Women & Jeeps Research Archives

Women, Girls, Moms, Daughters & Jeeps

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Kentucky’s Frontier Nursing Service & Jeeps

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.
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The Frontier Nursing Service in one of their jeeps.

Thanks to Bus for spotting this interesting story. Stared in 1925 by Mary Breckinridge, the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) provided healthcare to rural folks in Kentucky. At first, horses and saddlebags helped them gain access to remote areas, but during WWII the group turned to jeeps. As these photos show, over the years FNS used a variety of different jeeps. There is even a 1931 documentary about the group (with additional information here):

In the late 1930s Edsel Ford donated a reconditioned Model A to the Service, which Mary named Henrietta. Several years later Ford replaced Henrietta with Henrietta II, a jeep. At some point the FNS secured another jeep, a WWII jeep Mary named “Jane”, named for a benefactor Clara “Jane” Ford”.

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According to the Henry Ford website, this jeep was “Jane”.

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CJ-3A Fire Jeep Photos on eBay

• CATEGORIES: Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles, Museums, Old Images, Women & Jeeps • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: These three General Electric Fire Jeep CJ-3A photos are for sale on eBay.

View all the information on eBay

” 8 x10 images and all in very good condition.”

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Originally Posted May 1, 2013: Marc uncovered these two Fire Jeep Photos

1) This photo was in the Allen County Community LIbrary.

General Electric Company’s new fire jeep loaded with women at the GE gate. The talking dummy and a fire prevention display are on the right. Ladies are unknown. Photo is from a Fire Prevention Book made in 1951.
http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/cdm/singleitem/collection/coll3/id/5480/rec/6

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2) This is on Flickr. Apparently, this photo was taken at the Le May Museum, but we never saw it there.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/socal_photography/7975032426/in/pool-jeepexperience/

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Riding to the Rescue: A look back at LA County’s Rescue Vehicles

• CATEGORIES: Features, Fire/Police/Industry Vehicles, Willys Trucks, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This updated post from 2012 now includes photos taken by David Carr at LA County’s Cabrillo Beach.  The three photos below are on a wall as part of a “wall-of-fame”. 

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From June 28, 2012: Over the past 100 years Los Angeles County has used a variety of vehicles to manage their beaches.  As part of a retrospective, the article below shows a few of them, along with welcoming some new hybrids into the County system.  All photos belong to LA County’s Life Guard Association.

Here are two GPWs (the pics were from a now defunct blog):

Bathing beauties were still posing on county lifeguard trucks in 1959.

Buz unearthed this CJ-2A Life Guard Jeep used by the city of Los Angeles (vs. the county).  Though the caption accompanying the jeep suggests this was war surplus, it’s clear this is a civilian rig. The rear extension is interesting, though doesn’t look neatly done.

 
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Highways Across the Horizon by Dorothy Rogers

• CATEGORIES: Books, FC150-FC170-M677, Features, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: This ad published in the Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1962, by the Alaskan Camper Factory, welcomed Dorothy and Louise back into the United States after their trip around the world in an FC-170 (with an Alaskan camper, of course).

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Originally Published October 06, 2012: Highways Across the Horizon was written by Dorothy Rogers, who previous wrote Jeopardy in the Jeep.  I received a copy of it in the mail last week.  I knew the book was about traveling through Asia, but there were two things I didn’t know.  The first think I learned was that she and her travel partner Louise, traveled all the way around the world, starting and ending in New York.  The second surprise was their vehicle of choice:  a FC-170 with a camper.   Craig confirmed today that Dorothy and Louise piloted only the third known FC to make it around the world.  I can’t wait to read about their adventure.

Here are FC related pics:

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Jeopardy and a Jeep Book by Dorothy Rogers

• CATEGORIES: Books, Features, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

UPDATE: Ashley Giordano has published a well-written synopsis of the book Jeopardy and a Jeep for Expedition Portal: https://expeditionportal.com/jeopardy-and-a-jeep-africa-conquered-by-two-women-professors/

She also shared this article from April 27, 1954, that was published in the Cape Argus newspaper out of South Africa:

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Published Feb 28, 2021: According to the November 24, 1957, issue of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, this book was published in November of 1957 (previously, the date hadn’t been clear).

The December 08, 1957, issue of the Birmingham News included an article on Dr. Rogers’ new book. Apparently, Rogers was a former teacher in Alabama.

Clipping from The Birmingham News - Newspapers.com

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Originally Published September 25, 2012:

Continue reading

 
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1954 Photo of Women Marine Reservists

• CATEGORIES: Features, Old Images, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

This photo from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science shows Denver’s female Marine Reservists piled onto an M-38. The women were in their second week of training in San Diego.

https://dmns.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/detail/DMNSDMS~4~4~170428~121051

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PHOTO CREDIT: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, July 16, 1954.

“A jeep load of Denver’s Woman Marine Reservists arrive at a San Diego beach to enjoy some swimmin’ and sunnin’ as a part of their two weeks of summer training here at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. They represent the Woman Marine Disbursing Platoon, 1st 155 Millimeter Gun Battalion of Denver. The unit has just begun their second week.”

 
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Just One Update for Sunday

• CATEGORIES: Features, videos, Women & Jeeps • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Updates will resume Monday morning….

Only 17 more days until we close on the new place. We’ve packed most of our stuff and are now doing minor repairs and maintenance, such as some trim painting, light landscaping, and, one of the biggest tasks, cleaning out our backyard waterfall and pond. It can be a pain to clean every spring, but it sure is nice to listen to on the back porch on a sunny day. It will also help sell this place.

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Our rather warm winter meant more green growth in the pond. So, we have to empty it, pull out some large rocks, scrub it, and fill it back up. No doubt we will lose some fish in the process. It all looks a bit dreary in back right now.

Here is how it usually looks (though this was taken in April, prior to many of the flowers blooming):

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As we approach the closing date, I plan to take at least one, if not two weeks off to get the new place ready, move our stuff, and finish details on the old house to ready it for sale. But, don’t fret, there will still be new daily content (and some retread of older feature posts). One person who is responsible for providing new content is a dedicated researcher named John Hamrin, who has taken the time to go through the British Pathe video site to locate any videos with jeeps in it. He has now sent me over 100 links to videos, with more arriving as I type this post. So far, most appear to be WWII related. So, a HUGE thanks to him for his painstaking research and generosity!!

Finally, a word to one of our newest and most passionate readers, almost-two-year-old Miranda Tilford, who, has become a passionate viewer of eWillys. On Saturday morning (yesterday), Marty wrote to tell me that shortly before messaging me, Miranda came up to him and said, “Jeep, jeep, jeep”. At first he was confused at what she wanted, so she repeated, “jeep, jeep, jeep”. About that time, Marty realized that she wanted to sit down with him and go through eWillys. Sure enough, they sat down and scrolled through some jeeps. That poor, poor young lady has been afflicted with the Willys sickness already; there is no hope for her!!

So, in Miranda’s honor, with a nod to John’s video efforts, here are some WAACs trying out their driving skills with jeeps and trucks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiNSjOJEeUA

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1944 Article on “WAC Jeep Day” in Fort Worth, Texas

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

This May 18, 1944, article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram describes the upcoming “WAC Jeep Day”. The Fort Worth recruiting team would offer free jeep rides to those women who fit the WAC’s specifications. I’m guessing the women had to be “U.S. citizens between the ages of 21 and 45 with no dependents, be at least five feet tall, and weigh 100 pounds or more.”

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1946 ‘Come in and Drive a Jeep’ Ad

• CATEGORIES: Advertising & Brochures, Features, Old News Articles, Women & Jeeps This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Instead of qualifying for the WACs, it might have been easier to wait two years and drive a jeep with no strings attached! This ad published in the May 29, 1946, issue of the Knoxville News for the Sam Horne Company shows a woman test driving a jeep.

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1961 Article on the Las Cruces Jeepathon Track

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

This July 30, 1961, article shared the news that the Las Cruces Jeep Club planned to allow non-racers a chance to drive the ‘Jeepathon’ race track before the racers got a chance to race.  The photos show Carol McDonald checking the jeep and the track. I wish the photos were clearer. I’m guessing she was a Las Cruces Jeep Club member?

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