INSIDE THE HENRY FORD
MEMBERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
NAME: Blake Almstead
NUMBER OF YEARS AS A MEMBER:
10
MUST-DO EVENT: Coffee at Sir John Bennett Sweet Shop in Greenfield Village on a Sunday morning. “I’m able to think, take notes, sketch and be surrounded by so much that has affected and influenced history ... You can’t help but feel inspired.”
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
FAVORITE MEMBER PERK: That free feeling I have knowing I can go to The Henry Ford whenever I want. My mother’s favorite thing is having tea. We’ll just go in Greenfield Village, walk together, have tea at Cotswold Cottage, then take a stroll and maybe pop in to the gift shop. When you’re a member, you have this unlimited access to experiences that you didn’t expect.
WHAT’S YOUR SPARK?
Member Blake Almstead finds inspiration in a farmhouse and a man’s passion to preserve America’s story DERIVING INSPIRATION from all over The Henry Ford, Blake Almstead is drawn to amazing places of innovation like Dymaxion House in the museum. A former New Englander, he also feels the pull of Daggett Farmhouse (left) in Greenfield Village. The Connecticut saltbox structure reminds him of home, and he revels in the working farm’s accurate representation of a period of America’s agricultural history. As president of the Corktown Historical Society, he also meanders through the streets of Greenfield Village with a profound sense of gratitude to Henry Ford for his passion to preserve American landmarks and America’s stories of innovation, invention and entrepreneurship. Village structures such as Cohen Millinery and Grimm Jewelry Store were once small businesses located and operating in Detroit’s Corktown, the city’s oldest surviving neighborhood, for which Blake now leads efforts to help protect, preserve and restore.
WHAT’S YOUR SPARK? Let us know what inspires you from your visit and what takes you forward from your membership. Email us at membership@thehenryford.org. 58
JANUARY-MAY 2020
PHOTO OF BLAKE ALMSTEAD NEAR THE DYMAXION HOUSE BY JAMES SALESKA; DAGGETT FARMHOUSE BY EE BERGER
Take It Forward as a Member Enjoy benefits like free admission and parking, discounts on events and tours, exclusive member previews and more. ONLINE thf.org/ membershipc