Time travel back to August 2020 when we wrote this –
In June 2018, Barry posted a note at earlycj5,com, a “discussion board for ECJ5 enthusiasts”, asking for farming stories. One of the members, Dan Montgomery, responded that he had home movies of a large custom baling operation using CJ5s in Northeastern California from the late 1960s. Dan’s CJ5 story has since been published in The Dispatcher Spring 2020 magazine. We asked Dan to post a version of the story, along with video and stills from the home movies.
The story and accompanying movie are significant because they occurred two decades after the introduction of the CJ2a and the start of the Farm Jeep era. Following the introduction of the CJ5 in 1954, Willys reduced its farm-related advertising. A few examples appeared in the late 1950s, and little, if any, farming ads have been found from the 1960s. As a result, we have done little to showcase the CJ5 and the second decade of the Farm Jeep.
In July 2020, our friend Dave @eWillys posted Four CJ-5 Oriented Questions that made us realize we had neglected this important member of the Farm Jeep family. So in the coming months, and beginning with Dan’s story, we plan to bring together more CJ5 stories and links to CJ5 information. We will need your help, and we look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions.
For now, sit back and enjoy a great CJ5 Farm Jeep story.
Fast forward almost five years
An email appears in the Farm Jeep mailbox –
I’ve read Dan Montgomery’s article about Bob Miller’s farm jeeps, and instantly recognized this one when it came up for sale.
Please pass this along to Dan Montgomery if you have his contact information.
Ryan
Dan replied –
That’s amazing! It’s definitely one of Bob Miller’s Jeeps, and it’s not-at-all unlikely that one of those Jeeps would have ended up at a cattle ranch/hayfield in Northern Nevada.
Barry attempted to contact the seller, but never received a reply. He downloaded pictures of the Jeep.
Later, Ryan sent a follow-up note –
Had a minute to watch the home movie at the bottom of the article. The same Jeep bearing California license plate ATF396 appears in the movie at 2:32. Ironically it is the only visible license plate on any Jeep with the exception of the one Dan rode in as a kid.
We all hope the Jeep will find a new home. For now, we want to thank Ryan for spotting the Jeep and reminding us of our promise to do more research on the CJ5 Farm Jeep era.
FJ