04-12-2021, 11:28 PM
This is an old Ken Burns doc...a single 2 hr episode...so old, it had black bars on the sides as it wasn’t formatted for current TVs.
I was mentioning this to my neighbor who is in to old cars. I thought I had seen it, but could only remember bits. I couldn’t find it anywhere online, so I checked Hoopla which, like Kanopy, is available via your library card. It’s probably also available on PBS, I just didn’t want to hassle with downloading/activating that app.
This doc covers the story of Dr. Horatio N Jackson who, while visiting the family silver mines in California in 1903, stops in at the University club in SF and overhears some folks talking about these new horseless carriages and how their only good for local jaunts and a passing fad. He beleives in the future of the car and bets these influential folks $50 that he can drive from SF to NY in 90 days. First he has to buy a car. Then hire a driver. Then hilarity ensues. There were a couple of previous attempts, but both failed. There were only 150 miles of paved roads at the time and they were in metro areas. The rest was dirt wagon trails.
A pretty amazing journey that becomes a race. Strange that this car-culture nation doesn’t remember Horatio Jackson, Winton motor cars, Bud the dog, or Crocker, his driver anymore.
—tg
I was mentioning this to my neighbor who is in to old cars. I thought I had seen it, but could only remember bits. I couldn’t find it anywhere online, so I checked Hoopla which, like Kanopy, is available via your library card. It’s probably also available on PBS, I just didn’t want to hassle with downloading/activating that app.
This doc covers the story of Dr. Horatio N Jackson who, while visiting the family silver mines in California in 1903, stops in at the University club in SF and overhears some folks talking about these new horseless carriages and how their only good for local jaunts and a passing fad. He beleives in the future of the car and bets these influential folks $50 that he can drive from SF to NY in 90 days. First he has to buy a car. Then hire a driver. Then hilarity ensues. There were a couple of previous attempts, but both failed. There were only 150 miles of paved roads at the time and they were in metro areas. The rest was dirt wagon trails.
A pretty amazing journey that becomes a race. Strange that this car-culture nation doesn’t remember Horatio Jackson, Winton motor cars, Bud the dog, or Crocker, his driver anymore.
—tg