Henry's Diary
January 3, 1880
Dear Diary,
These past few months as a machinist's apprentice have been hard. But it's also been the best time of my life. The guys at Flower & Bros are nice. They encourage my love for machines more than my father did. I wonder how my family is doing. They probably miss me. At least I hope they do.
The work here is very time consuming. All I do is work. The other day I got in trouble for my lunch break being too long! They demand a lot, but I love it. All I do is tinker with machines all day, and I can't imagine anything better. We'll see how the next few months go.
December 24, 1893
I just did it! I made my own engine! It may only have one cylinder, but it's a start. Clara dropped what she was doing and helped me with it, and it worked like a charm. We got it to work in the kitchen of all places! It was one of the best things to ever happen to me!
Now think of all of the possibilities! I can do anything now! I think I'm going to construct an automobile, my lifelong dream. That would be wonderful! I'd be able to ride around town and it'll be the envy of everyone! I can't wait!
October 1, 1908
Today is the day. We just released the Model T. I can feel it in my bones that this is going to be the one. All of those hours, toiling away into the wee hours of the night, just for this car. It's a wonderful little thing, how could anyone not want it?
We changed everything to make this car. We made it lighter. We made it more durable and stronger. Most importantly, we made it cheap. Now everyone can have the joy of riding in a automobile! We'll see how it goes.
November 17, 1914
Man, people sure do like this whole "5 dollar work day" thing. I would too, if I wasn't famous and rich already. That Model T really was a good idea. All my workers have been sending me thank you letters for paying them so much. It really wasn't that big of a deal to me. They are good workers, and they deserve it.
Then to go along with more pay, I don't make them work Saturdays anymore. I also shortened the work day. Everyone loves it, and it seems like everyone wants to work for the Ford Motor Company now. This means that all of my competitors are going to have to raise their wages now, too. That stinks.