Website Finds, Florida Memory

On this snowy day in Maine with winter still dragging on it seems appropriate to take a look at a website that Dave from eWillys has turned me onto, Florida Memory. Its a website set up in conjunction with the state of Florida and covers a wide variety of subjects detailing life in Florida and the South in general. It hosts a ton of info for everyone from teachers to amateur historians and genealogists. You can find old historical documents, videos and photos ranging from the state’s history, civil rights, the state’s economy and tourism, culture, business, folklore and sports. Florida is one of those places that usually sets a definite image in your mind when you think of it, beaches, oranges and older retiree folks. But its much more than that and this site proves it. But of course, what brings it to my attention this day is its sampling of rare, never before seen jeep related photos ranging from the late WW2 era to modern day. Its really a neat place to cruise around (the site AND the state...) and the site contains a number of unexpected hits for jeeps in photos!

Check all of them out here in the new old website finds album and click here to see a few of my favorites.

Hardtops And The Civilianization Of The Jeep, Part One

Recently I’ve been fascinated with one of the many facets of the jeep, hardtops and modifications. The jeep started out as simply a basic working vehicle, no frills and no extras were included. It was after all, required through the weight restrictions that the jeep needed to be designed and built under. But ever since the beginning of the jeep, men were impressed by its capabilities and design with a few exceptions. One of the biggest was the very fact that it was an open topped vehicle. Having just a canvas top without even doors or a heater available was great fun and acceptable if you were a GI stationed in the Pacific theater, but not so much fun if you were shivering through the winters in Europe. And so it isn’t surprising that from the jeep’s origins that men were modifying them with solid tops and custom bodywork. It seemed fitting that I show off some examples of Jeep hardtops and other attempts at ‘civilianizing’ the jeep a week after we were hit with a blizzard that dropped 32 inches of snow along with high winds. The MB gained a poor, but deserving rep of being cold, so much so that one its nicknames was the “Pneumonia Wagon.” In some cases the home brew hardtops were absolutely necessary, such as on Attu Island in the Aleutian Island chain.
You can read the rest of the article here.

The This-Old-Jeep.com 2013 Calendar- February

Its a cold morning here in Maine and so it seems perfect to show off the This-Old-Jeep.com 2013 calendar page for February. Its been an active winter for most of the country and we’re no exception. Apparently the winter of 1945 had its share of snow as well as the calendar page shows. An MB races off down a snowy country road in a perfect snow scene. Its idyllic, but with just the scant comfort of a canvas top, probably freezing cold too! Not sure where the photo was taken (though the photo came from a seller in Lancaster, Pennsylvania...). I’d like to think back in the States and a returned GI with a surplus MB, but who knows? that’s the charm of many a photo like this one. You can make up any story that you’d like to.

If you want to see more photos like this one and maybe make more mental stories, check out the This-Old-Jeep.com 2013 calendar which is available along with a ton of other jeep memorabilia from our online store right here.

Come back next week for more from This-Old-Jeep.com. I have alot of brochures to add to our dealer brochure section. I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised by alot of what I have to show you!