Have you lived?

Bird · Nov 23, 2001

I don't know anything about the claim to fame during development, but my parents moved to Anchorage in '65 and sometime in the late 60s bought a Weasel for hunting and fishing trips. I don't guess I've ever actually seen one; just a number of pictures of theirs when they were using it. In other words, I know what it is and just a very little bit about it./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mike_Dumond · Nov 23, 2001

For those not familiar with one, here is a picture. It came with or without the floatation tanks. This is with. Designed and built by Studebaker, it was initially intended to support our Alpine troops in the invasion of the Scandinavian peninsula.

Bird, you really missed out not having the chance to play with one. We had one when I was a kid, and we used to drive it around town in the winter. The tracks had rubber blocks to keep the pavement from being damaged.

As for it's claim to fame. The Manhattan project was the highest priority secret project of WWll. The weasel was number two. It was conceived, designed and built in the second tightest security ever, up to that time.

Lightly armored, it's main advantage was it's ability to go through the deepest snows, where other machines wouldn't even think of going. Because of this, it was used extensively, after the war, in Artic and especially Antartic exploration.

Six speeds forward, two reverse. Carried 8 troops and driver, but it could pull 20 to 30 Alpine troops on skis, without even trying hard. This was one machine you could put on a 25 degree slope and not worry about it.

Keep the greasy side down.
Mike

Bird · Nov 23, 2001

Thanks for the picture and information, Mike. My folks didn't have the canvas (or any other) top on theirs, and they had told me it had a Studebaker engine; I didn't know the whole machine was a Studebaker. They said it was really great for going after caribou in Alaska.

MossRoad · Nov 23, 2001

Regarding your weasel.
http://www.autosite.se/MFHF/pict09en.htm
and
http://www.m29cweasel.org/

Don't see any of those on the streets here.

 MossRoad

Bird · Nov 24, 2001

Very interesting sites, David. I didn't know whether any of them were still around or not.

MossRoad · Nov 24, 2001

There might be one in the Studebaker national museum here in South Bend. They have a huge Studebaker collection, including some of the military stuff they made. I believe they also made radial aircraft engines during WWII as well.

 MossRoad

Bird · Nov 24, 2001

Yeah, MossRoad, I was doing a little surfing and found just lots of Studebaker stuff on the Internet earlier today, including the museum. And I even found some Weasels for sale.

MossRoad · Nov 24, 2001

It sure would be a cool toy to have around. My tops on the cool toy list is a Unimog.

 MossRoad

glennmac · Dec 13, 2001

Just catching up. Terrific thread. Very nostalgic.

Steve Allen was married to Jayne Meadows, who is the sister of Audrey Meadows, who played Alice on Jackie Gleason's Honeymooner sketches. The 50's were full of variety shows that I sorely miss. You would see the greatest live comedians and acts. Jackie Gleason. Red Skelton. Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Gary Moore, George Gobel, Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, Jimmy Durante (walking the spotlights), Jack Benny.

Edie Adams was one of my earliest dishes, too. The first may have been Princess Summerfallwinterspring on Howdy Doody.

Jeff396 · Dec 13, 2001

Unfortunately, I don't think there are all that many comedians who could do their act on TV anymore. But you never know, TV's standards seem to be dropping more and more everyday. Oh, and is anyone else but me bothered by the fact that AMC and TMC seem to think movies as new as from the early 80's are classics. If it ain't black and white (with a few early color exceptions and many from the 60's) it don't belong!!!

Jeff

TerryinMD · Dec 13, 2001

Jeff,

What is classic to us, is an antique to the younger people. What is classic to them is still kinda new to us.

Kinda funny how that works, isn't it. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

A couple of years back, I had a conversation with a guy who is about 30 now and he was amazed at the fact that companies allowed people to smoke at their desks and that they supplied ash trays!! It's all relative to your time and place.

Terry

mikim · Dec 14, 2001

In '82 (20 years ago!!) I was walking through the library at the community college I was attending and saw a kid watching news films of Vietnam. I asked him why and he said it was for his history class ... HISTORY MY A__!! was my reply - DO I LOOK LIKE HISTORY?? .....well I do now./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
mike

Thomas · Dec 14, 2001

I hear you loud and clear.
Like when a young teen comes up and ask your view on what it was like during the missle crises after they had read the book./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif
Computers..they kids say its so easy to use anybody can...my reply we didn't have computers back than when we were kids,and I get a /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.giflook.
Yep another day closer to retirement.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Charlie_Iliff · Dec 14, 2001

Mother: When I was a little girl, we didn't have a television>
Daughter: What did you hook your VCR to?

Charlie Iliff

Thomas · Dec 14, 2001

Now thats cute./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mike_Dumond · Dec 14, 2001

I'll never forget the day my oldest daughter came home from school and asked me if her teacher was telling the truth about men having been to the moon. Got ten percent of my gray hair that day. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Keep the greasy side down.
Mike

Anonymous Poster · Dec 14, 2001

Better illustration of Publik Educatind Dummys, I have a "University of South VietNam" sticker in the rear window of my Blazer. I think of it as a polite way of telling the fine folks like the Clinton group, to kiss my a$$. A few months ago, at the gas pumps, some lardo college boy strolls up to me and asks where the campus is. He didn't even know there had been a war in the Nam.

Jeff396 · Dec 15, 2001

Got a funny story about my wife takes place just after we got married. Now keep in mind that my wife is as smart as they come but could care less about history.

Back in 1985 I was attending Rochester Institute of Technology and was enrolled in a world history class. One of the things I had to do was get to the campus some time and view a movie. It was about WWI if I remember correctly. Being that school was a good bit away I asked her if she would like to go with me and maybe we could grab a bite while up in the city. Well, about 3/4 of the way through this movie she leans over and asks me "now when is it exactly that Napoleon gets involved in this?". I almost fell off my chair laughing!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif To this day I will not let her forget her blunder.....in a good humored way of course.

Jeff

Anonymous Poster · Dec 17, 2001

Hey, what were you doin at my playground? RIT is actually called South Henrietta Institute of Technology by us local folks since they moved the campus in the 60s.
Sure hope you didn't take her over to Jays diner for that lunch.

Jeff396 · Dec 17, 2001

Rochester is home for us. Try to get back there once a year anyway. I still have a brother who lives in Victor where we have our reunion every summer. He ended up getting a couple of masters degrees from RIT. Another just left Penfield for the Adirondecks. I only attended the red brick eyesore for 2 semesters before we moved to Michigan. Don't know if you read my post on the explosion I was in but that took place in Lakeville at Precision cycles on the North end of Conesus (sp?) lake. I think there is now a beer distributer there./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Jeff