Post Date
January,
16
2018
He took me on an amazing tour through a sea of Wranglers being built from scratch. The one thing on that tour I won't ever forget was the extraordinary vibe I felt inside that Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio. It was a sense of fierce pride, overwhelming joy, but something even more than that. The feeling is something words cannot describe. 
Jeep is a way of life. As a Jeep owner I get that. For the community of Toledo there is not a more fitting statement. It literally is.... their.... way of life. This community is extremely proud of Jeep.
James Jefferson, millwright, Toledo Assembly Complex. "We buy what we build. This is our passion. I couldn't be prouder. We work some long hours, but my attitude is: I don't have to come to work, I GET to come to work, and I enjoy that." Cars.com
The Jeep facility is the largest employer in Lucas County,
Phyllis Miller, Amber's grandmother, now 93, took a job at the Jeep plant back in 1942 with several other women. They were from a Polish Village right next to the plant. Dirt poor not knowing where the next meal was coming from, Phyliss found her job at the Willy's/Kaiser/Jeep plant as a way out of "the life of poverty". Phyllis recalls, "It was the first time in my life I could remember having food on a consistent basis."
Life during the depression was like nothing any of us can imagine. As Amber helps her grandmother pack up her belongings, she is on a scavenger hunt for money. Busia, tells Amber of all her secret places she has left her money. She hides it everywhere.
This is a natural reaction a lot of people have because of the Depression. She doesn't trust the bank so she hides $1000 here and $1500 there.
Jeep brought consistency to Busia's life and many, many others. Jeep gave her financial security during a time when they were dirt poor. She found new friends because of Jeep. These ladies were "forever friends" way before the phrase BFF's became popular. She met the love of her life, her husband, at Jeep. She also loved her job sewing seats. She worked at the Toledo Jeep plant from 1942 to 1978.
In Phyllis's words... Jeep gave me a means to a good life. Jeep means everything to me. I met the only love of my life at Jeep and Jeep gave me the means to raise two children. It gives me pride and I love that I worked on the Wrangler. I am proud to be a Union Sister. She said, "We weren't taking shit from anybody!"Soon Phyllis will be back home in Toledo, the place she loves, with her family and friends as Jeep continues to change peoples lives. It certainly changed mine. However, Phyllis was lucky to find Jeep at an early age. It took me decades to find my Jeep. As Jeep changed Phyllis's life, Jeep forever changed my life. So to all those great Toledo Jeep workers past and present, my sincere thanks for your dedication to an American icon!
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