MotorCities National Heritage Area Unites Family Descendents of Detroit's Auto Pioneers

Dinner event to be held at The Henry Ford in conjunction with the 9th World Forum for Motor Museums

DETROIT, May 4 -- We've all heard them, names like Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Fisher, and Olds. No, not just the cars. These are the people, the family names of some of the most influential automotive pioneers, families who will be invited to a first-ever "auto pioneer family reunion."

Descendents of Detroit's auto pioneers are invited to gather on the evening of October 13, 2005 in Lovett Hall at The Henry Ford to be honored at the Detroit Auto Pioneers Dinner. The event will conclude the 2005 World Forum for Motor Museums, a six-day biannual conference, representing over 1,400 executives and staff members from auto heritage sites in more than 50 countries converging on Detroit to discuss auto heritage issues.

"We expect the reunion to be a one-of-a-kind experience for delegates attending the World Forum," said Mark Pischea, executive director of MotorCities National Heritage Area, the sponsor of the 2005 World Forum. "Delegates from around the world will have the rare opportunity to interact with descendents of Detroit's most influential automobile pioneers."

An auto pioneer reunion search committee, chaired by Ms. Debbie Dingell, vice chairman of the GM Foundation and a member of the "Body-by-Fisher" family, has been formed to coordinate the search for family descendents in the Detroit region, across the United States, and throughout the world.

Following is a list of the auto pioneers for whom the committee is searching for descendents. The list was created by the Historians Advisory Counsel of MotorCities National Heritage Area. Inclusion was based on the most significant Detroit automobile industry pioneers whose major work was completed before World War II.

If your family is on the list or you know someone who is, please contact Bill Chapin at (313) 885-7341 or chapinco1@aol.com .

  *  Anderson, John W.         Ford Motor Co.
  *  Avery, Clarence           Ford Motor Co.
  *  Breer, Carl               Chrysler Corp.
  *  Budd, Edward G.           Edward Budd Manufacturing Co./Budd Wheel Co.
  *  Buick, David G.           Buick Motor Co.
  *  Chalmers, Hugh            Chalmers-Detroit Motor Car Co.
  *  Champion, Albert C.       Albert Champion Co. (AC Spark Plug Co.)
  *  Chapin, Roy D.            Hudson Motor Car Co.
  *  Chevrolet, Louis          Chevrolet Motor Co.
  *  Chrysler, Walter P.       Chrysler Corp.
  *  Couzens, James            Ford Motor Co.
  *  Dodge, Horace E.          Dodge Brothers
  *  Dodge, John F.            Dodge Brothers
  *  Dort, J. Dallas           Durant-Dort Carriage Co.
  *  Durant, William C.        Durant-Dort Carriage Co./General Motors/
                                Durant Motors
  *  Earl, Harley J.           General Motors Corp.
  *  Everitt, Byron F.         Everitt-Metzger-Flanders
  *  Fisher, Alfred J.         Fisher Body Co.
  *  Fisher, Charles T.        Fisher Body Co.
  *  Fisher, Edward F.         Fisher Body Co.
  *  Fisher, Fred J.           Fisher Body Co.
  *  Fisher, Howard A.         Fisher Body Co.
  *  Fisher, Lawrence P.       Fisher Body Co.
  *  Fisher, William A.        Fisher Body Co.
  *  Flanders, Walter E.       Everitt-Metzger-Flanders
  *  Ford, Edsel B.            Ford Motor Co.
  *  Ford, Henry               Ford Motor Co.
  *  Haynes, Frederick J.      Dodge Brothers, Durant Motors
  *  Holley, George M.         Holley Carburetor Co.
  *  Joy, Henry B.             Packard Motor Car Co.
  *  Keller, K.T.              Chrysler Corp.
  *  Kettering, Charles F.     General Motors Corp.
  *  King, Charles Brady       King Motor Car Co.
  *  Knudsen, William S.       General Motors
  *  Leland, Henry M.          Cadillac Automobile Co./Lincoln Motor Car Co.
  *  Macauley, Alvin           Packard Motor Car Co.
  *  Maxwell, Jonathan         Maxwell Motor Company
  *  Metzger, William E.       Everitt-Metzger-Flanders
  *  Mott, Charles Stewart     General Motors Corp.
  *  Nash, Charles W.          General Motors, Nash Motors
  *  Oldfield, B.E. (Barney)   Race car driver
  *  Olds, Ransom E.           Olds Motor Vehicle Co./REO Car Co.
  *  Reuther, Walter P.        United Auto Workers
  *  Rickenbacker, Edward V.   Rickenbacker Motor Car Co.
  *  Skelton, Owen R.          Chrysler Corp.
  *  Sloan, Alfred P.          General Motors Corp.
  *  Sorensen, Charles E.      Ford Motor Co.
  *  Stout, William B.         Stout Metal Airplane Co.
  *  Vincent, Jessie G.        Packard Motor Car Co.
  *  Wills, C. Harold          Ford Motor Car Co.
  *  Zeder, Fred. M.           Chrysler Corp.

  About MotorCities

Designated by the U.S. Congress in 1998 as an Affiliate of the National Park Service, MotorCities helps citizens appreciate how the automobile changed Michigan, the nation and the world. MotorCities strives to make Michigan's rich automotive heritage a source of pride for communities and a positive influence on the region's future. In addition to promoting tourist attractions like the Dream Cruise, MotorCities also provides educational material and funds revitalization projects, helping residents and visitors alike Experience Everything Automotive. For more information, please visit http://www.experienceeverythingautomotive.org/ .