Organizers of the upcoming Toledo Jeep Fest said today there's already been a big response just hours after the Aug. 13 event celebrating the brand's 75th anniversary was made public.
Leaders of the event also announced at a press conference today near the old Willys Overland smoke stack that they've secured their first major sponsorship.
Mercy Health has committed to providing $25,000 to help defray costs associated with the event.
"We've been successful in the community because of people who worked at this site. It was a very easy decision internally to jump up and say we'll be the first money in this" said Matt Sapara, Mercy's vice president of advocacy and government relations. "We celebrate our history. We want to celebrate the future, and that's really what this event is all about."
IN PICTURES: 75 years of Jeep
Final details are being hammered out, but the Toledo Jeep Fest will include indoor and outdoor car shows, a parade, history displays, Jeep accessory vendors, food, and music. Organizers say the event should draw several thousand people and hundreds of Jeep vehicles to the city. The event will be free to the public.
“We want to honor the past workers who created this success and reflect on it, from the Jeep’s role in the World War II victory to what the plant meant to the growth of Toledo and the standard of living people got from working there,” said Bruce Baumhower, president of the United Auto Workers Local 12 and one of the event’s key organizers.
Jerry Huber, one of the event co-chairmen and a former Chrysler executive who served for years as plant manager in Toledo, said the daylong festival will kick off with a parade that will transition into a car show.
“We want to recognize Jeep and all of the employees over the years, but we’d also like to recognize Toledo,” Mr. Huber said.
City officials have agreed to close off some streets for the event, while other exhibits will be at the SeaGate Convention Centre. The planning committee is looking into the possibility of using the Valentine Theatre to show old movies — featuring Jeeps, of course. Organizers expect the car show to attract between 800 and 1,000 vehicles.
The Jeep brand was born out of a military need for a tough, lightweight vehicle that could quickly get troops and equipment across the battlefield and serve as a mount for everything from guns to stretchers.
Though Willys-Overland didn’t draw up the original designs — the Bantam Motor Car Co. takes most of the credit for that — the Toledo automaker did improve it, particularly by adding a torquey engine. Eventually, Willys won the first full-scale production contract in 1941 and would go on to build some 368,000 Willys MBs during World War II.
That was the start of a tradition that’s 75 years old and going strong.
“We’ve been building Jeeps in Toledo continuously since July of 1941, and we’ve built millions of them,” said Ron Szymanski, a local Jeep historian who spent 35 years working in the Jeep plant.
Immediately after the war, Willys started making the CJ-series vehicle, which was later replaced by the Wrangler. Over the years, the Toledo factory also built the quirky cab-over Forward Control pickup trucks, the world’s first luxury sport utility vehicle in the Grand Wagoneer, and three varieties of the Cherokee.
“For a long time we were the only place that made a four-wheel-drive vehicle,” Mr. Szymanski said. “They’d make you anything you want; they’d paint in any color.”
Mr. Huber said organizers hope to get as many of those historic Jeeps as they can to attend the event.
“We’ve gone out to some of the Jeep clubs, some of the military-vehicle preservation groups, and got them to block that date and asked them to come to Toledo and bring their vehicles,” he said. “The perfect world would be get one of everything built, but that’s a challenge.”
Mr. Huber said the group is also in discussions with Jeep parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles about the automaker possibly providing historic vehicles from the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Mich., or some of the recent concept and exhibition Jeeps created for the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah.
A spokesman for Fiat Chrysler declined to comment about Toledo’s planned activities. Earlier this year the company released special 75th anniversary editions of all six models. The company also played up its history in a pair of Super Bowl commercials that aired in February.
The company builds the Wrangler and Cherokee SUVs at its Toledo Assembly Complex. Between Fiat Chrysler and on-site suppliers, the complex employs about 6,000 people. Union officials said about 5,000 retirees are on the rolls. Over the years, the Jeep plants have provided work for tens of thousands of men and women.
“Having been there as the plant manager for about 11 years and working there, it’s clear to me that it’s an employment mainstay, and it has a very stabilizing affect on the economy in the community,” Mr. Huber said.
Organizers say they have raised some money for the event, though they’re working out the details of corporate sponsorship packages.
Mr. Baumhower said support has been good from across the community, and the committee has already secured nearly 200 volunteers.
“The support for this and the respect for the products and the people who build them reaches further than I’ve ever imagined,” he said. “We think people will be coming from adjoining states to enjoy this.”
For more information about the event, volunteering, participation, or sponsorship, people can call 419-960-5337 or send an email to toledojeepfest@gmail.com. The committee has also set up a Facebook page, facebook.com/ToledoJeepFest.
Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134.
First Published April 25, 2016, 8:00 a.m.
