The Pied Fiddler

That would be Jim McKinney. He was initially asked to play Henry Ford in a short theatrical performance at "The Henry" (which was previously "The Ritz") in Dearborn. As time went on, the plan changed. There was still a short theatrical performance, but that was with Clara Ford and her son, Edsel. Jim played fiddle for the event, but prior to Clara and Edsel.

Jim McKinney at "The Henry"

  This was a HUGE fundraiser dinner/dance held May 19 for the Henry Ford Estate, located on the U-M Dearborn campus. If we still had the society pages in the newspapers as we used to, this event would definitely have been included. Just about everybody who's anybody was in attendance, and can you imagine the designer dresses??

Jim getting wired for sound

Waiting, waiting . . .

When we entered, we were instructed to enter through the back -- well, the normal musicians' entrance, right? As Jim said later, and very correctly, we were led through a labyrinth of halls and would not have easily found our way back. When we got through to the main ballroom, the sound professionals wired Jim and his violin up for wireless functioning. Then we were escorted once again through a maze of people, including an in-progress fancy cocktail party, and hallways to a small room filled with chairs and tables where Jim was to wait until 7:28pm!! How exact can they get with this? They really did have everything timed out to the minute.

Although I probably was supposed to also wait in the room, I kept wandering out to just see what was going on and who I might see. The room opened onto a small hallway, about ten feet long and maybe six feet wide. This was the only way in to the room where the cocktail party was being held prior to the dinner. There was a pianist at the grand piano accompanying a jazz vocalist.

Jim waiting for his queue in the small hallway

Finally, the time came for Jim to come out of the little waiting room. He stepped into the room where the guests were enjoying their hors douvres. On queue, he turned back toward me and began to play. (I snapped a photo of Jim and Edsel Ford at this point. Unfortunately, Mr. Ford wasn't turned toward me at the time, nor was he in the same room as Jim ....)

Jim seemed to be walking very fast. I still managed to stay a few steps ahead of him, but I wanted to tell him to slow down, that the guests following would not be able to keep up. The organizers had been so precise about everything that I figured they must be directing Jim to walk this quickly. (I found out later that Jim was told to walk even faster!!)

Three People Following

Glancing back over my shoulder, I REALLY wanted Jim to slow down. I fell back to where he was and whispered that there were three people following him! He didn't know! Neither of us knew that all of the other guests were far behind.

Jim on the ballroom stage

Well, we got to the ballroom, and it was already filled with hundreds of people! There must have been over 1,000 in total. Jim walked up to the stage and continued playing, going through many of the tunes in the "Good Morning" series. It was wonderful. I was so proud of Jim. And it was especially satisfying that someone thought to include this.

Performing tunes from "Good Morning"

Generally, people don't know, or just don't mention the huge passion that Henry Ford had for music, dance, and the violin. I think that this is so minor to all of the other interests he had -- at least in most people's minds. It was a big part of his life and in fact, was an enhancement to his personal, as well as professional life. He insisted on proper manners and respect and used dancing and music to teach others the importance of these. He even required Ford Motor Company employees to attend contra dances, and had an orchestra on staff specifically to provide music for these events.