This past weekend marked the 2nd Annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA birthplace of the original Jeep. Although this is only the 2nd year of the event, it’s an event that’s been in the making for more than 70 years since the original Jeep prototype was built in the American Bantam Car Company’s facility to meet the Army’s demands for a light weight reconnoissance vehicle to use during WWII. Thousands flocked to the little town for the weekend’s festivities with events going on around town, events at the fairgrounds, and trail rides around the area. This show brings in Jeepers from all ends of the spectrum from the first time family Jeepers to the war veterans, weekend wheelers to hardcore rock crawlers. Zone made it out with Project MJ that continues to get tons of attention following the buildup and Ultimate Adventure trip. It’s amazing to see Comanche owners come out the woodworks and rave about the Jeep. We didn’t realize there were so many still around. We had a wide range of products on display and for sale through out local distributor Meridian Offroad, thanks to Rob, Terry, and Jeff for letting us set up with them at the show. A special thanks to everyone that stopped by the booth throughout the weekend to say hi, talk Jeep, and buy some of the swag we had available.
4Wheel & Offroad‘s Editor-in-Chief Rick Pewe made the cross country journey is his ’43 Willys flat fender for the event. His journey from California had a detour to drive the Rubicon trail and he has had a number of unscheduled stops to fix mechanical, engine, and electrical issues, but he made it to Butler and plans to continue Northeast to Nova Scotia. Good luck to you, Rick and thanks for hanging out with us at the festival.
To see all the photos from this year’s event, head on over to the Zone Facebook Page.
