Old News Articles Research Archives

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March 1941 Photos of the Ford GP Tests

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: The Herald-News of Passaic, NJ, published an image of a Ford GP going through its paces. Given the chained tires and other similarities, it appears this photo was likely taken at the same time as one published at the bottom of this post.

1941-03-03-hearld-news-nj-ford-gp-lores

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Originally posted May 30, 2020, as part of this post: Here’s an article and a photo showing a couple Ford GPs being run hard, originally printed in the March 09, 1941, issue of the Battle Creek Enquirer:

1941-03-09-battle-creek-enquirer-fordgps-lores

Clipping from Battle Creek Enquirer - Newspapers.com

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1941 Article on Ford “Blitz Buggy” Production Strike

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

An April 12, 1941, article from the Escabana Daily Press out of California shows that it wasn’t always easy producing the Ford GPs. In this case striking works (and some reported sabotage of machinery) delayed manufacturing.

1941-04-12-escabana-daily-press-ford-strike-ford-gps-1

Long article from the same paper: Continue reading

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1954 Nevada CAP Jeep Squadrons Article

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The May 30, 1954, issue of the Nevada State Journal reported on the practice maneuvers of a squadron of jeepers unique to Nevada that worked with the local Civil Air Patrols on rescues. Nevada had two different squadrons, one in Washoe County and the other in Churchill County.

As you can see, the squadrons accepted a wide rand of jeeps. One is a slat grille MB, while others are CJs and wagons.

1954-05-30-nevada-state-journal1-lores 1954-05-30-nevada-state-journal2-lores

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July 1945 “Jeep Has a Rendezvous With …”

• CATEGORIES: Bantam-FordGP-WillysMA-EarlyJPs, Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This article was published in the July 15, 1945, issue of the Journal Herald out of Dayton, Ohio. The title of the article is “Jeep Has a Rendezvous With America’s Postwar Era”. It proceed the official press release kit by a few days, so neither photo came from that first press kit.

1945-07-15-journal-herald-dayton-oh-jeep-has-rendevous-lores

The jeep shown on the right is a Willys MA. Back in 2013, a full press photo was sold on eBay. Curiously, the headlight on the driver’s side was missing.

willysma-fishing-photo

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1943 Photos of the Ford GPA

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Old News Articles This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

The July 27, 1943, issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer included two photos of the newly developed “Amphibious Jeep”. The writing on the side of the top SEEP reads, “Ike’s Invasion Taxi”.

1943-07-27-philadelphia-inquirer-ford-gpas-test-lores

 

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Pre-jeep Jeeping: Swing Dancing and Theft

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old News Articles • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

These two pre-1940 news items highlight how “jeep” and “jeeping” already had definitions prior to the launch of Bantam’s prototype.

In 1937, this article on “Jeeping” as a swing dance, as testified in court by Detective Fred V. Boye, was widely distributed among newspapers. I have been unable to isolate exactly what moves define the “jeeping swing dance”. This example article comes from the July 28, 1937, issue of the Park City Daily News out of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Clipping from The Park City Daily News - Newspapers.com

Two years later, in 1939, a couple of Washington State vagrants (no, they aren’t relatives of mine) got caught “jeeping” pin ball machines using a “jeep”. A woman, along for the ride, even had a marijuana cigarette! This article is from the November 29, 1939, issue of the Green Bay Press Gazette:

Clipping from Green Bay Press-Gazette - Newspapers.com

 

 

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