It's the 10 year anniversary of eWillys! Whoo hoo! Below are some thoughts, memories and photos from 2017, along with a brief preview of 2018.
eWillys now boasts more than 45,000 posts, which averages out to 12 posts per day for 10 years. In terms of photos, I'd guess there are more than 150,000 jeep photos. It's a unique treasure trove (in my eyes anyway) of information bits, a gigantic database/puzzle that sometimes add up to interesting discoveries and articles. It also continues to serve as my jeep brain, as I have forgotten so much of what I've posted. The summer traffic was particularly good this year, reaching 300,000 page views a month. Given the niche-nature of this site, I'm pretty happy with that.
This year was certainly a unique year for me. I notched my 50th state (Alaska, finally) with the Alaska Or Rust group. In addition, over the past year I've published three Dispatcher Magazine articles (Laurel C. Worman's biography, Free-Lock Hubs and The Alaska Or Rust trip). Worman's family has been surprisingly appreciative of my efforts, as I uncovered some history they didn't know.
I was gratified this year when my book SLAG received critical acclaim from a professional historian who wrote, "Reading SLAG was a real pleasure for me - it was SO WONDERFULLY READABLE - and moreover, I believe it's a real contribution to the historical body of work on American mining/smelting." The woman who wrote that had encouraged me years ago to write a book on my family, so to hear her acknowledge the quality of the work was particularly special.
Though I may not have a PhD next to my name (perhaps I do deserve JpD? .. Doctorate of Jeeps, lol), I figure I am a professional historian in the sense that, whether in my books or on eWillys, I try to document the history I report about as accurately as I can, hopefully providing insights along the way, and I even earn some money doing it! But, that's got me thinking ... maybe I ought to see what it would take to get a PhD in history? I like the idea of it, just for kicks. We'll see ....
On the travel front, I will be heading to the Spring Willys Reunion in Aurora, Ohio, this summer. Bob Christy is overseeing the event and is hoping to get more than 100 jeeps for the event. My goal thsi year is to do another long east coast trip, one that takes me along the northern border of the US, then on to Ohio, then Virginia, then a bit of an east coast run south, before turning west towards home. Along the way, I'm planning on stopping at Montana Overland, then on to a reader out of Ovanda, before heading towards Chris McKay's place, where I can finally see his collection of stuff. From there I'll go down to Dan Devries, then over to see felow-Alaska-Or-Rust-participants Russ and Cowboy. I've got a cousin south of Richmond, VA, I plan to visit and a long time friend in Arkansas. Other than that, I don't have any firm plans. Ann might accompany me on some or all of the trip ... that's to-be-determined based on our elderly parents.
I have a goal this year of getting Biscuit running again so it can be driven this summer, perhaps even at July's Northwest Jamboree near Yakima. As for the DJ-3A "Rusty", I am thinking of selling it. A lot of work has been done on it, but there's plenty remaining, especially body work. I just don't see me getting to Rusty anytime in the near future, so if it can find a new home, all the better. As for Patterson, that DJ-3A continues to run just fine. I'm hoping to bring it over to Pasco this Spring so I can enjoy driving it on short errands.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who has provided documents, information and commentary that makes the site valuable and helps all of us learn a little more. It's definitely a collective effort! Have a wonderful 2018!
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