Coffee With Jim

For a few visionary geniuses in the late 19^th century the automobile was not a laughing matter, it was the future. In an interview published in Scientific American on May 21, 1892, Ransom E. Olds was quoted as saying about the automobile that, “…it never kicks or bite, never tires on long runs, and never sweats in hot weather. It does not require care in the stable and only eats while on the road.”

By 1900 automobile mania was sweeping Wall Street and the world of high finance. It was an industrial gold rush that led owners of established and profitable businesses to abandon everything in the quest to become an automotive tycoon. It also fueled a new breed of unscrupulous hucksters and unleashed the imagination of countless dreamers.

Today's program is sponsored in part by the magical roadside gem that is the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico. This charming roadside oasis is a near perfect time capsule circa 1964 wrapped in modern amenities. Make your reservation today at roadrunnerlodge.com.

"Against this backdrop of prejudice Victor H Green saw an opportunity, and a need. In the early 19330s Green was employed as a postal carrier in Harlem and as a service for friends collected information on hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in the New York City area that accepted or catered to African Americans. In 1936 he published this information in a small pamphlet entitled The Negro Motorist Green Book.

It proved so popular that for the 1937 edition he expanded coverage to include businesses throughout the United States. In the introduction, Green wrote, “There will be a day sometime in the future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal rights and privileges in the United States.”