Mainer who helped design classic 1950s cars in Detroit still creating 70 years later
5 min readARUNDEL, Maine — In 1954, Millinocket native Allen “Rod” Williams produced the internet pages of the Bangor Each day Information when he received hired by Ford to assistance design automobiles in Detroit.
At the time, Williams was 23 decades previous, new out of the U.S. Navy and had zero formal layout schooling. He was, however, a whiz at painting and drawing flashy, futuristic automobiles.
Racing forward practically 70 years to today and Williams — now 94 — is back in the general public eye once more.
A batch of his classic automobile paintings are going on display screen at the Maine Typical Car or truck Museum in Arundel. The demonstrate opens May well 14 with a gala public reception celebrating the now domestically legendary industrial designer.
“His function is so attractive and it hasn’t ever been proven just before,” reported museum curator Karen Sigler. “We have all his initial principle drawings.”
Also on display will be two traditional hunks of Americana that Williams experienced a hand in envisioning: A 1957 Ford Fairlane and a 1957 Ford Thunderbird.
“You know that minimal porthole window on the back again of the Thunderbird? He did that,” Sigler claimed.
Williams’ art and design and style vocation begun considerably from Motor Metropolis, on the Millinocket dairy farm where by he was elevated by a single mother and his grandparents. Encouraged by his relatives, he’d commit hrs portray the barnyard bouquets, airplanes and imaginary automobiles not still invented.
In school, he was a inadequate pupil, often in hassle for doodling and daydreaming.
“Stearns Substantial University didn’t even have an artwork trainer at the time,” Williams claimed.
After large university, he attempted an art college in New York Metropolis but observed the very first year classes amounted to remedial training for him. Williams also could not afford to pay for it.
So he joined the U.S. Navy to get in on the G.I. Monthly bill and its instructional positive aspects.
It didn’t just take prolonged for his superiors to realize Williams’ outstanding art capabilities. Before long, he was producing dramatic, historical oil paintings for Admirals and their households. Just one of his functions was even presented to President Harry S. Truman, who shook his hand.
“It was, ‘Beautiful job son,’ and then on to the up coming dude,” Williams explained, nevertheless smiling about the celebration.
Williams eventually ended up designing visual studying resources at a Navy instruction centre in Boston. There, he experienced a massive studio all to himself.
“Every night time following do the job, I’d attract vehicles till 11 o’clock,” he said.
There, a Navy reservist took a glow to Williams’ motor vehicle pics and despatched them to Mechanics Illustrated magazine which printed them in a large spread.
“A week later, I experienced telegrams from Ford, Chrysler and GM, presenting me work,” he claimed. “I drove to Detroit, slept in my motor vehicle for a few days and experienced interviews with all a few.”
He took Ford’s offer but had to wait around a yr, right until he could get out of the Navy. Inside of times of currently being discharged in 1954, he married his hometown sweetheart, Caroline, and headed for Detroit.
Williams was highlighted in the BDN in July 1953, soon before producing the transfer in ’54.
“Williams’ most radical structure so far is a jet-propelled car or truck built to cruise at 150 miles for each hour,” it browse.
The tale went on to explain how the jet car or truck was intended to go on the Maine Turnpike in the considerably off yr of 1970.
But both of those Williams and his spouse hated it in Detroit. The city and the hyper-aggressive vehicle business enterprise were being way too much.
“I never believe she’d ever been south of Bangor at that stage,” Williams said, “and it was cutthroat.”
Even now, they stuck it out for a several yrs although Williams helped craft some of America’s most vintage, tail-finned automobiles for both equally Ford and Chrysler.
“He produced icons,” Sigler stated, “and set the style pace for a good deal of decades to appear.”
When performing in Detroit, Williams laid ideas for getting back to New England, scouting for freelance do the job every time he arrived back east on vacation.Finally, he established up his individual industrial style and design organization in Massachusetts exactly where he and his wife — now married 68 decades — raised their four little ones.
His organization developed quite a few handy factors like x-ray equipment, sweets, industrial kitchen devices and the primary packaging for all Tom’s of Maine products. He even had a hand in coming up with the glimpse and functionality of Wang’s initially laptop.
But Williams hardly ever yet again created anything as hot as a 1950s American car or truck, which is Okay with him.
“Detroit was these types of a political rat race,” he mentioned.
While long considering the fact that formally retired, Williams now likes aiding farm-to-desk startup providers with logos and packaging. It feels like likely back property, Williams claimed, from cows, to vehicles, to cows once more.
Williams, even now spry and sharp, with superb listening to, smiled as he climbed behind the wheel of the 1957 Fairlane he aided generate on Friday at the museum.
“Ayuh,” he mentioned, putting a pose for images, “it’s satisfying to obtain out people today nevertheless like my models.”
The reception for Rod Willams is at the Maine Traditional Motor vehicle Museum on Route 1 in Arundel on Saturday Might 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20.
