LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - AUGUST 6, 2023 Henry Ford by Lynne Belluscio One hundred and one years ago, on August 1, 1922, Henry Ford was stopped in LeRoy for speeding. Ford’s favorite chauffeur, George Burns was at the wheel, and they were trying to make the late-night boat from Buffalo to Detroit. Henry had been camping in the Adirondacks with his friends, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone. Patrolman Raymond Damier stopped them and said that he clocked them at 43 miles per hour. Ford was ordered to pay $30 fine on the spot. (nearly $500 today) and Burns was ordered to appear before Justice MacPherson a few days later. Ford hired a lawyer from Batavia and forfeited the $30. The event was reported in the New York Times which probably made Ford even more irate. He wanted the whole event removed from the record. Part of the problem came about in 1918 when New York State changed the traffic laws. Before then, all the towns and villages had to send all their traffic fines to Albany. This money was used to defray the cost of highway maintenance. After 1918, many towns were more than glad to add the speeding fines to their coffers. Speed traps were all along the state, from one end of New York to the other. There were two sides to the story. With the increased motor traffic, there were more accidents. The LeRoy Gazette printed an article that mentioned that a judge in Detroit had come to the conclusion that fines were not enough to discourage speeding motorists and he proposed that the speeder be put in jail and that they should be made to go to the local hospitals “where children, maimed by reckless driving, spend their lives in misery.” The Perry Herald praised the situation in LeRoy – “Main Street in LeRoy in the height of the tourist season is one of the most dangerous streets for traffic and pedestrians in this part of the state.” Henry Ford was mentioned: “there should not be distinction in enforcing the laws whether a man is rich or poor.” In the meantime, Ford had the Automobile Club of Buffalo erect signs on either side of town: “SPEED TRAP TOURISTS WARNED AGAINST DRIVING FASTER THAN FIFTEEN MILES AN HOUR THROUGH THIS TOWN.” I discovered the photograph of the sign in the archives at the Ford Museum in Detroit, along with many letters, newspaper clippings and related material. As one of the archivists said, “Henry Ford didn’t get mad. He got even.” I also heard another story that Ford believed that if you had a car that went fast, you should be able to drive that speed. When Ford left his home in Detroit and headed north to his country home, the staff would notify the police along the route. They knew enough not to stop him. Ford wasn’t happy with the folks in LeRoy. He complained that the letters on the speed signs were too small. He questioned how the police officer could make an arrest outside the village limits. The newspaper reported “Le Roy Awakes to Reputation It Has Gained - Tourists Shun Village – Manufacturers Receive Letters Threatening Boycott of Products.” But eventually, the situation was settled. Ford was assured by the head of Jell-O, Mr. Gilfilin, and the LeRoy Retail BusinessAssociation that “tourists passing through Le Roy, after having passed thru the thickly congested business district of the town, would not be molested; that the traffic officer would be paid a salary and especially instructed that he not hide behind fences, in alleys and places of that kind to pounce out upon the public and make arrests...” In 2006, the Historical Society recreated the arrest of Henry Ford. Dr. Bruce Baker portrayed the irate Henry Ford. Officer Dampier was portrayed by Gene Jancowski who rode his vintage Harley motorcycle. Judge MacPherson was played by Justice Kermit Arrington, who took Ford’s $30 and then took everyone for some ice tea at the Depot. An interesting note. On August 1, 1922, Henry Ford was riding in a Lincoln, not a Ford. Six months earlier, on February 4, Henry Ford had bought the Lincoln Motor Company from Henry Leland for $8 million. Henry Ford’s Visit to LeRoy
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