For Jeeples club, it’s not just a Jeep, it’s a lifestyle

Late on a Monday evening, the wooden tables filling the back porch of Whiskey Dicks in south Wichita were covered with fries and beers.

Talk and laughter flowed through the sticky summer air as the sky began to darken. The gathering seemed like a family reunion: people of varying ages sitting around in a sense of comfort not usually seen outside of immediate kin.

In some ways, it was.

From Jeep waves to charity events, Wichita Area Jeeples – a Facebook group for Jeep lovers in the Wichita area, with more than 2,500 members – offers its members a strong community.

The group was started four years ago by 35-year-old Cody Brookshire. He said he created Jeeples after finding some off-roading groups were either too exclusive or too rigid. He said he was looking for a community-based environment.

What began with 25 members grew to 150 members within two days. It has grown steadily ever since.

“These people have become our friends and family,” Brookshire said.

Jeep people

Michael Rosenbaum, a student at the University of Indiana in 2007 who was pursuing a doctorate, spent three years studying Jeep communities, analyzing the sense of identity associated with the vehicle.

In his paper “The Jeep People,” Rosenbaum writes about Jeeps as an “identity anchor,” a cultural tool representative of an authentic self that can help ground an identity. Rosenbaum calls it a “primary source of social identity, friendship, and social support.”

Shelly Gatton, 47, said she had wanted to be part of Jeeples for a long time. Her cousin was a member, and after making T-shirts and custom decals for the group, she finally decided to buy a Jeep.

“It’s really kind of saved my life,” Gatton said. “It’s been kind of like a midlife crisis, but at the same time, I feel like I’m 10 years younger.”

The sense of community is what drew Gatton to the group. Much like the biker community, Jeep people help one another, she said. When a member’s Jeep breaks down, other club members have helped immediately, Gatton said.

“It’s a culture,” Gatton said “It’s amazing to see that kind of goodness in the world today, because there’s not that much of it.”

More than Jeeps

A recent Jeeples family night was hard to miss. The Freddy’s parking lot was flooded with rows of Jeeps, in every color imaginable.

One of the multicolored cars belonged to Gabriel Wandersee.

Wandersee, 30, was spotted last year driving his Jeep downtown. A member of Jeeples tagged him on Facebook and asked whether he wanted to join.

In the beginning, Wandersee thought Jeeples was just another off-roading group. He quickly found out otherwise.

“We’re Jeep enthusiasts with a charity problem is kind of how we look at it,” Wandersee said.

Paul Hodges, 38, said he has been a member of Jeeples since the formation of the group. Although many off-roading groups serve as drinking clubs, Jeeples’ social identity is more community focused, he said.

“It’s just like a social club more than anything,” Hodges said, “taking our collective love of Jeeps and trying to do something positive.”

Each year, the Jeeples raise money for St. Baldrick’s, which supports children’s cancer research and Toys for Tots. They also hold an event called Flex for Food, raising food to donate to shelters and churches.

While the benefactor of the recent family night hasn’t been decided yet, the funds will most likely go to two members of the group: one who recently found out about a brain tumor and another fighting cancer.

“I found the Jeeples and went ‘These are the types of people I want to be around,’ ” Hodges said.

Shared culture

Driving down a road, two Jeep drivers exchange a symbol showcasing their culture: the Jeep wave.

Urban Dictionary defines the Jeep wave as occurring “when two jeep wranglers pass each other on opposite sides of the road, one of the drivers initiates the wave and the other waves back.”

The wave is initiated by the vehicle higher up in the Jeep hierarchy, determined by car model, year, off-road habits and more.

This symbol is a bonding thread for Jeep owners, adding to their shared culture.

“I think most Jeepers are pretty well the same type of people; you can do a lot of the same activities,” said Brookshire, the group’s founder.

Nicole McKinley, 50, has been a member of Jeeples for a little more than two years. Everything in her life now revolves around the group, she said.

The family environment, she said, fosters a fierce loyalty.

“It’s like being a brother or a sister,” McKinley said. “You fight amongst each other, but if anybody else was to pick on one of us, then all of us, no matter what we drove, would be fighting with them.”

Marty Walty, 46, said she had been going through a rough patch when she discovered Jeeples. After purchasing a Jeep, she decided to venture out of her comfort zone.

On her first kayaking trip with the group, she knew no one. Now, she said, she spends more time with them than with her family.

“I have new friends, I have a new bit of family,” Walty said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 7:08 PM with the headline "For Jeeples club, it’s not just a Jeep, it’s a lifestyle."