Henry Ford Goes To San Quentin
by Jocelyn Moss
Well, of course he was a visitor. He was the guest of Warden James J. Johnstone. He brought along his pal, Harvey Firestone who supplied the tires for Ford’s motor cars. His other friend, Thomas Edison was indisposed but he sent along his secretary, Mr. Bee.
The reason all these famous men were in San Francisco was to attend the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915. At the Fair, Henry Ford had an exhibit of his assembly line that manufactured a Ford car every ten minutes for three hours each afternoon. In all, 4,400 Ford cars rolled off the assembly line during the run of the Fair. They were all Model Ts in basic black.
Warden James Johnstone picked up the Ford-Firestone party in a motorboat and brought them back to the San Quentin wharf. They toured San Quentin’s jute mill and furniture factory. Then they toured the kitchen. Warden Johnstone was pleased to astonish Henry Ford with the size of the stew pots, coffee urns and quantity of food produced to feed the prisoners.
Coming out of the kitchen, the party entered the dining room. There were 2000 men waiting for their noon meal. The prisoners recognized Mr. Ford and gave him a big hand. Mr. Ford climbed up on a table and waved, shouting, “Thank you, boys.”
Visitors have been coming to San Quentin since the early days. There were movie stars like Edward G. Robinson, Caesar Romero, William Powell and Glen Ford. Harry Houdini was once a guest. Entertainers such as Johnny Cash, Mimi Farina of “Bread & Roses,” Bonnie Raitt, Carlos Santana, Metallica and Sheila E, also visited the prison. There was even a group of Tibetan monks — the Gyuto Tantric Choir — that performed there. Some visitors come to gape at infamous criminals and others to relieve the prisoners of the tedium of prison life. Family members, of course, have always come to visit loved ones.
Originally published at https://annetkent.kontribune.com.
