JOHN PACKARD

BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES, 1925 NUMBER 3

When John S. Packard, manager of the Dearborn Inn at Dearborn, Mich., left Hanover in June, 1925, his mind was made up to learn the hotel business as soon as possible in order to be in line for one of the many new positions that were opening up every day, due to the boom in building of hotels, which lasted until about 1931.

During the summer of 1925 he was steward of Indian Acres Camp for Boys at Fryeburg, Me. This job was made available through a fancy recommendation by the Dartmouth Dining Association for superior work as a bus boy in the grill, and some high class dusting of cans and sorting of fruit in the storeroom in the Commons basement. This position was immediately followed by a job as steward at a private club at Groton School. This Club was open to any parents having sons at Groton, and numbered among its members Franklin D. Roosevelt, Senator Bingham of Connecticut, Mosely, the Boston banker, and Dillon, the Wall St. operator.

Following this experience he went with L. G. Treadway 'OB, operator of the well known "Treadway Inns," and has been with him ever since, with the exception of one year in California. Starting in with the steward's job at the Lord Jeffery at Amherst, Mass., he moved on to the Middlebury Inn at Middlebury, Vt. Then came a year at Pamona College at Claremont, Calif., as purchasing agent for the Claremont Inn, owned by the College and operated by a friend of Mr. Treadway's. This was followed by a year at the Williams Inn, working as clerk, bookkeeper, and steward directly under Mr. Treadway—a sort of a final check-up by the boss in preparation for a manager's position. This chance came in the fall of 1929, and he was made manager of the Middlebury Inn, a position he filled until the spring of 1932, when he moved out to the Dearborn Inn, owned by the Ford Motor Company and operated as a part of the Treadway chain.

While at Middlebury John met Ruth M. Tupper of Worcester, Mass., Middlebury '27, who was spending a few days at the Inn attending her third reunion. One thing led to another, and they were married October 31, 1931, which, incidentally, was the date of one of those long remembered Dartmouth-Yale games. Since moving to Dearborn they have had two daughters, Judith now four and one- half years, and Miriam two years.

To those of you who have never seen the Dearborn Inn, you owe it to yourself to spend a night or longer there if you are ever in the vicinity. It is Georgian Colonial, situated in the middle of twenty acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. The hotel itself is furnished entirely in reproductions of Early American furniture, every room is air-conditioned, has private bath, radio, and electric clock. There are one hundred rooms in the main building, and recently they have started to build a Colonial Village in the rear of the Inn. This is to eventually comprise eighteen houses and a swimming pool, which with the golf, tennis, and riding now available will make it a perfect spot for relaxation. The exterior of each of these houses is an exact replica of some historical house in the country, and the interiors have been changed to meet modern hotel keeping. As in the Inn itself, each room has private bath and is air-conditioned. The Inn is directly adjacent to Mr. Henry Ford's famous Greenfield Village and Edison Institute Museum, a complete village in itself which will take you back a century and give you a glimpse of American life in another generation. A short drive away is the new Ford Rotunda, the starting place for a thrilling trip through the great River Rouge plant, where the Fords are made. For those Dartmouth men who take to the air the Ford Airport is directly across the road from the Inn, and by the time your plane is in the hangar John will have a car over there to get you and your baggage.

The Inn, naturally, is often a meeting-place for Dartmouth men in the Detroit area, and the latch-string is always out for any Dartmouth men whose travels bring them to Henry Ford's bailiwick.

The greatest compliment that can be paid John (and this is the measure of his success and accomplishment in this very responsible position) is to say that for six years he has satisfied the exacting requirements not only of Mr. Treadway but also of Mr. Henry Ford, founder and Mr. Edsel Ford, president, of the Ford Motor Car Cos.