Jay is getting ready to start his Tuktoyaktuk Adventure.  Wait a minute!  Who is Military Maxi?  Where is Tuktoyaktuk? And why is Jay doing this? 

First things first, this is Maxi as she looked when Jay first acquired her.  She is a 1931 Model A Ford slant window town sedan.  

Jay has been into Model As since 2000. When he first acquired Maxi in 2014, she was an “ordinary” Model A.  However, in 2019, Jay was invited to participate in the 100-year anniversary of then-Captain Eisenhower’s military convoy across the US.  The original convoy took two months and was the start of transcontinental highways in the US.  The recreation following the Lincoln Highway took less than three weeks.  So, Maxi joined the military!

After significant research, we couldn’t find proof that Model A cars were used in the military in the 1930s, although there is ample evidence of military Ford trucks, etc. at that time.  So Jay had to use a little creativity to convert Maxi into a 1931 military staff vehicle.

Jay is a veteran of the Air Force, but – of course – the “Air Force” didn’t exist in 1931; it was the US Army Air Corps.  Normally a staff car would be used by a general and the general’s flag would be displayed at the front of the car.  Maxi displays Jay’s own rank (Senior Airman) when he was in the service.

On the sides of Maxi, you’ll see the Army Air Corps emblem used up until WWII, when the emblem was updated due to its similarity to the Japanese flag.  On the front of the tool box is the new and improved AAC emblem.

During the 2019 military recreation, Maxi became a mobile veterans’ memorial, with US veterans autographing her.  She has hundreds of signatures now, and every time Jay meets a veteran, he hustles to gather another signature.  Many times, the stories the veterans share with Jay are unbelievably moving for both Jay and the signor.

Jay has driven a Model A in 18 different foreign countries and most of the 50 States.  What is relevant to this Tuktoyaktuk Adventure is that fact that Jay has driven from the California-Mexico border, through California, Oregon, Washington and parts of Canada.  He has been as far North in Western Canada as Prince George, British Columbia, in a Model A.

Jay will trailer Maxi up to Prince George, then take her out and drive her up to the Dempster Highway and all the way to Tuktoyaktuk, which is on the Arctic Ocean above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories of Canada.  A friend will follow him in the tow vehicle just in case…  Here’s a map of the northern part of the route.

So, why is Jay doing this? There are multiple reasons, including “Because he can!”  But beyond the adventure of this trip, he has two main goals:

1. To honor Canadian military members and veterans.  Maxi will be equipped with a special place for Canadian military to sign.
2. To increase the visibility of our local American Legion Scholarship fund which is used to help graduates of our local Leffingwell Continuation School. 

If you are interested in donating to the Scholarship Fund, here is a link to the secure American Legion Scholarship donation page:

https://legionpost432.com/jay.htm

Jay feels a special affinity to this fund as he could have been a continuation school kid if they’d had one back then.  He was an ADHD student, not well understood at that time, and he is very proud to see the types of assistance available to continuation students in our town.  Some may use the scholarship to attend one of various trade schools, an apprenticeship program, or community college.

The Tuktoyaktuk Adventure  starts on Saturday June 10^th.  Jay and his buddy Charlie will try to send photos along the way so I can post a blog every few days.  As they reach the northern stretch of the route, there could be delays posting, depending upon the strength of available Wi-Fi, so please be patient if there are any delays.  Thanks!