Don shared these pics from 2017 PA Jeeps Show in Pennsylvania. Thanks!

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Thanks go to Jason King for documenting his family’s jeeping adventure from last weekend!

Jason writes, “This past Saturday the King family held our 7th Annual Sweetwater Run Jeep Rally in beautiful Parke County, Indiana (Covered Bridge Capital of the World). Family members came from as far away as Minnesota and Missouri to enjoy this yearly event.

Some of the older jeeps attending this year . . . 

. . . . and some of the newer jeeps.

The morning started off with a timed run on a pre-determined 10-mile route planned out by the hosts of the rally in their 46’ CJ2A some weeks earlier. The plan was for each of the 8 Jeeps to leave 5 minutes apart with at least a driver and navigator. Each navigator had a copy of the mapped route and was responsible for keeping the time clock for their respective vehicle. The the Jeep closest to the official time clocked by the hosts of the rally received a first place prize box full of moon pies. The timed event was enjoyed by all and should continue for years to come.

The timed event was followed by a wonderful cookout on a new Jeep fire pit made by my brother-in-law (he takes orders if anyone is interested). Shortly after the cookout we travelled east through Rockville to Bridgeton passing a few covered bridges along the way, stopped for ice cream and proceeded on to Mansfield Covered Bridge before returning home. Continue reading →

UPDATE: Dan’s laid out a caravan schedule for next weekend’s Open House.

Subsitute caravan leader Dan “scramboleer” here. Just a reminder that the Willys America Open House and BBQ is just a few Saturdays away on July 8.

The 2017 Caravan basically takes the morning to drive from Millbrae (south of San Francisco), across the Golden Gate Bridge, and then out through western Wine Country to Cazadero where Willys America hosts an open house and BBQ.

Here are the details:

Begin route on Hwy 280 North.

Stop 1: 8:00 am – 8:15 am Trousdale Exit on northbound Highway 280. (This exit is in Millbrae, meet on the east side parking area after the off ramp). The exit is about 5 miles north of Hwy 92.

Follow 280 North. Take 19th Avenue north through San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge (Hwy 101).

Stop 2: 8:45 am – 9:15 am Golden Gate Bridge vista point. (Located on northeast side of bridge.) Great picture spot!

Continue Hwy 101 north to Petaluma. Exit west onto Lakeville Road., Stop at McDonald’s at the shopping center on Lakeville Rd.

Stop 3: 10:00 am-10:20 am McDonald’s parking lot in Petaluma. (Exit west on 116/Lakeville St. and look for McDonald’s)

Continue on North 101 and exit at Hwy 116 West (Gravenstein Hwy towards Guerneville). Follow Hwy 116 through Forestville, Monte Rio and turn North onto the Cazadero Hwy. Follow Cazadero Hwy until you see Willys America, 6152 Cazadero Highway Cazadero, CA 95421.

http://www.oldwillysforum.com/forum/showthread.php?11425-Caravan-to-2017-Willys-America-Open-House-and-BBQ

The Great Willys Picnic and The Bantam Festival (both in Pennsylvania) are happening today. I hope everyone has fun!

Last weekend the Willys Overland Jeepster Club held their annual Spring meet for the 51st time. Sixty members and a dozen Jeepsters attended the event at Dundee, Michigan. A Fall Meet will occur later this year.

You can read much more in the Monroe News:

http://www.monroenews.com/news/20170603/its-jeepster-reunion

PHOTO CREDIT: Monroe News by Tom Hawley. Kevin Stepinski is waving out the door of his 1949 Jeepster.

Just a couple updates for Friday.

John forwarded this website and videos from the Convoy of Liberty, 2017, from Pilsen, Czech Republic. Many jeeps were involved in the parade, along with other military vehicles, some not quite of WWII vintage (like at least one M-38A1).

This link is to the event’s website: http://slavnostisvobody.cz/en/

This video looks like it was an ad(?) for the event:

And this was one of several videos showing the parade:

UPDATE: The original photos I posted were from the 2016 event. The new batch of photos are from the 2017 event.

I’m told last week’s Midwest Willys Reunion was a big hit, despite a couple rain storms and some hot weather. Here is a video from the event:

Scott shared this video on Alaska Or Rust’s Facebook page:

Bob Christy contributed these photos from last week’s event:

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If you are near Columbus, Indiana, this weekend, make sure to drop by the Midwest Willys Reunion. There’s a lot happening, including Alaska Or Rust tables with parts for sale, a raffle and at least one carb demonstration by Mr. Old Jeep Carbs himself, Richard Pacholski.

The annual “Delaware Goes to War- Victory In Europe” reenactment took place at Fort Miles in Delaware last weekend. Joe shared these photos taken by Bill Goodwin. Thanks! (I think this is a good start to “Front-end Friday”)

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This year’s Northwest FC Get-Together will be held Aug 4-6th in Olympia, Washington.

Every year the Italians celebrate the Colonna della Libertá (Column of Liberation). CeePee and his friends from Bavaria once again made their way down to join the event in their jeeps. It had snowed two days prior to their trip south, so it sounds like it was a chilly drive.

CeePee reports they had a good time, as always. One of the people he met for the first time was Italian Gregory Alegi (read more about his trip here), who in 2013 drove an MB with his friend to Toledo. Ann and I almost had a chance to meet up with Gregory, but we couldn’t make the timing work.

On their return trip to Germany, CeePee wrote that his group was nearly swept away with rain. Still, it didn’t dampen their spirits. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

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This year’s Willys Jeep Rally takes place June 2-3 in College Corner, Ohio. You can learn more at the event’s website:  http://www.mw-willysjeep.com

Omix-ADA is hosting its second-annual Jeep Heritage Expo at its company headquarters in Suwanee, Georgia, June 3rd, 2017. Learn more here: http://www.ruggedridge.com/event

The Moonshiners swap meet is this weekend. It’s 9am to 4pm at the Puyallup Fair Grounds. Thanks to Rob Stafford, I’ll have a warm, indoor booth in the main building to promote eWillys and Alaska Or Rust. Admission to the event is $10. Here’s more information: http://www.moonshinersjeepclub.com/swapmeet/.

The weekend of March 25 & 26 is the Southwest Military Show in Mesa, Arizona. If you like plans and jeeps, this is a great place to be. As Joe points out below there will be more than a dozen jeeps and jeep-like vehicles.

The Bantam Festival is only four months away (as is the Great Willys Picnic which is June 11th this year). Learn more at http://www.bantamjeepfestival.com.

Christian has finalized this year’s Willys-Am Tegernesee reunion. It will take place from July 7^th till July 9^th with the main event on Saturday, July 8^th , including an extracool little concert of some oldtime blues. I can’t go this year, but maybe Ann and I can figure out how to get there in 2018. We have been wanting to tour Europe, meet readers, and chase some more family history, but have delayed that opportunity for several years.

In late April this year’s Colonna della Liberta / Column of Liberation in Italy will take place. Date to be finalized.

There are a variety of events already scheduled for 2017. These are in order of occurrence:

1. March 24-26: The 14th Annual FC Roundup in Phoenix, Arizona. A great event for FC and FJ owners.
2. May 19-20: 25th Annual Midwest Jeep Reunion & Swap Meet in Columbus, Indiana. This long running event hosts vintage jeeps of all kinds and includes a swap meet.
   
3. May 19-21: 8th Annual Willys Rally in Moab, Utah. This wagon and truck focused event continues to grow in popularity.
4. June 11: The Great Willys Picnic, Kempton, Pennsylvania. This pre-1970 jeep day-event includes a car show and swap meet. 
5. June 9-11: Bantam Fest, Butler, Pennsylvania.If you like jeeps of all types, there’s nothing bigger. 

Oh, and one more …. In Mid July a small group of intrepid, brave, dedicated, and somewhat nutty jeepers will begin an epic trip to Alaska. Yours truly will be driving Rusty and reporting on our daily adventures. Expect a formal announcement in the next week or so.

This year’s Willys Moab Overland Rally will be taking place May 19-21, 2017. Learn more here: http://www.willysrally.com