The Miami Herald published a column by writer Robert C. Ruark On July 28, 1948. Apparently, he wasn’t much of a fan of the civilian jeeps, calling them “ladies”.
Features Research Archives
1955 Wagon Trip Around the World
UPDATE: This post was originally published din 2014. Since then, I learned more about Ted, but had spread it out across various posts. Ted’s trips, and his subsequent movies, have been added to this post.
First Published November 2014: In 1955, Theodore Bumiller set out for an around-the-world adventure in a Willys Wagon. He captured his trip in photos and video. I attempted to learn more about his trip, but I only learned that his daughter is now a noted author (maybe someone else will have more luck). I emailed her to learn more about her father’s adventures, but have yet to receive a reply.
Following the trip, Ted made his first film: a 30 minute movie titled “Around The World By Jeep”. He traveled around exhibiting it. The ad below, published in the January 3rd, 1970, edition of the Toledo Blade shows he was still touring and showing his film fifteen years after he’d made his trip.
Anyone ever seen the movie?
In the late 1950s, Ted created a second movie: “The Four Seasons of Scandinavia”, an exploration of the four seasons in Scandinavian countries. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t have anything to do with jeeps.
This article from the April 15, 1959, issue of The Sun (out of Stark County, Ohio) explains more:
Ted’s daughter Elizabeth wrote a book and included an acknowledgement to Ted and his wife Ruth Ann for teaching her how to travel and for inspiring her to explore the world. In it she mentions a third film by Ted, “Eternal India”.
Circa 1948 Photo of CJ-2A & Kids on eBay
This photo shows a CJ-2A with a Worman hardtop.
View all the information on ebay
“5” x 3 1/2″ picture from around 1948. The Willys logo on the jeep is blurry in the picture.”
1958 Article on the Tulare County Four-Wheel Drive Club
This December 06, 1958, article in the Tulare Advance Register highlights the Tulare County Four-Wheel Drive Club with pics and text. It’s not a club that I recognize, but the club was pivotal to the formation of the California Association of Jeeps Clubs in 1959 (later known as the California Four Wheel Drive Association). I tried to find a club logo or sticker, but couldn’t locate any example.
Here’s the 1958 article (spliced for easier viewing):
Just a Couple Updates For Friday
Just a couple updates for Friday.
Gary informed me that Lawrence Elliot of North Carolina passed away recently. Lawrence was a long time jeep mechanic, who owned jeeps up until he passed. He also rebuilt bell cranks, installing bearings into them to improve their behavior.
Ann, Maury and I had a chance to spend time with Lawrence and check out his jeeps back in 2018. Below are Lawrence and I posing at the back of his Willys Truck.
2021 Great Willys Picnic Sunday, June 13th
According to Bob Western, it looks like Pennsylvania will allow this year’s Great Willys Picnic to be hosted on Sunday, June 13th.
1951 Article on Search & Rescue Jeeps & Planes
This in-depth article on the use of jeeps and planes includes a variety of photos. It appeared in the April 08, 1951, issue of the Nevada State Journal.
CJ-5-Camper-like Campers for Trucks
The CJ-5 Camper, with its own axle, always seems a pretty odd and unique build. But, Blaine found some other camper designs, with their own axle, that make the CJ-5 look practical.
https://www.coastresorts.com/boards/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29713156/print/true.cfm
Here’s one example:
A Jeep Saves the Day at a Newspaper
This article in the October 22, 1944, issue of the Miami Herald explains how, during a hurricane-related power outage, an Army jeep was used to power a printing press, saving the news day.
1960 Photo of “Jeep Racing Form”
This photo and caption shares Carol McDonald’s demonstration of how to hang off a jeep as a counterbalance during the middle of a jeep race.