Meeting of Minds

Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, H.S. Firestone and John Burroughs dubbed themselves the “Vagabonds” and took camping trips in the eastern states from 1914 and 1924. The well-publicized adventures gave the famous foursome a chance to relax while effectively advertising Ford automobiles and Firestone tires.

The Times noted their 1919 summer excursion with a small headline, “Ford on a Vacation,” and reported from Albany, “Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, and H.S. Firestone and his son met John Burroughs here today. They will leave tomorrow for a vacation camping trip through the Adirondack Mountains.”

In other newspapers, the camping trips generated large headlines such as “Millions of Dollars Worth of Brains off on a Vacation” and “Genius to Sleep Under Stars.” Countless Americans watched the “Vagabonds” through newsreels in darkened movie theaters, filmed by Ford Motor Company crews. Special guests joined the road trips, including titans of industry as well as U.S. presidents Calvin Coolidge and Warren G. Harding.

In 1919, the “Vagabonds” posed while in Green Island, N.Y. Left to right: H. S. Firestone Jr., tire magnate H. S. Firestone, inventor Thomas A. Edison, naturalist John Burroughs, Mayor James R. Watt of Albany, automobile maker Henry Ford, Chauncey D. Hakes, chairman on the committee of aviation, and Samuel Ott.