Southern Illinois Jeep Association
Living in Southern Illinois, let alone Monroe County, I’m sure everyone in here has heard of a Jeep Club. Not to isolate this group to one area, there are different clubs nationwide, but we do have the privilege of having great terrain for a Jeep to play in. I would like to be given the opportunity to show you the world of a Jeep club and what it all entails. They play, the do maintenance, they have lingo, and they are very proud of their hobby. I will be studying the Southern Illinois Jeep Association for the next few weeks. I will see where they take their Jeeps, how many different Jeeps there are and which ones are mostly owned, bought, sold, worked on, what they do with their jeeps, jeep terms and also digging up juicy stories from some veterans. I am very excited about getting the chance to go where the S.I.J.A. goes, and to see what they do. I love Jeeps, and I just got my first one in April. I have a lot to learn, so it’s almost like killing two birds with one stone for me. It’s an old past time to older guys usually who bring their sons with them. I’m sure I won’t be hanging around very many females on my outings. I am very lucky to have my friends dad, Doug Guillams, by my side during this project. He is a long time members and has “meetings” in his garage every Tuesday. Mostly I will be in Waterloo, Valmeyer, Columbia, and Fults for this project hitting the back roads leading to whatever rough terrain we can find. It’s not unsafe, and as long as it’s a member’s property, it’s legal. I can get into this as much as I want, as much detail and depth as I want. Doug just told me with some things, I may want to leave the name’s of the member anonymous! I plan to fully indulge myself while studying the jeep life. I do not go mudding myself, but asking any member of the club they would tell you my jeep in not the kind cut out for it, let alone made for it. I’m eager to see what kind of jeeps are the best to use for each terrain. Just talking with Doug this weekend he has already invited me to the ONCE A YEAR camp out, where I will meet the President and Vice President and can ask them all the questions I want. I also will be getting pictures to put together a slide show. Once I have actual meetings and interviews I will be answer a lot more questions. Chance, just sit back and let jeep people do their thang.
I like your topic. I like Jeeps myself so I'll be interested to read the whole thing when you're finished.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1) Do you do this in the Sparta Area?
2) Do you yourself go muddin'?
3) How many people are in this said association?
I've lived in Columbia all my life...how have I never heard of this? :) I can't wait to see your project...it sounds extremely interesting and entertaining.
ReplyDeleteNow for my actual question...What does this group actually do? Are they purely a fan club or do they do work on their Jeeps and other people's Jeeps?
A couple of things about your blog: your color scheme hurts my eyes! No 'ffense. Orange, blue, tan, and white don't mix well. Also, I like the design but having the column with your widgets in it usually works better on the left; it draws more attention and it's the first thing people will look at since we read left to right in America. Also, your about me is really looooooong.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of terrain do we have in the St. Louis area that works really well for... jeeping? I just know that we have a lot of flat land and farms. Is the SIJA a real organization or is it just the name that Doug's given your group? Are there trails and stuff for you guys to jeep on or do you just hit up backroads? Do you all go together or just one person at a time through a certain area? How do you stay in contact with each other when you're jeepin?
Where are you going to get your reference material for this project? How many jeepers are in this area? What happens if you accidently tresspass on private property or go on public property?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun project!
Is there a certain type of jeep you have to have to be a member? What happens at the meetings? Do you guys ride every week also?
ReplyDelete