The woman says, “I didn’t think a JEEP COULD BE STOPPED.”
The solider says, “You stopped the JEEP — But, I’m just STARTING!”
View all the information on eBay
Woman Stops Jeep Cartoon Postcard on eBay
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Women & Jeeps Research Archives
Letter I wrote during the summer of 1986
Last month I discovered a letter I wrote in 1986 during my first summer at Roche Harbor. I sent it to my parents, who promptly put it a filing cabinet. Looking for some personal records, I discovered the letter. For anyone who hasn’t read my book (Finding Virginia) the following letter probably won’t mean much. For those that have read it, there are many familiar themes throughout the letter that also appear in the book. That fact my letter covers jeeps, cooking, and a girl shows you that I remember the summer of 1986 pretty clearly! However, one event I didn’t include in the book, because I didn’t remember it, was going on a date and having the jeep breakdown. That’s so classic me.
Before I get to the letter, below is a picture of my first jeep two months after I wrote the letter. Cullen and I had come over the Naches trail the previous day, damaging the fiberglass front passenger fender in the epic battle against gravity I describe in the book. We slept that night at the Beverly Dunes. In the morning, we drove towards Moses Lake. Around noon, we stopped and took this picture. After the picture, we proceeded to Moses Lake, then on to Idaho. We stayed in CDA for a couple hours, then started back to Anacortes by way of Stevens pass to catch the 6AM ferry back to the islands. It was a long day.
On the front of the jeep you can see a large chain, which, among other uses, was the shovel tie down. Behind that is a trusty warn winch that saved me many times. The grill is fiberglass and, though already patched once, split into two during this trip. The headlights are 5 1/2 rather than 7″. The smaller size and a wiring problem insured lighting at night wasn’t very good. As you can see, bungie chords were a must for holding down the hood. Wedged between the passenger seat and the roll bar is an old canvas collapsable bucket. It’s still in my parents garage. We carried an extra red gas tank, which is attached to the roll bar on the passenger side. If you look near the rear wheel well you can just make out the racing number from the 1985 summer convention.
Click on the link below to read the letter.
The Adventures of Mr. Jeeponary
Written by Carolyn London in 1957, The Adventures of Mr. Jeeponary: The Autobiography of a Jeep Truck is a missionary story for boys and girls. It appears someone released a new version in 2011. Used paper back versions from Alibris and Amazon range in the $10 and under range. The new version is in the $40 range on eBay.
Another version:
Fantastic Caverns Jeep Train
November 8, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Features, Other 4x4s, Women & Jeeps • TAGS: Fantastic-Caverns, Jeep-Trains.
Craig forwarded the below excerpt and photo from his local coop paper. I went to the website and spotted an additional photo (above). Here’s the location of the caverns.
Here is the text from Craig’s news article:
“Missouri is blessed with a number of remarkable show caves open to the public. One of the most unique is Fantastic Caverns, located just north of Springfield. The cave, which is served by Ozark Electric Cooperative, was first discovered in 1862 when a farmer’s dog crawled through what was then a narrow opening.
It wasn’t fully explored until 5 years later when a group of intrepid women responded to a newspaper challenge. What makes Fantastic Caverns so unique are the Jeep trams that carry visitors through the cave on a guided tour. This makes the 1 mile, 50-minute tour accessible to just about anyone, including seniors, children and those in wheelchairs.
Inside the cave are natural wonders created by the constant drip of acidic water through soluble limestone. Tour guides point out stalagtites and stalagmites, towering columns with colorful mineral stains, large deposits of flowstones and delicate draperies.
They also tell how the auditorium room was once used for weekly country music concerts in the 1950’s and mid-1960’s. A trip through Fantastic Caverns combines equal parts of awe and wonder with a lesson in history and science. In fact, the cavern is known as “Missouri’s oldest classroom.”
The tour costs $22.50 for adults and $14.50 for children. A discount for groups of 20 or more is available. The cave is open from 8 a.m. to dusk year-round except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas.
For more information, call 417-833-2010 or visit www.fantasticcaverns.com”
Women Legionnaires Jeep Stickers **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
These are unusual.
“Very old jeep decal for the American Legion affiliated womens organization “Twenty and Four, The Honor Society of Women Legionnaires”. The installation instructions are on the back along with the manufacturers name and address which predates zip codes, so this must be from the early 1960s at the latest. It is 6 1/2″ by 4″ and has two jeep decals. The lower left corner has been bent once. Otherwise this great image would be excellent.”
1949 Jeepster Brochure Targeting Women on eBay
Here’s an unusual brochure that appears to target women.
“You are viewing an original 1949 Willys-Overland Motors Jeepster lithographed sales brochure. It is numbered VJ 3M-I-500M-4-49. There is a small tear at the bottom of it near a sticker that was used to seal it. It is in good condition otherwise.
It measures 4″ by 7″ when closed and opens to 8″ by 14″.”
View all the information on Ebay
Radio QSL Postcard on eBay
October 9, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Artists/Drawings, Features, Postcards, Women & Jeeps • TAGS: Qsl.
I knew nothing about QSL Cards. Turns out there are a variety of collectors and a variety of cards to collect, including some with jeeps. Here are a few.
Kodachrome Slide of Little Girl in Front of CJ-3A on eBay
Here’s a great old Kodachrome slide of a little girl with a jeep behind her.
“Original 1949 Kodak Red 35mm Kodachrome slide.”
View all the information on eBay
Two Special Women in Hawaii with Special Skills
From the Hawaii War Records Depository, the two women shown below in this Ford GPW were the only women authorized in Hawaii to drive jeeps as of November 1942. According to the caption that accompanies the photograph, “Meet the jeep girls–Lorraine O’Brien and Nina Smith! These women drivers are the only two who have been authorized by the army automotive office to operate jeeps and armored half tracks and to convoy any type of army vehicle in Hawaii. Lorraine, an island girl, and “Smitty,” from Houston, Tex. . . . By Betty MacDonald.” The photo was taken November 3, 1942.
Click here to view the high resolution image: http://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/hwrd/hwrd_gifs/494f.gif
You can view more information about this photo by going to the Hawaii War Records Depository and scrolling down until you see the picture above.
December 1947 Unity Magazine Cover
Colin forwarded this wonderful cover from the December 1947 issue of Unity Magazine, a Willys Overland Magazine.
Coling writes, “The cover shows a small girl, actually the daughter of the magazine editor, holding an Al-Toy Jeep truck and just below it, the box it came in. The Jeep truck was to the best of our knowledge, the Christmas toy for the Willys VIPs and high volume dealers for 1947.”
Picture of a couple in their MB/GPW
YEEP! YEEP! AMERIKANSK YEEP! from Life Magazine
July 26, 2012 • CATEGORIES: Artists/Drawings, Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Magazine, Women & Jeeps • TAGS: Life-Magazine.
The July 23, 1945, issue of Life Magazine has a three page article by Joe Weston that describes a jeep trip through Sweden in what I would guess was May or June of 1945. Based on the three cartoons (show below) they were driving a Willys MA.
The article describes crowds of people gawking at the jeep wherever they went. In Stockholm people started removing parts off of it. The article was a funny read.
Read the entire article within Google Books or
Below are the three cartoons:
1962 CJ-5 with Goodyear Neothane Tires
I spotted this ad with some unusual tires. Anyone ever seen these?
“VINTAGE MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT page measuring approximately10 x 13 inches in very good condition, two separate pages of boys & girls fashions, kids ride in “Willys Jeep with Goodyear’s experimental Neothane tires” the text says.”
Love, War, and Hate by Washington Davis **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
The price is a bit steep at $50, but this might an unusual look at WWII.
“LOVE, WAR, AND HATE
by Davis, Washington M.
Philadelphia: Dorrance & Company, (1976.)
First edition.
Fine first in fine dust jacket with illustration of black soldiers riding in jeep waving at a German girl.
Octavo. Black author not only relates battle stories, but also relates affair with German girl that resulted in her almost being murdered by white American soldiers. Shocking reading. 85pp., photographs.”
Lori’s Jeep at Amazon
This is a fiction book. It’s rare to see a book about a jeep, but even rarer to find a tale about a postal jeep!
You can learn more about that book at Amazon.
From Amazon.com comes this description:
“LORIS JEEPApril 2000This is a story about a thirtyish woman, Lori Bearden, and her eight year old son. They live in a town south of Denver, Colorado that has been engulfed by the population that continues to pour into the Rocky Mountains Front Range every year from the West and East Coasts. Better employment is the name of her game, and she lands a job in the U. S. Postal Service delivering mail to the farmers and landed gentry on the eastern plains of Colorado. She buys an old, forlorn postal jeep to make her appointed rounds on the plains, and later meets a man who makes his living repairing these ancient jeeps. They soon discover that they need one-another.Then Lori discovers that her jeep repairman, Rafael Hernandez, has a second occupation much different from his first occupation, and she learns to understand and cherish a man who lives two lives.”
Photo of Girls on a MB/GPW
Here’s a nice photo of two women sitting on a military jeep. I wonder what it says on the hood.
Dexter spotted this second picture:
Old Photos from the High Desert
Here are a couple of old photos listed on eBay from a trip into the high desert in a CJ-2A.
Tennessee Flat Fender Club
William, the President of the Tennessee Flat Fender Club, recently contacted me with some kind notes about my book. I told him I had been planning to do a post about the club, so he provided me some information.
The Tennessee Flat Fender Club is an unofficial association with no dues, no rules, no mandatory meetings or rites of passage. You don’t even need to own a flat fender ‘jeep’ to call yourself a member. Only need to have an interest in these classic vehicles.
The Club is an affiliate of the International Flat Fender Club. There is a club for most states and the ones where there isn’t a club they are looking for people to lead one.
You can learn more about the club at these websites:
If you are curious about William’s build, you can read all about it at the CJ-2A page. The very first picture is an image of the engine sitting in the house next to an open tool box. This picture underscores the support of Wiliam’s family; so, it only seems natural that his mother, wife, and grandmother should have their pictures taken in front of it (shown below).
Risqué Photo of Woman on a Jeep
UPDATE: I had the wrong link associated with the pic. It is fixed now.
Mike forwarded me a drawing of women in bikinis on a jeep from Stag magazine. I remember the drawing as I had stumbled upon it a few years ago myself. That got me thinking, so I did a quick search of bikini’s and jeeps. I was surprised to find the following image. I had made it family friendly. You can see the original along with a few others at the “relevant married guy” website in a post called ‘Jeep girls … it’s a Jeep thing?‘.
2 Women standing in front of a Ford GP
UPDATE: John decided to take on the challenge of restoring this photo. He did a fabulous job.
I found this on the Genealogy Guys Podcast site. I can almost, but not quite, make out the serial number on the hood.
Here is the Before Pic:
http://genealogyguys.com/the-genealogy-guys-podcast-215-2011-january-25
Here is the After Pic: https://picasaweb.google.com/104219391648738472802/ILovePhotoShop#5722193307032376162
The DJ-3A Surrey at the Wailea Hotel on Maui, Hawaii
I received an email from Paul the other day and the subject read ‘Refreshing’. One quick look at the picture in the email explained what he meant (see the 1st picture below).
Yep, that is one pretty jeep!
Using the keyword “Wailea” I started tracking down more pictures of it. It turns out Colin has a couple of them too, as does a friend of his. So, here are a few of this jeep that is still owned by the Wailea Hotel in Maui (boy, after today’s cold weather, Maui is sounding awfully nice!)
More pictures I found on the internet:
And from Colin, you can see the jeep prior to the stenciling:
International Women’s Day & the New Willys Toys eBay Page
Just a couple posts tonight due to a site issue I’m puzzling through. Don’t forget to check out the latest jeeps for sale on ebay here and check out the new Willys Toys eBay Page. Not only are the lists fun to browse (at least I enjoy them), but every time you click, you are supporting eWillys 🙂
Roberto pointed out that it was International Women’s Day and shared some old pictures of women and their jeeps, some you might have seen and others you might not have. The first one is a picture I found on Flickr.
Colombian Flatties from Flickr
Here’s a nice shot of a jeep that looks like a statue of some kind. I don’t think she is a statue though.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ikarus1974/5731571370/sizes/z/in/photostream/
This looks like a photo of a postcard maybe?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ikarus1974/5681299926/sizes/z/in/set-72157626297309449/
Norman Saunders Art Work $22,000
Alex forwarded this to me. What you see below is the artwork Norman Saunders completed for use on the cover of the 1969 edition of Man’s Conquest.
Hanson Mechanical: Jeep Restoration and Education — Westminster, Md
Merlin from Hanson Mechanical emailed me today thanking me for posting his restored MB for sale. It turns out, his old Willys restoration shop has quite a story. What fun this site is to manage sometimes as unexpected stories continue to turn up, unexpectedly. Thanks for sharing Merlin! You can contact Merlin through his website if you need some work done.
I will let Merlin tell it, “A small group of graduates from the high school I used to teach at found me after I took another job and they have put an extensive amount of time into my business just to help me and to learn more about Jeep restoration. They range in age from 18 to 22 and it is wonderful knowing individuals that age are interested in learning restoration, welding, brazing and leading. They have whole rants dedicated to their hatred of Bondo :). So far they have restored and electrified a 1955 Metropolitan, restored my father’s 1956 Porsche, refurbished the Kaiser/ Willys MB, inventoried Major Barton’s workshops (read about Major John Barton here), and now are working through an endless line of MB’s and GPW’s.
One, named Vlad, from Belorus, knows all the metal details quite well now and evaluates anything we look at rescuing. He considers doing lead work on a Jeep a relaxing experience. Vlad’s girlfriend, Kelsey, is an artist who helps with anything she can and is an extraordinary individual. “Izzy”, who used to manage my school theater stage crew, is our computer and organizational whiz. My main mechanic, John Ingram, is a former music teacher who specialises in restoring Rolls Royces at the RR museum in PA. He evaluates every Jeep mechanically and is responsible for our decision to refurbish the one with the Kaiser 6 (truly an early hotrod).
They are an eclectic crew (who often play things like Swedish techno music in the background) who are dedicated to preserving our mechanical past, and doing it right. I am beyond impressed with the group of them and thankful that they are so dedicated. Anything that promotes the business brings them more work and thus makes them happy and helps pay for college. Vlad’s five year old brother told me that he dreams of working for me by age 10, and he often comes out with Vlad and finds ways to help. I hope someday there is enough business that they can run the shop for me while I keep teaching.
In the Jeep section are original archives from Aberdeen Proving Ground. The same goes for every other section as we search out original archival materials for all vehicles in my dwindling collection. We also will be republishing Major Barton’s book on Jeep tools through lulu.com, prceeds will go to his daughter’s college fund.”
Below are some random images of jeeps, the kids, and some from the history section.
Below are a couple stills from a Jeep Film.
