This is my dad Harold, in the early 1940s as a teenager, piloting the beautiful Chris-Craft yacht (36 feet), built in Algonac, Michigan for Abraham Edward Barit, out of Grosse Pointe Yacht Club’s harbor on Lake St. Clair. Barit was the Chairman & CEO of the Hudson Motor Car Company (Detroit, Michigan) from 1936 – 1954. Here’s dad’s story:
“THIS IS DEFINITELY SABRINA, THEIR YACHT. IT WAS DOCKED AT GROSSE POINT YACHT CLUB. IN 1941, MY DAD SHOWED ME HOW TO MANUEVER THIS BRAND NEW TWIN-SCREW YACHT, AND I STARTED AS CAPTAIN, AT 15 YRS OLD. I USUALLY PICKED ED, HIS WIFE EVA, AND THEIR CHILDREN UP IN FRONT OF THEIR MANSION ON WINDMILL POINTE DRIVE IN GROSSE POINTE PARK. THEY NEVER DROVE IT AND I DID ALL OF THE MAINTAINANCE CHORES. IT WAS SPECIAL BUILT FOR THEM WITH A FRONT OPEN COCKPIT THAT REPLACED THE FRONT CREW CABIN, SO THEY TOO COULD ENJOY THE FRESH AIR AND SUNSHINE. WE WENT OUT THREE TIMES A WEEK NORMALLY. I PUT A GASOLINE MOTOR ON MY BICYCLE SO THAT I COULD GET TO THE YACHT CLUB QUICKLY (COULDN’T DRIVE A CAR YET). THEY LET ME TAKE FRIENDS FOR ALL-DAY CRUISES ON IT AND MY SISTER (YOUR AUNT, IRENE) CAME ALONG SOMETIMES. IT WAS BUILT IN ALGONAC, IN 1940.
AFTER I GOT MY DRIVER’S LICENSE, I OCCASIONALLY DROVE THEM AROUND IN THEIR 1940’S ERA CUSTOM-BUILT HUDSON LIMOUSINE (THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM NOW OWNS HIS LAST PERSONAL LIMO). IN SPRING AND FALL, I ALSO WORKED AT THEIR MANSION AND HUGE YARD.
AFTER THE WAR, I FINISHED COLLEGE (GI BILL), AND WITH MY DEGREES IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING, I WENT TO WORK AT THE HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY DEVELOPING THE REVOLUTIONARY “STEP-DOWN” AUTOMOBILE WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER CENTER OF GRAVITY – THE HUDSON HORNET, CONSIDERED TO BE THE BEST-HANDLING AMERICAN AUTO OF THE EARLY ’50s. I MET, DATED AND IN MAY 1951, MARRIED ONE OF THE SECRETARIES IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT (YOUR MOM, DOLORES).”
More
Barit’s 1951 limousine, with a custom body by Derham, is shown here with a chrome update Barit had done – the Hornet’s 1953 front-end treatment.
Still one of the most distinguished Tudor homes in Grosse Pointe Park, the Barit mansion was designed by William Stratton, and originally built in 1925 for Julian Harris. It was a short 2.5 mile commute in his Hudson Limo from his home (15366 Windmill Pointe Drive) to the Hudson Motor Car Factory in Detroit (@ Jefferson & Conner).
21ˢᵗ Century Fiat / Abarth 124 Spider 