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1984 Herman the German Book

July 16, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Books, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE: I have to second Mark’s reaction to this book. This has been a great read! Gerhard Neumann feels Forest-Gumpian at times, as his life bebops from adventures to mis-adventures. The jeep trip is a neat aspect to the book, and kudos to his good natured wife for suggesting it. But, his life story is so much more than just the jeep trip. His good natured attitude bubbles through his prose. And, don’t miss his tips and tricks, such as using horse manure to plug radiator holes. 

Here are two pics from the jeep trip:

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Originally posted Jun 27, 2021: Mark Doepel shared news on Facebook of a book he found at his local Goodwill called Herman the German: Just Lucky I guess. It’s an autobiography by Gerhard Neumann.  Mark really enjoyed the read.

A paperback version of the book is available on Amazon and you can probably find hard copies out there as well (I just bought a hard copy version). Here are some general reviews by a couple influential folks from the Amazon page:

“This fascinating and amusing account of his life is told by a colorful and highly capable German who became one of America’s most successful technical managers in the development of jet engines for aircraft.”-David S. Lewis ChairmanGeneral Dynamics Corporation.

“Not only has Gerhard Neumann’s life been filled with exotic and exciting adventures, but he was a highly successful engineer and executive-truly a superior individual and one of my favorite people.”-Sanford N. McDonnellChairman, McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

“Readers of Gerhard’s book will probably come to the same conclusion I formed while doing business with him; there is still room in industry for free spirits.” -T. A. WilsonChairman, The Boeing Company.

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His colorful life included a jeep trip across Asia in 1947 documented in part by this 1948 Kansas City Times article from January 13, 1948:

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This article about the release of Gerhard’s autobiography came out in the June 17, 1984, issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

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This obituary was published following his death on November 6, 1997, in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

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1960 Calvacade Changes to Multiple Weekends

July 16, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old Images Jeeping, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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One more article on the Colorado Calvacade, this time from the July 23, 1960, issue of Grand Junction’s The Daily Sentinel. The newspaper reported that the Cavalcades had escalated in popularity to the point that instead of one grand event, it was divided into four weekend events.

1960-07-23-the-daily-sentinel-calvacade

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1959 Jeep Cavalcade Article

July 13, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old Images Jeeping, Old News Articles • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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When looking over the 1960 Jeep Cavalcade brochure, I noticed it was the 3rd annual event. However, the 1959 brochure doesn’t mention it being the 2nd annual event. A newspaper clipping from 1958 solved that question. It turns out there was a 1958 advance trail exploration in 1958 to prep for the 1959 event, though it seems to have been more of a low key event when compared to the 1959 and 1960 cavalcades. This short newspaper article in the June 1, 1958, issue of the Fort Collins Coloradoan explains it:

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This article appeared in Grand Junction’s Dailys Sentinenl on August 23, 1959:

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The 1959 Jeep Cavalcade “Rush to the Rockies” Centennial

July 13, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Magazine, Old Images Jeeping • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE: Will Corbett shared this 1959 ‘Jeep’ Cavalcade “Rush to the Rockies” Centennial event brochure with Gone-Gpn on Facebook. It is a tri-fold brochure that opens up with a full-page on the back. I’ve pieced together the back page from two separate pages, so it isn’t quite a perfect example.

This is the front of the brochure:

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This is the back of the brochure:

1959-colorado-cavalcade-centential4This image shows the back of the brochure when fully opened:

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Originally Posted October 18, 2018:

This information covers the 1959 Jeep Cavalcade “Rush to the Rockies” Centennial. The 1959 Cavalcade was part of the 100th anniversary of the John Gregory’s Central City May 1859 strike, which led to a wave of hopeful miners descending upon what would become the Denver area. The Centennial was celebrate throughout Colorado through a variety of celebrations and merchandise (like these bottles and this Centential booklet).

A subsequent ‘Jeep’ Cavalcade was organized for 1960, as shown in this brochure.

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Photo from the Denver Post. Both Life Magazine and the Denver Post covered the event. Note the white wagon above. It appears in a couple of the color photos below.

Some folks attached these flags to their rigs.

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Here are photos of the 1959 Jeep Calvacade that appeared in the December 28, 1959, issue of Life Magazine (the one below).

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1957 Article and other Delaware & Hudson Hy-Rail Jeep Trucks

July 10, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE II: Hans shared this photo of a Willys Rail truck’s speedometer. The Auf Schiene appears to translate as “on track”, meaning the interior speedometer should be used while driving on a track.

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UPDATE: This article features the third Delaware & Hudson Hy-Rail Jeep Truck. It appears to be either #152 or #162. The article appeared in the July 30, 1957, issue of the Press and Sun Bulletin out of Binghamton, NY:

1957-07-30-press-and-sun-bulletin-binghamton-ny-hyrail-truck-lores1

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Feeling Like My Ol’ Self

July 6, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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I am happy to report that rumors of my imminent demise were grossly exaggerated, though said rumors likely evolved from my own posts. So, you can place your pall-bearer suits (or jeans and t-shirts) and your mourning outfits back on their hangers. It looks like I will be around for a little while longer!

Of course, God, with a sense of humor unmatched, plucked me off that frying pan (the first bed they gave me seemed hard as one) and dropped me into the fire, that being the record heat we had around here. For all my Arizona brethren, you can have your crazy 115+ temps! Though, I will say the hot temps made it very easy to stay inside and get well.

Back on the fateful day when I checked myself into the emergency room, and once they determined my near death seemed avoidable, I had plenty of time to kill and a full charge on my phone: dangerous bedfellows!  Yet, I didn’t know if I was out-of-the-woods totally, so I figured I might as well let folks know that, as my father used to say in his understated manner, ‘there’s a problem’. Thankfully, I now feel reassured enough to say that, there is currently no longer a problem (knuckles meet wood).

But, that doesn’t mean eWillys will be back anytime soon. I’m enjoying this extended break. It may be that eWillys never returns to its original format. Instead, I’ll take this time to figure out a way that the site can be of use without the time demands of the past.

Before I go, I once again have to thank everyone who shared their stories about eWillys. It is always gratifying and humbling to see strange idea of mine evolved into something worthwhile.

Finally, I will leave you with two posts below, both oddities deserving of attention.

Dave

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German’s Re-style a Jeep

June 27, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images • TAGS: . This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE: This post was first published September 25, 2014:

Joshua Regula-Morris has a neighbor who had an MB in Germany. The first photo shows him on his Jeep in 1946. The second photo shows the text on the back of the first photo. Apparently, some Germans restyled the jeep, resulting in photo #3. Joshua’s neighbor swears this is the same jeep. Before leaving Germany he sold it to a friend. You can just make out the shackles at the front below the bumpers. Unfortunately, there aren’t any photos from the side.

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1944 “Flooded and Mud Bound Roads” Video

June 26, 2021 • CATEGORIES: Features, videos This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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UPDATE: Sorry, but just this one post for Saturday. Besides the long day,  I’m just not feeling my best (not Covid or virus-related). It’s been an on-off issue for the last week or so. I see a doc about it in a few days.

At the start of this video is a modified jeep named ‘Deloris’ built to keep the driver pretty mud free inside the cab.

0:00 “Doloris” on jeep with unit sign and formation sign painted out.
0:09 Artillery tractor also has unit and formation sign obscured. Transfer of Canadian forces from Italy to the Netherlands had been kept a secret. The obscuring of the signs may be part of that effort.

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