The Girl in the Shiny New Car…episode 14…Gift Horse… Madge had been secretary of ‘old man’ Cobb; George Cobb Sr., since the beginning of the Company back in 1892. Back then it was known as the Cobb Farm Tool Company. Making pull plows and various other types of farm equipment. She had also been old man Cobb’s ‘mistress’ and a virtual mother to George Jr., whom she called Georgie-boy since his real mother died giving birth to the youngest son Frank, in 1898. George Senior had also become one of Henry Ford’s parts suppliers when Ford started his assembly line process. Manufacturing frames, auto body parts and various tools for the Ford farm tractor. As is usual, the three brothers were as different as three peas in a pod. Raymond was a mechanical genius. He was the company’s main design engineer. And as genius often does, Raymond had ‘invented’, quite by accident, the linking pin system that ultimately evolved into the contentious track tread that ultimately wound up on Ford Bulldozers and led to the military Tank. Georgie was being groomed by daddy to take over the company. Frank had no choice but to be the rebellious little brat. He used behavior, 98% of which was bad, to get daddy’s attention. Madge hated him. As is often the case with ‘bad boys’, the girls adored him. Then came the war. The Company literally exploded. Making truck bodies for Ford’s military truck line. Raymond ended up in England, helping British tank designers use the Cobb Tread system while Frank, in total defiance of his father, went off and joined the Army Air Corp. flying paper and canvas planes over France. As fickle as fate often is. Raymond came back from the war with a Bentley automobile, convincing his older brother that they should design and build an ‘upscale’ European styled car for the American market. Frank’s wild shenanigans, on the other hand, brought him back as some big time war hero ace. His was to be the ‘famous face’ that sold the company’s Cabriolet to the ‘rich and famous’. When George Senior died in 1927, Georgie-boy became the new old man Cobb and Madge stayed on to watch him. But she had never heard such roaring and shouting coming through the office wall before. She took her ear from the wall when a tall man came in. “Mr. Cobb”, Madge’s voice crackled over the intercom. “There’s a man asking to see you. He’s quite insistent.” It was obvious to the three brothers who she was talking too, even though they were all a mister Cobb. “Send him in,” said George. The Cobb brothers stood up as a tall gentleman with black hair came in their office; “Good morning gentleman. My name’s Howard Hughes”.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:33:24 +0000
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