newhof APPLEWOOD APPLEWOOD The Charles Stewart Mott Estate one hundred years of stories, 1916–2016 • susan j. newhof APPLEWOOD The Charles Stewart Mott Estate C. S. Mott in his home office, February 4, 1960. The living room at Applewood today. Children playing during a public program at Applewood. utomotive pioneer Charles Stewart Mott and his first wife, Ethel Harding In contrast to many, the Motts chose to Applewood has been carefully preserved, Mott, purchased sixty-four acres at the edge of downtown Flint, build their gentleman’s farm within walking fulfilling Ruth Mott’s wish that it be a distance of downtown Flint, not out in the memorial to her cherished husband and Michigan, and laid the cornerstone in 1916 for the family home quiet countryside. They saw value in raising a resource for the community. Come explore The Charles StewartMott Estate Aand gentleman’s farm they called Applewood. the family’s food, eating fresh vegetables, the landscaped grounds and barns, take preserving for later use, and sharing any part in creative hands-on programs, gaze This collection of stories of Applewood’s first one hundred years reveals abundance with those in need. Not concerned up into the canopy of a giant old sugar the private lives of a very public family, much told in their own words. with making grand impressions, the house maple, and learn how to care for the The author weaves excerpts from decades of interviews, personal letters, is modest compared with other auto baron environment. Sample the heirloom apples and C. S. Mott’s detailed diary, plus recollections from family, friends, homes, with a level of comfort and just from the namesake orchard, and discover enough space for family, staff, and guests. their unique flavors, just as the Motts did. and staff. More than 250 photos, both new and historic images from the — From the Foreword by Susan Gangwere And beginning in Applewood’s centennial Ruth Mott Foundation Archives, give an intimate look at an extraordinary McCabe, Curator and Historian year, you can now join others on an interactive family and the place they called home. tour of the home. — From the Preface by Susan J. Newhof About the cover art: La Brezza, by Florentine Craftsmen, Inc., in the gardens at Applewood, was a gift to Ruth Rawlings Mott on her ninety-fifth birthday from family, staff, and close friends. Published by the Ruth Mott Foundation 111 E. Court St., Suite 3C Flint, MI 48502 one hundred years of stories, 1916–2016 • susan j. newhof www.ruthmottfoundation.org APPLEWOOD The Charles Stewart Mott Estate APPLEWOOD one hundred years of stories, 1916–2016 • susan j. newhof APPLEWOOD The Charles Stewart Mott Estate iv applewood Applewood: The Charles Stewart Mott Estate— The paper used in this publication meets the Advocates for the Environment One Hundred Years of Stories, 1916–2016 minimum requirements of the American Standard This book was manufactured with eco-friendly materials. The companies that for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper Copyright ©2016 by Ruth Mott Foundation, supplied these materials as well as those involved in printing and binding the in Printed Materials, ANSI Z39-48-1984. Flint, Michigan. book are committed to protecting the environment. Edited by: Wendy Warren Keebler Ruth Mott Foundation Sappi North America — produced the 100 lb. Opus Gloss text for both 111 E. Court Street, Suite 3C, Jacket and book design by: Savitski Design, editions; the jacket stock for the hardcover edition; and the 120 lb. cover Flint, MI 48502 Ann Arbor, MI weight stock for the paperback edition. Sappi NA is FSC® Chain of Custody Phone: (810) 233-0170 Certified; Lacey Act compliant; 100% of electricity used as Green-e® Photography by: R. H. Hensleigh and Tim Thayer, Website: RuthMottFoundation.org Certified renewable energy; Certified SmartWay Transport partner; unless otherwise noted. 10% post-consumer recycled fiber (PCRF) in all Opus sheet productivity. Applewood: The Charles Stewart Mott Estate Historic images from Ruth Mott Foundation Made in the USA. 1400 E. Kearsley Street Archives, Flint, MI, unless stated otherwise. Flint, MI 48503 All Sappi NA wood-free grades pass the paper permanence tests required Phone: (810) 233-3835 Book Publishing Consultants LLC: by the ANSI/NISO Z39.49-1992 specification. Website: Applewood.org Alice Nigoghosian, Dearborn, MI Ecologicalfibers, Inc. — supplied the Brillianta cloth and the Rainbow 80 lb. Printer: University Lithoprinters, Inc., end sheets for the hardcover binding. The company received an honorary Manufactured in the United States of America. Ann Arbor, MI environmental award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ISBN 978-0-578-17321-4 (Hardcover) Bindery: Dekker Bookbinding, Grand Rapids, MI University Lithoprinters, Inc. — is an environmentally friendly printing ISBN 978-0-578-17322-1 (Paperback) company, Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC)®. The soy All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be Title page photos, from left, Ethel and C.S., circa and vegetable oil based inks used to print this book are 91 percent free reproduced in any form or by any electronic or 1920–1925; Mitties and C.S., circa 1928–1929, of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). mechanical means, including information storage Ruth and C.S., August 21, 1960. Dekker Bookbinding — FSC® Certified (FSC-C074704I) by the and retrieval systems, without permission in Cover art: La Brezza, by Florentine Craftsmen, Rainforest Alliance. writing from the Ruth Mott Foundation, except Inc., in the gardens at Applewood, was a gift to by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in Ruth Rawlings Mott on her ninety-fifth birthday ® a review. from family, staff, and close friends. The Forest Stewardship Council mission is FSC logo will to promote environmentally sound, socially 20 19 18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1 All small ornamental photos were taken at be placed here beneficial and economically prosperous Applewood. management of the world’s forests. To the people of the city of Flint, Michigan, the Motts’ adopted community vi applewood Welcome to Applewood | viii 1A Gentleman’s Farm in Flint | 1 2The Families | 33 3 4 5 Maryanne Mott From New York to Michigan | 2 Ethel Harding Mott at Applewood | 34 Foreword | ix Susan Gangwere McCabe Two Farms Become One | 11 Finding Love Again | 42 Preface | x The Home | 18 Healing Sadness | 50 Cousin Ruth | 52 Genealogy | xii Raising Three More Children at Applewood | 56 applewood vii 1 2 3Sixty-four Acres of 4The Heart of the Home | 97 5New Roles Gracious Grounds and Furnishings | 98 for Applewood | 165 | 67 a Productive Farm House Staff | 116 Applewood Transitions in the The Landscape | 68 Postwar Years | 166 The Home Office and The Gatehouse | 78 General Motors Connection | 124 The Passing of Charles Stewart Mott | 172 Barns, Fields, and A Family of Athletes and Farm Animals | 84 Lovers of Games | 134 Ruth Mott at the Helm | 176 Growing Food for the Table | 90 Applewood the A Peaceful Passing Gathering Place | 138 at Applewood | 188 Applewood in Celebration | 148 Applewood in the Care of the Ruth Mott Foundation | 190 For Love of Dogs | 158 Index | 208 Acknowledgments | 210 About the Author | 210 viii applewood Welcome to Applewood | Maryanne Mott s a child at Applewood, how could I know that it was The book shares the stories of the people who lived here, Through this book, we share and celebrate the unique anything out of the ordinary? To me, until I ventured worked here, or simply visited. They include C. S. Mott, and largely private past of Applewood, acknowledge the outside its gates, it was simply home. his four wives and their families, six children, many dogs, transitional character of its last fifteen years under the a farmer and a gardener and their families, upstairs and stewardship of the Ruth Mott Foundation, and prepare to AThat home lay behind elegant wrought-iron gates, stately downstairs maids, nannies, cooks, farmhands, horticulturists embrace the dynamic public philanthropic purpose for red-brick pillars, and a dense periphery of lush greenery. and floriculturists, groundskeepers, estate managers, which Applewood is destined. For almost a century, the private home of the Charles secretaries, and chauffeurs, in addition to major industrialists, Stewart Mott family was shared with friends and colleagues My thanks go to the Board of Trustees of the Ruth Mott entrepreneurs, engineers, visionaries, writers, journalists, by invitation only. For everyone else, Applewood remained Foundation, for its members’ commitment to publishing cartoonists, artists, pals, and sidekicks. utterly shrouded in mystery. this book; to Susan J. Newhof, author extraordinaire, for The book describes family weddings, births and birthdays, her enthusiastic embrace and sensitive sharing of this County records show that in 1915, my father, C. S. Mott, summer picnics and winter dinner parties, holidays family and this place as though they were her own; to bought two parcels of land and combined them into one celebrated, sports and games played, sorrows nursed, and Megan McAdow, for her expertise and long hours spent sixty-four-acre farm. Architectural papers and local permits the struggles and routines of daily life. It presents photos bringing the best professional elements to support this reveal who designed the home, the gatehouse, and the land- and details of the furnishings and artwork that adorn the undertaking; to Lois Bolf, for her unceasing willingness to scaping. They show the layout of the house and the grounds. home and of the landscape that surrounds it. pursue items buried deep in the archives. Alice Nigoghosian, But what they cannot convey is the life of the place. our book publishing consultant, coordinated a team of The youngest of the six Mott children who grew up at This book, Applewood: The Charles Stewart Mott Estate— publishing professionals: editor Wendy Warren Keebler; Applewood, I have had the opportunity to help assemble One Hundred Years of Stories, 1916–2016, provides access book and graphic designer Mike Savitski; photographers and illuminate this history, to put flesh on bone, to give and insights that you cannot find in the public record.