Rod Williams was a farm boy from Millinocket who went to work as a design stylist for Ford and Chrysler in the 1950s. He is shown here, in a 1957 Ford Fairlane he had a hand in designing, at the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel. His designs will be on display at the museum through the end of the season in October. Tammy Wells Photo

ARUNDEL — Allen “Rod” Williams has been an artist since he was a little boy,  just old enough to hold a crayon between his fingers.

Now, the Biddeford resident, at 91, is reflecting back on a career that proves dreams can come true,  and he talked about his life and his work for Ford and Chrysler in a recent interview.

Williams was an auto stylist in the heady days of the 1950s when cars were big, bold, and snazzy, with lovely lines and vibrant paint colors. His work is on display now through the end of the season at the Maine Classic Car Museum on Route 1 in Arundel.

Williams made designs for the Ford Fairlane line and Ford Thunderbird, “my favorite Fords,” he said, and later moved over to Chrysler, creating designs for the 1958 and 1959 Chrysler New Yorker and the Chrysler 300.

He was also assigned to Chrysler’s station wagon line. When he complained, he said, he was informed that the cars were moneymakers for the company.

Among Rod Williams’ designs was this concept for a 1957 Ford Parklane station wagon; it is among many other designs on display at the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel. Courtesy Image

World War II and the Korean War were still vivid memories for many in the late-1950s. People were looking to move past those days and embraced new car designs.

“Everyone was looking for new, bright things,” said Williams during a conversation at the Maine Classic Car Museum.

Williams speaks of his work and career like someone who cannot quite believe his luck; but those who have seen his designs know that it was his talent that made it happen.

Williams, who grew up on a dairy farm in Millinocket, remembers drawing flowers with crayons when he was 4 or 5 years old. He recalled his first trip to the art section of Freese’s Department Store in Bangor, as a lad of 10 or 12, when his mother made some purchases that strengthened his ability to make art.

“(There were) authentic watercolors and pastels — the first I’d ever seen,” he said.

Rod Williams was a design stylist for Ford in the 1950s and helped design this 1957 Ford Thunderbird, among others. His work is on display at the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel. A Maine native, Williams and his wife Carolyn retired to Kennebunk and later to Biddeford. Karen Sigler Photo/Maine Classic Car Museum

Williams graduated from high school and took up sign painting,  saving $400 or $ 500, enough for a first semester at the Pratt Institute School of Art in Brooklyn, New York. When he attended the school it was the first time he had ever been south of Bangor, he said. But that first semester was all about the history of art — and Williams wanted to draw and design. The dairy farm was undergoing some change at the time, and he decided to go back to Millinocket. A year later, in 1950, the war in Korea broke out, and the GI Bill — and its attractive benefits, like education assistance — were reinstated.

Williams enlisted in the U.S. Navy hoping for air cadets — but that was not to be, nor was the Navy’s drafting school — which had just closed, so he ended up  serving on a landing ship tank.

He was in the recreation hall on base when he heard Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith speak during the McCarthy hearings that were broadcast on radio.

He got out his watercolors and pencils, created some drawings and enclosed them with a letter he wrote to the Maine senator, suggesting he might be able to better serve the U.S. Navy in some other capacity.

He soon got a letter back and after further communications, his life took a different course.

“I got called to the captain’s office and he said, “who the hell are you anyway,” and Williams was reassigned to a job that incorporated his talent as an artist. After doing the Navy’s business during the day, he said he would stay and draw car designs at night. An officer saw them, thought he had talent, and sent them to a friend — which resulted in a four-page spread in Cars magazine and job offers from all the major car manufacturers. Williams chose Ford, and two weeks after he was discharged from the Navy in 1954, he moved to Detroit.

Two weeks after he was discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1954, Maine native Rod Williams went to work for Ford – but not before marrying his sweetheart Carolyn. After working for Ford and later for Chrysler, designing automobiles, he, Carolyn and their children moved to Massachusetts where he established his own design company and later retired to Maine. His work is on display at the Maine Classic Car Museum in Arundel. Courtesy Image

It was a very big deal for a young farm boy from Maine, who had virtually no formal art training. And as it turned out, he never did use the GI education benefit he had sought.

Williams was not alone in Detroit. He had met Carolyn, of East Millinocket, in 1951, they married on June 26, 1954, and off they went to the city, for new adventures. The couple recently marked their 68th wedding anniversary.

After several years in Michigan, the couple returned to New England, where Williams established his own company in Boston, Massachusetts, and created designs for an array of clients, including Tom’s of Maine from its earliest days, before selling the agency. He has also drawn designs for Kate’s Butter, when the company was located in Saco.

The Williams’ moved to Kennebunk, and later to Biddeford.

He continues to enjoy design, and notes that most cars, these days, look the same.

“In the 1950s, there were no boring cars,” Williams said.

He believes there is an opportunity for electric vehicle designers to be more creative.

“Why not have options,” Williams said, pointing out that electric vehicles do not have to look like cars that have gasoline engines.

The Rod Wiliams Retrospective, that includes never-before-seen concept car illustrations for the Thunderbird and Fairlane Ford lines and the Chrysler 300 and New Yorker, are on display at the museum, located at 2564 Portland Road (Route 1) in Arundel. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Sunday, from June to October.