WORTH TWP — “I want you to know this is absolutely the most significant vehicle I've ever driven.”

That's what Major Lawes said to creators of the original Bantam Jeep after he took it for a test drive at Camp Holabird in Maryland.

The American Bantam Car Company manufacturers were elated; this was the fruit of all their hard work.

Lee Bortmas, a local Jeep historian, detailed what he called “Butler's proud moment in history” to an attentive crowd at Saturday's Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival at Cooper's Lake Campground.

The road to the Bantam Jeep was an unlikely one; Bortmas said government officials considered Bantam “just a manufacturer” and didn't expect the company to come up with the vehicle that changed the military.

In 1940, the U.S. military needed a sturdy utility vehicle to use should the country enter World War II. The military requested bids from various car companies by July 22.

Bantam workers started drawing sketches right away, but couldn't come up with a successful one. That's when Frank Fenn, who oversaw Bantam production, realized they needed a designer.

The company reached out to Karl Probst, who was a design engineer in Detroit. Probst initially balked at the project because he said payment wasn't a guarantee.

However, Bantam contacted Bill Knudsen, a brigadier general and automotive industry executive, who said to give Probst the hard sell about designing not for money, but for “God and country.”

Bantam did, and Probst's response was immediate.

“He said, 'I'll be in Butler tomorrow morning,'” Bortmas said.

In just 18 hours, Probst designed the revolutionary Bantam Jeep. To celebrate, he went to a cinema and saw “Boom Town” starring Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy.

However, the work wasn't over. Bantam officials presented the design to lobbyist Harry Payne, who told them they had wasted a trip to see him because the design called for a 1,850-pound vehicle, when the U.S. military wanted no more than 1,300 pounds.

“In order to take the abuse (the vehicle) is going to take, that's impossible,” Probst replied.

It turned out that the design was well-received by the military. Not only did Bantam offer the lowest cost, but the company also was the only one to present a design.

Willys-Overland Motors of Toledo, Ohio, was the only other company to offer a bid in time, which solely consisted of cost estimates. Willys wanted 75 days to create a model, while Bantam only wanted 49 days.

The Bantam Jeep passed military tests in September, and by October the company had a contract to make 60 more for $171,000.

Bantam signed a contract to build 1,500 more by May of 1941, and signed another contract to have 1,000 more by December of that year.

However, Willys and Ford Motor Company eventually superseded Bantam because they could produce Jeeps faster, and Bantam was relegated to making trailers for Jeeps and aircraft landing gears.

Bantam was awarded the Army-Navy “E” pennant (“E” standing for “excellence”) for its services. During this time, Bortmas was in high school and had a friend who worked at Bantam for 50 cents per hour after school.

A military veteran himself, Bortmas, 89, said he decided to raise awareness of the Jeep's Butler background in the late 1990s.

“The (average) guy on the street didn't know Bantam built the first Jeep,” he said.

Bortmas was one of many Jeep enthusiasts who flocked to the three-day festival. Festival director Patti Jo Lambert said she expected the turnout to be around 15,000, the same as last year, or even a little higher.

“We've had a lot of new people coming this year, which is always exciting,” she said.

One first-time visitor was Garrett Blasco of Edinboro, who brought his young sons along as he shopped for deals on used and returned merchandise from vendors.

He said his son was especially excited to try out the Jeep Playground, which is an obstacle course full of tough terrain for the Jeep to overcome.

“That's the carrot in front of him,” Blasco said.

Longtime festival patrons Allen and Carrie Munro of Brookville, Pa., were back this year for Allen Munro's birthday weekend.

“I just think it's nice to be able to get away and get outside and see everything,” Carrie Munro said. “And (Allen) is in (his) glory.”