Manual choke and cold weather

[AlexCole]

Please Moderator, I know this is not about a diesel MB, but I DO own one, and yall are knowledgeable and willing to help, so I was hoping to get some answers without you junking this thread...............................

I have a 1977 Jeep CJ5, I6, 258, with HEI distributor and MC2100 2bbl carb (obviously a gasser).

I'm a south Louisiana boy transplanted to NW Ohio, and this cold weather is completely alien to me (NEGATIVE 4 degrees this morning). Driving to work this morning, I was playing around with my choke and found that even while driving, the jeep ran better with the choke pulled. Now, I have always thought that the choke was just for warming the car up prior to driving off, but when it's really cold out, is it okay/normal to drive around with the choke pulled? I know it sounds like a dumb question, but where I come from, 50 degrees is cold, and I have never encountered this problem. I would ask one of my friends around here, but I'm the only person sane enough to drive a 30 year old vehicle (in fact I have 2) and no one else even remembers what a manual choke looks like. Thanks in advance, Alex.