Welcome to another bonus episode of Calm History, an extra treat for my SOC Plus members.

The Story of Henry Ford.

Henry Ford was born in 1863 on a hot, sultry day in July.

The oppressive air was pressing down firmly on the stifled country fields.

This weather won't hold long, William Ford said that morning.

We'd better get the hay undercover before night.

William Ford was a good farmer, thrifty, and weather-wise.

Every field of his 300-acre farm was well cared for, yielding richly every year.

William Ford was soon to be a father to a newborn named Henry. But at this moment,

he was not about to let ten acres of quality hay get caught in a summer shower and spoil.

With his workers, they put the big hay rack on the wagon and drove out to the

meadow. William Ford worked with the others, doing a good day's task with the best of them,

and proud of it. He was the owner, and they were the hired men. But on a Michigan farm, the measure of a man is the part he takes in man's work.

Suddenly, they heard a clang from the great bell, hung high on a post in the home dooryard.

The bell was only used for calling in the men at dinner time, or for an emergency alarm.

Every man stopped.

It was only ten o'clock in the morning.

Then they saw a fluttering apron at the barnyard gate,

and William Ford dropped his fork.

I'll go.

You all just get that hay in.

He called back, already running in long strides.

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