A Yellow Dragon Tale for Labor Day and Being Thankful

Island Idylls: Stories of growing up in the Virgin Islands.
In honor of Labor Day, this is a re-post (with some editing) from 2012.

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About the first thing my parent's bought when we moved to St. John in 1955, was a Jeep. They got a 1948 CJ2 at Tropical Motors on St. Thomas and had it barged over to St. John.

The earliest picture of the Yellow 
Dragon, taken about 1957.

We called it The Yellow Dragon because Dad painted it a flashy yellow-orange and because it was indestructible.

We drove that jeep everywhere and it hauled everything from rocks to our boat. Once Dad even used The Yellow Dragon to rescue a bulldozer that had slipped off it's track!

Read about THAT adventure HERE.

 L to R: My sister, Erva, me, Dad, Nana (Dad's mom) Mom
and Pa's shadow. taken about 1960

Dad putting a new body on The Yellow Dragon, about 1960.

The Yellow Dragon hauling our boat, the F.D.O.
(which stood for Father's Day Off.)

Like a lot of people, we went to Coral Bay for the Labor Day Celebrations, which included donkey races, cricket matches, and lots of food. It was an all day excursion. One: because the roads were dirt and rocky and it took so long to drive there. 2: When we got there it was time to party, picnic, visit with people we didn't get to see very often, and go for a swim.

When it was time to leave we started up the road out of Coral Bay, which is a long, serpentine incline of approximately two miles, that rises from sea level to 1147 feet. We hadn't gotten far when The Yellow Dragon began to sputter and choke and eventually stalled out. We knew we had enough gas, so after coasting down hill Dad tried again. The beast started right up and off we went. Again, as soon as the way got steep, the engine sputtered and died. Several time we made the attempt, but each time we stalled out. In the process, however, Dad discovered if the engine was pointed down hill it started and everything was fine. It was only then the engine pointed up hill that it coughed and choked.

Something was obviously wrong with the fuel line.

To solve the problem Dad decided to back up hill. This helped push fuel from the gas tank (under the driver's seat) into the engine. All the way out of Coral Bay and up every hill we came to, he backed up the jeep. Whenever we came to a level place or a down hill stretch, he turned the jeep around. It was long, hard way to drive, craning his neck over his shoulder. A labor of love to get his family home.




Dad, being an ace mechanic (among other things) took the fuel system apart. Finally he found the cause of the blockage after he blew out all the lines. It was a cockroach! How it got in the tank and made its way through the lines remains a mystery.

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Being Thankful

Today I'm thankful for all the people I've seen out and about

 buying up items to help with the Harvey disaster relief.

What are you thankful for? Ever taken a ride in a REAL Jeep? Do you name your vehicles? If so, please share! 

The Yellow Dragon - Part Four

Me, Happy and the Yellow Dragon at Gifft Hill.

The Yellow Dragon, our 1948 CJ2 jeep, (check out Parts One, Two and Three here) was not just the family car, it also belonged to our dog, Happy. He loved nothing better than going along with us and always draped himself across the lap of the whomever was sitting in the front seat. This gave him a good view of the side of the road which gave him the opportunity to launch himself out of the moving jeep if he saw a mongoose. Twice he caught a mongoose on the fly. You can read more about our ornery mutt here.

The jeep was also a learning tool. As tough as it was, it had a weakness. When ever it rained hard, water collected in the spark plug wells and moisture would condense in the distributor cap. My sister, Erva, and I learned early on how to dry everything off so the fire could be rekindled in the belly of the beast. Dad also made sure, long before either of his daughters knew how to drive, that we knew how to change a tire and check the oil and replenish the water in both the radiator and the battery. By the time we became gas pump attendants at our Mobil gas station we already knew what to do.

The Yellow Dragon even got to be in a Carnival Parade on St. Thomas either in 1958 or 59. We were part of a contingent from St. John. Dad cut mangrove and made a shady arbor over our trusty Sears trailer. 

And there we are, a bunch of kids, the "Spare Parts" for the adults. Those the Wesley kids up front and me in back with the hat on. Erva is sitting with her back to the camera.




In the course of it's life time, due to rust, Dad gave it a new body.

You can see, in this picture, the flat top of the fender-well where Erva and I often used to sit.

Sometime in the late 60s The Yellow Dragon breathed it's last fiery breath and with it's passing we also said good-by to era. By then the roads on St. John were getting paved, the trail roads we'd jeeped were becoming hiking trails and a road was built around the base of Hard Labor Hill. (See Part Three for an explanation of this incredibly steep hill.)

The Yellow Dragon enjoyed the best days on St. John and, I like to think, enjoyed taking us for rides.

Is it strange to miss a vehicle? Ever own a car you were loath to part with?

The Yellow Dragon - Part Three

Happy Labor Day! 

Our 1948 CJ2 jeep was the family vehicle. (Visit here  for part one and here for part two.) This picture was taken in 1958 or '59 when my father's mother Vivian (Nana) and her husband August (Pa) Braendlin visited from California. From the left, my sister Erva, me, Dad, Nana and Mom. Pa took the picture.

The Yellow Dragon could easily carry six people. Guests had the back seat while my sister and I rode on the flat tops of the fender-wells above the rear wheels. No seat belts, no roll bars. Neither of us ever fell out.

America Hill, with the roof fallen in and strangler fig roots dangling.

And believe me there were plenty of opportunities. We used to enjoy exploring the old trails that were barely roads. When we drove up America Hill we could still walk around inside the old Danish estate house at top. The roof and floors were solid  and there was even wallpaper on some of the walls. Now the stately home is a ruin slowly being broken apart by strangler figs. And the road we drove up is barely a trail.

We drove the Susannaberg trail regularly because it connected the North Shore Road with Centerline and came out right near the Gifft Hill Road. I don't know if it's driveable any more. The Catherineberg trail does the same thing but joins Centerline further up the road. It is still open as a road. Another one  that we bounced our way down was the King Hill trail from Centerline down to Carolina. It was a terribly steep and rocky "short cut" into Coral Bay. We drove down the L'Esperance trail too.

Some of the old roads were so steep and the switchbacks so sharp that you couldn't make the turn. What you had to do was drive forward into the turn as far as the jeep would go and then back up into the next turn then drive forward. I hope my crude illustration helps.

But the most exciting road was Hard Labor Hill between Callabash Boom and Johns Folly. (Don't you just love the names of these places?)

It was SO steep (how steep was it?) it was SO steep when you got to the crest, if you didn't navigate it in just the right way the jeep could get hung up and you could end up with the front AND rear wheels suspended in the air. Then you'd have to rock the jeep back and forth until a wheel or two found traction. 

Nowadays people go jeeping for fun. When I was growing up, it was a way of life. And The Yellow Dragon was our valiant, sure-footed steed. 

Next Monday, Part Four

Ever done any kind of jeeping or exploring hard to get to places?

The Yellow Dragon - Part Two

As I posted last week, Monday, The Yellow Dragon was a 1948 CJ2 that my parents bought soon after we moved to St. John in 1955.

It was our work horse and pulled a Sears trailer that we used for hauling everything from rocks to our twelve foot boat, the F.D.O. 

But the trailer wasn't the only thing The Yellow Dragon hauled.

At one time there was a road that connected the north side of St. John above Caneel Bay to Centerline Road which runs through the middle of the island. It was called the Catchment Road because Caneel Bay had built a big concrete water catchment near the old trail. (The road is now called the Catchment Trail and is no longer jeepable.)

The Old Catchment, used for catching and collecting rainwater.
Photo by Jim Viola used with permission.

I found this great picture at St. John Villa Rental. Don't tell anyone, but I know people (names withheld on purpose) who occasionally swim in it. Understand this water was used by Caneel Bay for the guests.... Errr.

Now back to my story.

The Catchment Road was steep with several switchback turns. One of the switchbacks was so rocky that if it wasn't navigated in just the right way the transmission of the jeep could get hung up on the rock outcroppping. If that happened you were stuck and had to do some fancy clutch work to get traction and maneuver off the rocks.

I don't know if the bulldozer that got stuck on the road was attempting to widen it, or if the operator was using the road as a shortcut. But the up-shot was that due to rain and the road being slick the bulldozer slid off one the switchbacks. In the process, it came off one of its tracks.

Somehow the monster had to be gotten out of there and that's when Dad and The Yellow Dragon came to the rescue.

With a lot of sweat and muscle the heavy metal track was hitched to the jeep. Snorting and breathing fire like any good dragon that jeep, with Dad coaxing it along inch by inch, managed to pulled the track into a position so the operator could drive the dozer back onto the track. 

I don't know if many modern-day "jeeps" that can claim to have rescued a bulldozer let alone done it on a steep, narrow, rocky road. But The Yellow Dragon did. 

Next Monday, Part Three.

Have you used your car to pull anything unusual?

The Yellow Dragon - Part One

About the first things my parent's bought when we moved to St. John in 1955, was a Jeep. They got the 1948 CJ2 at Tropical Motors on St. Thomas and had it barged over to St. John.

This is the earliest picture I have of the 

Yellow Dragon, taken about 1957.

We called it The Yellow Dragon because Dad painted it a flashy yellow-orange color and because it was indestructible.

We drove that jeep everywhere.

One time, like a lot of people, we went out to Coral Bay for the Labor Day celebrations. When it was time to leave we started up the road out of Coral Bay which is a long, continuous incline that rises from sea level to 1100 feet at Mamey Peak. We didn't get very far before the Yellow Dragon began to sputter and choke and eventually stalled out. We knew we had enough gas so after coasting down hill Dad tried again. The beast started right up and off we went. Again the engine sputtered and died.  Several time we made the attempt but each time we stalled out. In the process, however, we discovered if the engine was pointed down hill it started and everything was fine. It was only if the engine was pointing up hill that it coughed and choked.

Something was obviously wrong with the fuel line. To solve the problem Dad decided to back up hill. This helped push fuel from the gas tank (under the driver's seat) into the engine. All the way out of Coral Bay and up every hill we came to, he backed up the jeep. Whenever we came to a level place or a down hill stretch, he turned the jeep around. It was long, hard way to drive the jeep, craning his neck over his shoulder. And the roads were dirt and rutted back then. Dad, being an ace mechanic (among other things) took the fuel system apart. Finally he found the cause of the blockage after he blew out all the lines. It was a cockroach! How it got in tank and made its way through the lines is mystery.

Dad on the Allstate at the end of a long hard day of work.

When the road out to East End was finally bulldozed through, we decided to make a day of it. Dad led the way on his Sears Allstate motorcycle and Mom drove the Dragon. Erva and I hung on! Ours were the first vehicles over the new road.









Here's a video of what some of the road looks like today. Just imagine was it was like some 50 years ago, freshly bulldozed. What a roller coaster!

Next Monday, a more adventures with The Yellow Dragon.

Do you name your cars? As a kid, did your family car have a name? Any family-car memories?