This June 1956 photo from Willys News shows Harry Oliver delivering the Desert Rat Scrapbook newspaper. It turns out the Desert Rat has quite a history!
Jeep-Willys-News Research Archives
Mosquito Control Purchases Willys
At the time of this photo the American Mosquito Control Association owned more than 3000 jeeps, making it one of the biggest jeep customers.
Need Scaffolding for your Jeep?
You’ll never find this unique piece of Willys equipment in a Special Equipment Catalog. It was featured in the May 1955 issue of Willys News. It has some type of geared pulley system for raising and lowering the scaffolding. OSHA approved? I wonder how many scaffolds they produced and sold . . .
Louisiana Pharmacies Use DJs for Deliveries
Another Pharmacy Uses a DJ Dispatcher
Kreisher Drug Store DJ-3A Dispatchers
The DJ’s ‘fleetness of get-away’ was one reason Kreisher purchased these dispatchers. There had to be faster vehicles than the DJ!
DJ-3As Purchased by Detective Agencies
Truck Chassis with Motorhome Body
The April 1956 Willys News contains the story below about a Willys Truck that was transformed, using a purpose-built body, into a motor home.
Conquering Southern Utah
Good news. The site is back up! Explanation on what happened to come ….
I haven’t had a chance to add posts from the recent few days, but this photo is from the April 1956 issue of Willys News. This CJ-3B certainly has an unusual crew setup!
Most folks don’t remember the movie the Conquerer, starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward. It was a Ghenghis Khan theme-movie, as it was a huge bust. The Conqueror movie was filmed in Utah locations such as Snow Canyon, St. George, Harrisburg, Warner Valley, and Hurricane during a 13-week stretch in 1954-1955 (source).
Unfortunately, what the movie is best known for is the unusually high percentage of deaths of the crew from cancer. The crew used some high powered fans to blow sands to simulate rough conditions. A documentary I watched suggested that disturbing the sand might have exacerbated the potential exposure to radiated materials.
You can read more in this article from People magazine: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077825,00.html
DJ-3A Dispatchers as Bank Couriers
The Southern Bank of Norfolk in Virginia thought the DJ-3A would make an excellent bank vehicle. Despite being outfitted with special locks and an ‘army-type’ lock box, the dispatcher did not look like a high security bank vehicle. Moreover, the bank might have been smarter not to put the bank’s name on the jeep. I would have liked a picture of the lock box. The article below was published in the June-July 1956 issue of Willys News.














