One-Year Anniversary of Comet Celebrated at Ford – March 1961

Back when the Ford plant on Baumhart Road was running full steam, it was a big event when the first or last vehicle of a specific model being manufactured there came off the line. The media was there to cover the event, taking pictures, interviewing executives, and the whole thing ended up on the front page of the Journal. It was a source of pride for the Ford workers and the whole community.

Other events were celebrated as well, such as the unique event described here involving the Mercury Comet, made in Lorain.

Sixty-four years ago this month, the one-year anniversary of the Comet was celebrated with a unique cake that rolled off the assembly line, as noted in the Journal article above from March 16, 1961. As noted in the article – since it was the day before St. Patrick's Day – "A group of "Irish colleens" were on hand to serve the cake to visiting dignitaries, newspaper, radio and television representatives and hundreds of plant employees."

How did they bake a cake as big as a car?

"A base was built from an actual car chassis complete with wheels and scrap body stampings," noted the article. "The actual baking of the cake took place during the last two days. The top third of the entire car was edible cake."

The company that made the car was the same food services company that was the supplier for the Lorain plant. They used 166 dozen eggs, 193 pounds of flour and 482 pounds of sugar as the main ingredients.

I wonder what that cake would cost today?

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A year earlier, the introduction of the Comet played out in local car dealer advertisements. S. W. Becker Motors was the Mercury-Comet dealer whose ads featured it.

March 16, 1960

March 17, 1960

March 21, 1960

And Meyer-Goldberg made a 1965 Mercury Comet the prize in a contest celebrating the first anniversary of the Oberlin Avenue store (here).

As I've stated many times, we were an Olds family. But I do like the look of the Comet.