The Henry J

By Jim Hagarty
This car was built in 1953, the year Hank Williams died. It is an unusual vehicle I saw at a local car show this week. It is a Henry J, named after Henry J. Kaiser, the president of the Kaiser-Fraser Corporation. The car was built in Michigan between 1950 and 1954. It was a stripped down car, aimed at the less affluent driver, and selling for $1,300. It was smaller than other cars at the time and a forerunner of the compact car. But competition was fierce and the project died. The model above was called the Corsair.

henry j front

Author: Jim Hagarty

I am a 72-year-old retired journalist, busy recovering from a lifelong career as an unretired journalist. This year marks a half century of my scratching out little fables about life. My interests include genealogy, humour and music. I live in a little blue shack in Canada and spend most of my time trying to stay out of trouble. I am not that good at it. I also spent years teaching journalism. Poor state of journalism today: My fault. I have a family I don't deserve, a dog that adores me, and two cars the junk yard refuses to accept. My prized possessions include my old guitar and a razor my Dad gave me when I was 14 and which I still use when I bother to shave. Oh, and my great-great-grandfather's blackthorn stick he brought from Ireland in the 1850s. I have only one opinion but it is a good one: People take too many showers.