By Bruce Babiarz
The next time you’re in the main Lobby, visit the portrait of Packard Motor Car Co. Chairman Henry Bourne Joy, just outside The Tap Room. Joy, one of the founding members of the modern DAC, is Member No. 001. He served as Club president in 1919 and died in 1936.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Joy and his energy and vision. In addition to his role as a major investor and later leader of Packard, he helped create the modern U.S. highway system by organizing the Lincoln Highway Association to build a cross-country concrete road. He worked on Packard aircraft engines at what we now know as Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Mount Clemens. He served in World War I and the Spanish-American War. And perhaps most palpably, Joy’s hiring of Albert Kahn—the same architect he used to design the massive Packard plant in Detroit—in 1913 led to the Clubhouse we treasure today
Joy drove a bright yellow 1916 Packard Twin Six touring car to the DAC and elsewhere, a car that cost four to five times more than the average car of the day. Members of the DAC Car Club encountered that Packard on a tour of the Detroit Historical Society warehouse this spring. Its cosmetic condition is remarkable, but it needs mechanical and interior work.
We have formed a committee to explore restoration options. If you’re interested, email me at babiarz@comcast.net.
The Car Club brought Joy’s yellow Twin Six back to the Club for the 14th annual Car and Motorcycle Show on May 29. It may well be the first time it has been parked at the DAC in 110 years. It will also be on display July 12 at the Northville Concours d’Elegance along with some 150 other notable vehicles; details at northvilleconcours.com. Just imagine seeing it prominently displayed somewhere in the city or representing the DAC in America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Car Club’s rallying cry—“a passion for all things automotive”—and its proud tagline, “America’s first car club, since 1915,” make Henry B. Joy the perfect figure to celebrate. An American original and a driving force in the auto industry, Joy helped shape the modern DAC into a hub for business, connection and camaraderie, while keeping its amateur-athletic roots intact. He’d be pleased to know that today’s DAC is a Platinum 5-Star Club that has held the title of the No. 1 athletic club in America since 2019.
Cheers and safe driving this summer!
