N.O.S Vintage 1960's Commemorative Ford Gum Company Houze Art Glass Co. Plate

Description

Warehouse Find!!!
Up for auction is a 10” commemorative plate from the Ford Gum & Machine Company, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the FORDWAY marketing campaign.
Ford was started in 1913 by a 20-year-old roofing salesman named Ford Mason. In 1939, having a great desire to make his mark in the vending business, Ford Mason came up with a huge marketing campaign called the FORDWAY program.
Ford Mason immediately was able to align with his first organization in Columbus, Ohio called TWIG Charities. Their focus then and still today is to help children hospitals. This was really the moment when his vision for the FORDWAY program was a reality. It expanded across the country very quickly with incredible success for Ford and its Civic Service Clubs.
This program consisted of 5 points that are printed on the reverse side of the plate.
1) Manufacturer: The production of quality, sanitary machines and gum.
2) Distributor: Franchisees sharing their revenue with sponsoring organization
3) Sponsor: Civic Service Clubs willing to participate and promote the FORDWAY program
4) Grantor: An establishment granting space for the machine, therefore helping the sponsored Service Club charity.
5) Consumer: Customers contributing to the Service Club charities one penny at a time.
These plates were made by the famous Houze Art Glass Company in 1968, using their patented Color Magic process.  The colors are vibrant with reflective gold highlights that look like gold plating.
Originally, they were supposed to be released in 1965, but the project ran behind. The plates were allotted to distributors for promotion of the program and were also available for sale to them. The idea was for a distributor to give a plate away to a charity or establishment who was willing to participate in the program.
They are all a N.O.S. warehouse find. I have seen a few of them sell over the years for as much as 0.00. Now you can own this great piece of history for a reasonable amount of money.
Hand Wash, not dishwasher safe due to age, but it’s pretty cool using them when friends come over for dinner.