COLLEGE CORNER, Ohio — Approximately 100 Jeeps old and new are expected at the 2015 Willys Jeep Rally. It’s happening May 29-30 at the Hueston Woods State Park Lodge.

The event features vendors, a swap meet, trail rides, books about Jeeps and farm Jeep demonstrations. “It is a get together of Jeeps from when they first came out in 1942 up until the present day,” said Paulette Riley, who, with her husband, Rick, helps organize the show.

“With the older Jeeps, after World War II, when they were putting them on the civilian market, they put power takeoffs (PTOs) on them. They were trying to sell them to farmers. My husband has one with a backhoe on it. The whole backhoe unit folds up into the backseat of the Jeep, which is kind of amazing. You have to see it unfold to believe it.”

Jeep owners will be demonstrating that capability with farm implements – plowing, disking, crushing rocks, digging post holes and more – at John Ittel’s farm, near Hueston Woods. Ittel owns nine of the vehicles himself, with farm implements attached.

In 1945, the war was almost over. Willys realized lots of young soldiers would be going back to the farm. They would need equipment for plowing and disking, and there was a shortage of tractors.

“I understand that back in 1945, ’46, in order to get a tractor, you put your name on the list,” Ittel said. “You didn’t have a choice of what tractor you would get; you would get the first one that came in on a railroad car, whether it be an Allis Chalmers, John Deere, whatever. If your name came up, you got that tractor.”

So, Willys developed a three-point hitch, PTO and other necessary parts so Jeeps could be used on the farm. Other companies made the attachments, which would fit on Jeep’s standard-sized three-point hitch.

“Farm Jeeps were in use probably up to about 1955,” Ittel explained. “Jeep wasn’t the ultimate answer. They didn’t turn very sharp; at the end of the field you’d have to pull up, back up and jockey around. (But) it was better than a horse.”

When Jeeps for farm use went out of style, people still bought the Jeep and threw the PTO away – there was no use for it, Riley said. Now everybody wants the PTO and the implements because it makes it a much more interesting unit.

Pat Foster thinks Jeeps are interesting with or without the PTO. He has written four books about them and will be at the rally.

“I was a Jeep salesman back in the 1970s,” he said. “When I started selling them, an older salesman was showing me the ropes. He explained all the features of Jeeps, how capable they are, the different things they can do, and it really fired me up. I was a good Jeep salesman.

“Jeep is such a survivor. It is one of the last American independent auto companies. The thing I like most about Jeeps is their capability. In my expert opinion, Jeep is the best four-wheel-drive vehicle you can buy.”

The Jeep Rally is free to the public; there is a $25 fee to display. For information, visit www.mw-willysjeep.com