Maury kindly documented this story while on Vacation in Michigan:

My family and I are staying at a beautiful classic lodge on Lake Michigan near Leland, MI. It’s called Jolli Lodge ( https://www.jollilodger.com/ ), and has been run by the same family since 1956. Greg Jolliffe and his wife Lisa currently own and manage the century old lodge.

When Greg’s father bought the Lodge in 1956, a 1947 CJ-2a came with it. A retired mechanic who lives nearby remembers this Jeep coming off the trailer when it was brand new. It was apparently the first four wheel drive vehicle in Leelanau county.

When Greg (pictured below in the drivers seat) was 12, his dad taught him to drive the Jeep so he could push vehicles up the sloping driveway after they’d get stuck in the snow. He said he got a lot of funny looks, but just told them this was the only way they were going to get un-stuck.

At some point the floor starter button was replaced with a button in the dash. One time, Greg couldn’t get it to turn over, and he hit the steering wheel in disgust – which had the unexpected effect of starting the engine. For quite awhile afterwards, the only method of starting it was to turn the key, press the start button, then hit the steering wheel.

The engine was rebuilt at some point by a guy who lived nearby and loved to work on it. This Jeep is extremely original in the sense of having had remarkably few, ah, intentional modifications made to it over the years other than the addition of a hydraulic plow. Greg continued to use it for plowing the driveway until about 10 years ago.

As the photos show, this CJ-2a has had a long, hard life of service. However, at 74 years old, it’s still a much-loved and dependable vehicle that starts right up and is driven often.

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Just this one update today. Happy Father’s Day to all you father’s out there! Since all my kids are far from me, I’ll be spending the day working on the shop and maybe even working on the racer a little bit.

Speaking of father (or minister or pastor), yesterday I received my official documents from the Universal Life Church. I now have the rather dubious and dangerous authority to marry people. I’m bonafide!!

My wife’s son will be getting married in August and they asked me to officiate, so now I’m an official officiate. I get to check off another life experience 🙂

All good things must end and the FC Roundup is no exception. Sadly, Craig announced yesterday that Jesse and Andrea have decided to retire from hosting the Roundup.

The FC Roundup was always a super way (for us) to start the ‘jeep’ year. It was a great reason to head south for warmer environs. Always generous hosts, they always made us feel welcome, as did everyone who attended. Not only did we always have a great time down there, but we also used it as a springboard to travel east, west, north, and south.

So, to the Ybarra’s we say thanks for all your efforts over the years! We wish you the best in the future!

These pics are from 2013 (see many more pics from over the years at the FC Connection):

Maury pointed me to this Four Wheeler article on a stock CJ-6 with some neat options. One of those options was a “factory-installed AM radio option”. It’s not the cleanest factory install, but does the job. Anyone know whether 1) this was a factory install or a dealer install and 2) what years the optional radio was offered?

The 2021 Epic Willys Adventure will be hitting the road .. or better put … the Oregon Trail, starting August 13th. Their goal is to follow the Oregon Trail, if I’m not mistaken, from Missouri to Oregon.

Word on the street is that the intrepid crew may seek some refuge near the end of their journey at the new World Headquarters of eWillys for a night. Let’s hope they make it!

More on this adventure as it unfolds. If you are interested in sponsoring the journey, feel free to contact them through the website: https://www.epicwillysadventure.com/about-us

I’ve been spending the last couple weeks stalking Craigslist, trying to find a good price on a drill press. A couple days ago I found a Jet in great condition for $250, but I called to late on that one. After searching some more, I finally found a 16 speed drill press for only $100. So, I drove up to Ellensburg (about an hour and a half north) and picked it up today.

It turned out the seller was a long time farmer who used to own a machine shop (along with a 3000 acre farm) outside of Hermiston, but he downsized to a hundred acre place in Ellensburg. Because of that, he didn’t need the drill press. He said it worked great, but sometimes one of the chuck teeth would stick when changing drill bits. One thing that made the deal worthwhile to me was that he included the drill press vice and a notcher, two tools that together, when new, are about the value what I paid for the whole package.

Add into that, $50 for a never-used 40″ John Deere Aerator (Piece at $489 and Home Depot) and I’d say I had a good day shopping!

The funny thing about the visit was that the guy had grown up in Prosser (where we now live) and owned several Willys Jeeps (a 1956 CJ-5 was his high school vehicle). Small world.