From: theleasthappyfella@gmail.com   
      
   On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:02:58 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:   
   > On Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 8:38:52 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:    
   > > On Friday, December 15, 2023 at 8:24:35 AM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard wrote:    
   > > > On Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 12:30:58 PM UTC-8, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > On Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 8:27:50 AM UTC-7, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > > On Sunday, September 24, 2023 at 8:34:33 AM UTC-7, Jeffrey Rubard   
   wrote:    
   > > > > > > On Saturday, September 23, 2023 at 1:10:38 PM UTC-7, Jeffrey   
   Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > On Sunday, September 10, 2023 at 2:32:06 PM UTC-7, Jeffrey   
   Rubard wrote:    
   > > > > > > > > From Chapter 15: "Kill All the Americans"    
   > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > It took Dearborn's purchasing agents some effort to find a   
   factory whistle that wouldn't rust from the jungle humidity. Once they did,   
   they shipped it to Fordlandia, where it was perched on top of the water tower,   
   above the tall trees,    
   giving it a seven-mile range. The whistle was piercing enough not only to   
   reach dispersed road gangs and fieldhands but to be heard across the river,   
   where even those not affiliated with Fordlandia began to pace their day to its   
   regularly scheduled blows.   
    The whistle was supplemented by another icon of industrial factory work:   
   pendulum punch time clocks, placed at different locations around the   
   plantation, that recorded exactly when each employee began and ended his   
   workday.    
   > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > Sponsor Message    
   > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > In Detroit, immigrant workers by the time they got to Ford's   
   factories, even if they were peasants and shepherds, had had ample opportunity   
   to adjust to the meter of industrial life. The long lines at Ellis Island, the   
   clocks that hung on    
   the walls of depots and waiting rooms, the fairly precise schedules of ships   
   and trains, and standardized time that chopped the sun's daily arc into zones   
   combined to guide their motions and change their inner sense of how the days   
   passed.    
   > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > But in the Amazon, the transition between agricultural time   
   and industrial time was much more precipitous. Prior to showing up at   
   Fordlandia, many of the plantation's workers who had lived in the region had   
   set their pace by two distinct    
   yet complementary timepieces. The first was the sun, its rise and fall marking   
   the beginning and end of the day, its apex signaling the time to take to the   
   shade and sleep. The second was the turn of the seasons: most of the labor   
   needed to survive was    
   performed during the relatively dry months of June to November. Rainless days   
   made rubber tapping possible, while the recession of the floods exposed newly   
   enriched soils, ready to plant, and concentrated fish, making them easier to   
   catch. But nothing    
   was set in stone. Excessive rain or prolonged periods of drought or heat led   
   to adjustments of schedules. Before the coming of Ford, Tapajos workers lived   
   time, they didn't measure it — most rarely ever heard church bells, much   
   less a factory whistle.    
   It was difficult, therefore, as David Riker, who performed many jobs for Ford,   
   including labor recruiter, said, "to make 365-day machines out of these   
   people."    
   > > > > > > > >    
   > > > > > > > > In 1927, Henry Ford bought a tract of land stretching twice   
   the size of Deleware in the Amazonian jungle of Brazil. Fordlandia, as it was   
   called, was meant to be a large rubber plantation.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Ford executives stand on the deck of the Lake Ormoc. Left to   
   right: William Cowling, Edsel Ford, Einar Oxholm, Henry Ford, Pete Martin,   
   Charles Sorensen, and AlbertWibel.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Workers chop down a tree in Fordlandia. Greg Grandin, author   
   of "Fordlandia," claims that the complex ecological conditions and a clash of   
   cultures between the Americans and native workers ultimately led to the   
   failure of the project.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Along with the construction of the rubber plantation, Ford   
   also created small American towns that included central squares, indoor   
   plumbing, golf courses and hospitals.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Many of the plantation workers were to the jungle and were   
   moved into American style housing.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > This family bungalow was part of a housing development styled   
   after American homes.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Attempting to import American culture into the Amazon,   
   Fordlandia offered residents a dance hall, with a movie screen on the back   
   wall.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Malaria, yellow fever and viper bites claimed the lives of   
   many workers.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Mundurucu mission children stand with German nuns.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > The American cars were no match for the local environment.    
   > > > > > > > > Courtesy of The Collections of the Henry Ford    
   > > > > > > > > Fordlandia's sawmill at Iron Mountain still stands 80 years   
   later.    
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   > > > > > > > >    
      
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