Take Your Daughter to Work Day took on a whole new meaning while we were staying in New Paris. Retirement proved to be just a bit too quiet for my mom, so she now works with the Model T Museum in Richmond, IN. It’s a pretty cool museum owned by the Model T Ford Club of America. (www.mtfca.com)
One of the many things she does for them is the occasional photography for their publication, The Vintage Ford. This publication is beautiful. It comes out bimonthly and many enthusiasts keep them as collectors items. I say all this simply so you can understand in a way I hadn’t what a big deal it was when my mom asked me to come and assist her in a photoshoot. The concept of the shoot was to highlight the new facade that had been painted on the museum with a lot of vintage cars in period dress. I guess it hadn’t occurred to me that of course, the museum would reach out to club members to come be a part of all of this. And wow, did they show up!
I wouldn’t call myself a car aficionado by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, I did grow up in a world where the Henry Ford Museum and Dearborn Village (www.thehenryford.org) were a huge part of my childhood, so Model T’s hold a place near and dear to my heart. Seeing that many beautiful old buggies together and being able to get up close and personal with them had me kind of giddy. Mom did the hard work up in the lift to get the full shot for the cover. I had the easy job – all I had to do was communicate direction to everyone and play with getting some fun shots of the members. It was a blast. One of the club members even took me on a Model T cruise through the Arboretum, which is pretty much the most fun ever. Seriously, Ever.
We also got the chance to take the kids through the museum (which is beautiful, by the way). We were a little nervous that it might be a little over their heads, but they loved seeing the old cars up close. It’s possible Brian had more fun them both of them combined. He was like a kid in a candy store. My mom was even able to arrange a trip around the block for the fam in the museum’s Depot Hack (taxi). #priceless With all of the amazing things we saw and did there, Jovie’s favorite part may have been the period costumes that were available…of course.
All in all, I couldn’t recommend this place any more. There are over 40 vintage cars to see as well as ton of other interesting items. Richmond, IN has such a unique and unexpected way of preserving and sharing history. Growing up there, I just assumed that all small towns had a rich and diverse history that was shared and celebrated all the time. Now that I’ve lived all over the country, I’m aware that this was/is a very special thing.
