Has Your Mom Ever Looked This Good? My mother told me my grandfather always bragged he had the only military Jeep with an automatic transmission. After buying the Jeep in 1955, he taught my 11-year-old mother how to shift gears from the passenger seat when he was driving and engaged the clutch with his left foot. The youngest of his three daughters, she was his side-kick everywhere they went. He was a member of a rock hound club in Imperial Valley, California and made numerous trips to the desert.
This is a photo of my mother “pretending” to drive on such a trip to the desert in southeast California. It was May 1956 and she was 12 years old. She remembers fondly the trips in this Jeep to the A&W Rootbeer stand in her hometown of Brawley, California. Her father always put the windshield down on the hood and the family would drive several blocks to savor rootbeer floats in “Jeepie.”
Her dad kept this Jeep until he purchased his 1960 CJ-5 pink Willy’s Jeep, which I am currently restoring. And that begins the story of me when I was 5 years old, riding in the Pink CJ-5 with Grandpa, in “Baby Jeepie”.
Kaiser Willys Jeep Blog Story – Sean Cooley
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What a little historical gem.. it’s crazy the things that people remember.. nothing like a man in a pink Jeep!
Matt, email me at seancooley@bellsouth.net
Matt, It is Maury Dawson! I would love to see the photos you have, wasn’t aware there were any out there!! You are welcome to email me at seancooley@bellsouth.net. Thank you so much!
I remember “baby jeepie” in Brawley. I used to see your grandpa driving around in it, and your mom riding in it.
The Jeep tradition goes on –
I am the automatic transmission shifter girl from my daddy’s old military Jeep. I “learned” how to shift when my parents left the house, jerking the Jeep backwards and forwards in the driveway . I never knew they knew about that until years later. The neighbor lady had told them about my driving at the time, assuring them I never left the driveway.
I am retired now and own a 2007 JK, four-door Wrangler with a Dana 44, front and rear. It is lifted with 35 inch tires, tinted windows and I always see looks of amazement when I drive up and get out – they are not expecting an old person to exit the Jeep. Makes me smile!!!!
Is the owners grandfather Maury Dawson? I have some old photos of the pink jeep Cj-5. Please forward this message to the author, Sean. He may contact me at the above email address. Thanks, Matt