdust and cornstarch with a bit of tar to form a briquette. After charring it, it performed exactly what Ford imagined it would. He then built a charcoal briquette factory adjacent to his lumber mill where the waste from one became the fuel for the other. 

 

A new Model T was now frequently sold with a bonus bag of Ford Charcoal Briquettes, so you could drive into the woods to camp and not worry about finding campfire wood. 

 

So now you know. Ford not only created the modern automobile industry which takes millions to work and back each workday, but he also created the weekend grilling and camping industries. 

 

In 1951, the Ford Charcoal Briquette Company was sold after Henry’s death in 1947. The new company was named after Ford’s real estate partner who helped him find the land to supply wood for building the early Ford automobiles- E.J. Kingsford.  

 

Kingsford Charcoal is the largest producer of charcoal briquettes in the world. 

Currently owned by the Clorox Company.  Henry Ford II, himself a heavy cigar smoker, attempted to improve his relationship with the United Auto Workers Union by permitting smoking in plants and offices after Novermber 15, 1947, for the first time in the Ford history. However, women were requested not to smoke during regular hours.  

Didn't know that about charcoal, thanks for sharing.

That's crazy - never knew that!

Cool story, didn't know that either very cool, thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

Enjoyed your little bit of history.

I pass by what's left of a Fprd Model T plant every morning on my way to work here in Jacksonville, FL,  And I'll be firing up the grill with some Kingsford later today.  :biggrin:

Fascinating.  I'll be throwing some steaks on the grill myself later this afternoon.

No Kingsford for me I am afraid, it is a propane grill!

BTW, I understand propane otherwise known as LPG or Liquid Petroleum Gas is or was, a byproduct of the fractional distillation of crude oil.

Anyone care to research the story of Propane? :-)

Interesting Michigan history tidbit the town it was founded in is named... Kingsford, MI - right next to Iron Mountain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsford,_Michigan

Then, in the Seventies, Ford combined both charcoal and autos and called it the Pinto!
 :biggrin:

WELL DONE !!!

Quotegitfiddl - 5/16/2021  12:47 PM

Then, in the Seventies, Ford combined both charcoal and autos and called it the Pinto!
 :biggrin:

 :lmao:  :lmao: