A Different Kind of Rabbit
Posted April 1, 2015 at 5:50 am by Tim Dustrude
Here’s the SJ Historical Museum with this month’s History Column…
“Before and after” photos of the Sundstrom Model A Bunny Buggy – Photo courtesy of Guard Sundstrom
The Easter Bunny may hop around the island this weekend, but the local history of bunny tales has more to do with the rabbit hunting era of the 1930s through 1970s. Before there were Orca Magnets, there were Rabbit Keychains and a fleet of Bunny Buggies catering to the tourist trade.
Origins lay in a rabbit infestation which had caused serious problems for island agriculture, decimating crop after crop. This overpopulation was the result of a commercial breeding venture gone awry in 1934, in which 3,000 rabbits had been released into the fields to roam and multiply.
Converting old trucks and cars into Bunny Buggies with side bucket seats welded on for easy night shooting, islanders hired themselves out as guides and drivers for mainlanders who knew a unique island adventure when they saw one. And there were many. It was estimated in 1971 that the island was overrun with a million rabbits.
Pictured above is a set of “before and after” photos of the Sundstrom Model A Bunny Buggy, courtesy of Guard Sundstrom. Kim Sundstrom is seen in both, first in the 1960s when the rig was in high gear and now with its surviving frame.
If you have a retired Bunny Buggy, we’d love to have a photo for the archives of the San Juan Historical Museum.
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Categories: Around Here
4 comments:
4 comments...
Surely that old vehicle on Mitchell Hill in English Camp must be a Bunny Buggy.
I remember that bunny car! I was lucky enough as a kid to get to go out on it. What really made it exciting was we went out at night. The rabbits come out when the moon is full. I remember Sandy Sundstrom on top shining the spotlight in the rabbits eyes to make them freeze. Kim Sundstom would be on the tractor seat sticking out to the side with a big net and he’d hop off and net the bunnies. He was fast. We got a lot of them, and indeed, they were tasty!
Thanks for your comments, Louise and Peggy Sue. The Museum loves expanding its files of local history stories.
To clarify, the Sundstrom buggy shown in the photos was used only for netting, not shooting.
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