David Eilers

Howard & Ora Boyd's Jeep Trip to South America

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A photo from the May 30, 1959, issue of the Eugene Guard showing the FC-170 "EL Borrego" with the Boyds.

UPDATE: This series of articles was first published in 2015. I've updated with several additional articles and photos.

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(First published February 15, 2015) This interesting collection of news articles captures Howard & Ora Boyd's 1958 trip in an FC to South America. The first article was published prior to the trip. The second was published during the trip. The third was published following the trip. I was only able to find one photo and it was poor at best. It may have been that the Boyd's got the idea from the Schreiders, who did nearly the same route three years before them.

Howard Boyd died in 1993, but Ora Boyd lived until 2009, dying at the age of 106, meaning she was born around 1903. Living much of their lives near Eugene, Oregon, according to her obituary their year-long jeep trip was one of her all-time favorite memories. The obituary was published in the Talent, Oregon, Historical Society newsletter, so I've written them to see if we can learn more.

1. This October 31, 1958, EugeneRegister-Guard article discusses trip preparations. The Boyds had a custom camper built for their FC (though no articles mention the model of the vehicle -- it looks to me like an FC based on the pic below). They named their jeep "El Borrego".

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2. November 09, 1958 Eugene Guard .. brief article:

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3. December 14, 1958, from the Eugene Guard:

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4. One February 15, 1959, the Eugene Register-Guard published an article that updated readers on the Boyd's progress.

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5. May 05, 1959, Eugene Guard:

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6. May 30, 1959, in the Fremont Tribune:

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1959-05-30-fremont-tribune-boyd-trip2-lores

7. A similar trip-ending article was published in the Eugene Register-Guard reported on May 31, 1959:

1959-05-31-eugene-register-guard-boyds-SoAm-trip1
1959-05-31-eugene-register-guard-boyds-SoAm-trip2

8. On February 27, 1960, the Eugene Guard published a short blurb indicating a film had been produced about the Boyd's trip.

1960-02-27-eugene-guard-boyd-trip-lores

9 Comments

  1. Gary Vincent
    I am grateful for the stories of the Boyd's trip. I met them after first making friends with Pedro Antonio Banderas. Pedro was a guest speaker in Spanish class at Crater High (Central Point) in 1963. The stories of their trip have stayed with me all these years. Pedro enhanced my learning Spanish, a lifetime gift! I last saw Pedro, his wife, and Polly and Howard at their home in Talent in the early 70's. I live in Bend and would welcome any contact for Pedro or his family. gwvincent94@gmail.com.
    1. David Eilers
      Hi Gary, Thanks for sharing those memories! I'll see if I can hunt down additional articles on newspapers.com (which I didn't subscribe to in 2015 when I originally posted this story. Thanks, - Dave
  2. David Eilers
    I have located some additional articles and pics, along with an article noting that a film was made of their trip. I will update this post later today and add an additional comment at that time. - Dave
  4. Gary
    Hi Dave, Thank you for putting this together. I watched the first 16mm movie (two reels) at the Boyd's home. Their hospitality and enthusiasm for all the people and cultures south of our border was catching. One scene comes to mind, of the jeep bogged down down up to the axles in red mud, surrounded by verdant jungle. Gary
  5. Danelle McCracken
    Thank you Dave for posting this. Howard and Ora Boyd were my great grandparents. I have very fond memories as a child visiting the tree farm and taking a ride through the property in the back of their Jeep. We LOVED it and always asked for more. This article brings back memories of them and their Jeep. Miss them dearly.
    1. David Eilers
      I'm glad folks are enjoying this bit of Boyd family history. It's amazing the stories buried in old newspapers! I've experienced this with my own family histories ... - Dave
  6. William (Bill) Grant
    Bill here, their oldest grandchild. I remember vividly my grandparents, the ranch, and El Berrago Trepador (the climbing mountainsheep). I flew out every summer to stay and we spent a couple of weeks traveling Oregon in El Berrago Trepador with them and Tuffy. Surprisingly there are many places to visit and we never ran out of places to find. Howard and Polly were my favorite people and I loved and cherished them. Oh how I am jealous of my mother and Bud having been raised by them. They were a grand couple!
  7. The Joker
    theres a lot of old willys in oregon , hiding -- i bought a complete willys chassis , 51 station wagon , 250 bucks a few months ago -- then i spotted a non-willys gem , 1990 f150 4x4 long bed , with the best engine ever made , 300 straight 6 , od auto , exactly what i was looking for -- it was hiding on a ranch next to famous hall of fame rocker STEVE MILLER's ranch -- i yelled through the woods when i bought it " hey space cowboy ? you out there ? "

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