TIPP CITY, Ohio – The first Mustang club to ever visit the Halderman Barn Museum in Tipp City, Ohio, was the Mustang Owners Club of SouthEastern Michigan (MOCSEM) nearly a decade ago, thanks in part to the relationship that MOCSEM president Mike Rey had with the late Gale Halderman. Gale was a member of the club and had often visited MOCSEM’s big annual Mustang Memories show behind Ford World Headquarters each August. Last fall, MOCSEM members had made their 9^th annual visit to the museum – and like the one before it, this tour would also prove to be extra special.

Two years ago, the Halderman Museum inducted Rey as the inaugural member in its “Mustang Member Hall for Fame” for his outstanding contribution to his club and the Mustang hobby. Mike was unable to attend MOCSEM’s annual visit this past fall, but to keep the annual tour tradition going, a couple of dozen club members made the 3½-hour drive from Metro Detroit to the Halderman Museum just outside of Dayton, Ohio.

After a decades-long career at Ford that included being the principal designer of the original Mustang, Halderman was inducted into the Mustang Club of America's Mustang Hall of Fame in 2004, and was presented with an Iacocca Award during the Mustang 50^th Celebration in Charlotte. He soon became active in Mustang club events and the Ford enthusiast community. In 2014, Gale and his daughter, Karen, converted the barn on his family’s property in his Ohio hometown of Tipp City into the Halderman Museum, which holds a collection of artwork and ads, as well as drawings and memorabilia of all things Ford and Mustang. You’ll also see some of Gale’s original sketches, plus a late-model Thunderbird, a Model T and a Model A and, of course, a few Mustangs in his museum, including Gale’s own 1965 Mustang Fastback and 1966 Mustang convertible.

Karen and her daughter, Lauren, had decided to keep operating the Halderman Museum after Gale’s passing in April of 2020 to keep his legacy alive, as long as the Mustang community supports it through donations (there is no admission charge or rental fee) and via the sale of Halderman Museum merchandise. It’s a great informal place for an interesting look at the Mustang hobby, for a club road-trip getaway tour or even hosting an off-site club meeting. Scheduling a cruise-in to the Halderman Museum barn can include a strolling tour or even lunch from a local food truck that can be arranged on-site.

MOCSEM’s cruise-in style tour of the museum in the fall of 2022 took place on a sunny Saturday, with a food truck serving up gourmet hot dogs for lunch and John Clor of Ford Performance offering a presentation to attendees on some of Gale’s design history with the Mustang, as well as a Q&A session. But much to everyone’s surprise, just before the presentation, retired fourth-generation Mustang designer Bud Magaldi and his wife rolled up to join in on the club’s museum tour. Of course, Bud was invited to share some of his thoughts about Gale as well as about his own design work on the SN-95 Mustang before signing autographs and chatting with attendees. We saw Gale’s granddaughter, Lauren, walking around with her camera, and asked that she share her photos from that day so that we could share them with you in the gallery below.

We’ll have more coverage of induction ceremonies for the Halderman Museum Mustang Club Hall of Fame with other clubs later this year, so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you know of someone who would make a good candidate for inclusion in the hall of fame, don’t wait. Nominees for the Halderman Museum Mustang Club Hall of Fame must be (or have been) an active Mustang club member with a minimum of five years of service to the club and who has made a significant impact on the success of the club and/or the enjoyment of his or her fellow members. Nominations should have the support of a club’s board or membership before submission in the form of a Word Doc with the full name of the club, the nominee (plus any club title or positions held) and a written explanation of the reasons why the nominee deserves inclusion in the hall and what contributions have been made to the club. Clubs can send that Word Doc along with a .jpeg image of the nominee to Ford Performance in an email to ClubHub@Ford.com with “Halderman Museum Mustang Club Hall of Fame Nomination” in the subject line.
Ford Performance has agreed to review all applications with the Halderman family and to help notify the club contact of a determination for acceptance into the Halderman Museum Mustang Club Hall of Fame. There’s only one catch: All induction ceremonies must be done at the Halderman Museum in Tipp City, Ohio, with the nominee and club members present. (The museum asks not to send in a nomination if the nominee or club is unable to make a trip to the museum for the award.) Inductees will receive a custom, laser-cut metal Halderman Museum logo award, with a corresponding metal recognition plaque to be permanently mounted on the support beam in the museum’s lounge. The Haldermans will consider up to three inductees per year (Spring, Summer & Fall) and will work with clubs to set up an induction ceremony date.

Tours like the one that MOCSEM and many other clubs have enjoyed are set up by appointment only; if you’re not on social media, you can find contact information on the museum’s website, https://haldermanmustang.com. Even if your club’s visit is purely for pleasure, plan on taking a road trip to this little gem of a museum because it’s sure to be memorable. And even though there’s no guarantee you’ll get to meet another Mustang designer during your museum tour, Ford Performance Club Connect makes regular stops there, and we’d love to celebrate Mustang’s product legacy with new friends.

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / LAUREN (HALDERMAN) KOENIG