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50th Anniversary of the Thunderbird in Dearborn

By: Rick Nowak
This past June 17th was truly a wonderful day. It was the day we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Ford Thunderbird at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, MI with a large gathering of fellow T-Bird lovers. Karen and I originally did not believe we could make the trip, but luckily it worked out and we decided to drive our ’78 T-Bird to Dearborn at the last minute.

The weather was cool and pleasant, and the T-Birds were plentiful. Well over 200 Thunderbirds were in attendance. Our good friend Don Holton was there as well driving his ’79 ACC Convertible, and we parked together in the 1970’s section. The 1950’s section was by far the most populated, followed closely by the 1960’s section. The new 2002-2005 birds were quite abundant as well.

All during the show, Ford executives would come out from their offices and check out our rides. I think they enjoyed the chance to play hooky on such a nice Friday afternoon. Much credit must go to the local Water Wonderland Thunderbird Club. They pushed hard to make this event a reality.

If it wasn’t enough to be amongst so many gorgeous automobiles, there were even more good things to come. A nice free lunch was offered, as well as extremely generous gifts for all attendees. Everyone received a 2002 T-Bird poster, book, model car, and best of all, a five piece 2002 T-Bird kit which included a set of bookends and other very nice goodies. At the gift table we met Dave Marchand, the liaison between Ford Motor Company and many T-Bird clubs nationwide, including the ITC. We’re glad we had the chance to talk with him. We also had the awesome experience of having access to Ford World Headquarters, and relished the opportunity to go inside and check it out.

At 5:00 pm, with a police escort to guide us, most of the T-Bird owners drove in a motorcade to Greenfield Village, to be photographed and seen by all the folks visiting there. The visitors to the Henry Ford Museum got an extra treat with all of our cars lined up in front of the entrance.

Karen and I met some great new friends there, as well as getting reacquainted with some wonderful old ones. Sadly, it ended much too quickly and it was time to go back to the hotel and prepare for the trip home the next day. I’ve truly become enamored with Dearborn. It’s a great place to drive a Ford Thunderbird. A real home away from home, and Karen and I are already anxious to go back.