Larry Jorgensen – författare

Through the years, the challenge of powered transportation in the snow has been met with ideas from explorers, creative inventors and small companies, all with new ideas - often unique and sometimes successful. The name "snowmobile" was trademarked in 1917, but there were snow travel ideas before that date and certainly thousands more since. Winter explorers and trailblazers sought to replace their dogsleds and snowshoes as they explored difficult locations, including remote locations, on the north and south poles. Early inventors of snow vehicles often scavenged parts from many mechanical devices, trying many power and propulsion methods, from 2- and 4-stroke engines to air propulsion, and even a "snow biting" screw auger concept. The snow travel ideas from some early inventors were simply designed to solve their own needs; others came from entrepreneurs who believed folks would be impressed and want to buy their creations. Some of their ideas evolved into companies such as Polaris, Arctic Cat and Ski-Doo, which prospered and now can trace their roots back to that first snowmobile idea. Make It Go In The Snowprovides a fun look at the history of a few of the many thousands of snow travel ideas and those enthusiasts who gave them birth. Captured and recorded are a wide variety of snowmobile ideas, without offering judgment on any individual venture. Join me as I pay tribute to all those ideas; past, present and future. But keep watching, because more snow excitement is waiting to be created. "I have read many snowmobile books over the years, and I believe Larry Jorgensen''s was very informative and easy to read. It shows that Larry has done an excellent job researching information. I have recommended Make It Go In The Snow to all my snowmobiling friends, I look forward to handing out copies to them at Christmas." -- Daniel C. Blaney, Antique Snowmobile Museum, Morocco, Indiana. "Michigan plays a minor yet important part in this detailed history of snowmobiles. The first snowmobile was created in 1913 by a Ford dealer in New Hampshire. He took the rear wheels off a Model T and replaced them with dual wheels covered by tracks and replaced the front wheels with skis. He patented his invention and called it a snowmobile. A company later bought the patent and made 3,500 kits a year. As the author makes it abundantly clear, over the years backyard tinkerers, high schoolers, and just guys with a vision created snowmobiles of all shapes and sizes. If you have any interest in snowmobiles you''re going to ski-doo through Make It Go in the Snow." -- Tom Powers, Michigan In Books "Jorgensen purchased his first snowmobile in 1967. Subsequently, he joined a snowmobile enthusiast group and participated in long-distance rides. The most notable was an endurance test from Fairbanks, Alaska to Seattle for the new Allsport Tracker. Pabst Brewing Company contracted him to create its programs for recreational snowmobiling and racing. He''s also served on the board of the Central Division of the United States Snowmobile Association (USSA). So immersed in the activity has he been that when one of his children, then a first grader, was asked what her father did, she replied, ''He snowmobiles.'' And now he''s written of them as well and included a concluding chapter telling of various snowmobile museums he''s discovered around the country." -- Helen V. Hutchings, SpeedReaders From Modern History Press

The Coca-Cola Trail is a journey for anyone interested in discovering the history and growth of the world''s most recognized product. The trail will take readers to the places in America that tell the story - places where you can see, touch, and remember. Whether a serious Coca-Cola memorabilia collector, a person interested in American business history, or simply a fan--The Coca-Cola Trail provides a fresh new look at a trusted old friend. 30 chapters cover each bottling plant location in meticulous detail, including unique and ghost billboard signage. So, what is a Coca-Cola Bottler? Well, from a legal standpoint, it''s a franchisee of the Coca-Cola company, who has been granted the right to bottle and sell Coca-Cola in an exclusive territory. This franchise or contract has been amended and otherwise changed somewhat over the years to add many additional brands, but in the beginning, it was granted for the sole purpose of bottling and distributing Coca-Cola throughout the bottler''s territory. In the early years, it was bottled one bottle at a time, placed in wooden cases, and hauled to the customer in horse or mule-drawn wagons. The bottling plants were crude and the task was difficult but by acquiring these franchises, these entrepreneurs had unknowingly won the lottery. They had settled on investing in a product that would change the world. A fabulous beverage with a delicious, unique taste profile that provided a refreshing boost to the drinker. Even in today''s world, with thousands of brands of both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, Coca-Cola remains at the top in providing that unique taste and special experience in a beverage. You combine this great product with brilliant advertising and marketing from The Coca-Cola Company and "voila" you have a brand and company and a bottling and distribution system that has been so successful that books upon books have been written about it for over 100 years. That is unique in itself. "If you like history of any type, you must read this book. Part history, part travel guide but always interesting, and when you''ve finished you''ll be a master of some particular trivia questions.The Coca-Cola Trail is chockfull of very interesting - every page brings a new delight of some lesser-known areas of the US. A wonderful book that I highly recommend to all history buffs." -- Linda Thompson, host of The Authors Show "I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Coke memorabilia and also to anyone who is interested in learning a different portion of the history of the South. Of course, Coke extended past the southern states, even in the beginning, with one of the earliest bottling plants being located in Leadville, Colorado. If you grew up drinking Coke, this is somewhat like a trip down memory lane as well; filled with pictures of old places and people who were active in the first years of Coke." -- S. Byrd, Atlanta, GA "Coca-Cola is an international sensation, and Larry Jorgensen of Lafayette, Louisiana, has written a book documenting the many places in the United States showcasing Coke history or attractions unique to Coca-Cola. Jorgensen spent two years researching this book, which is also filled with historic photos and recent shots of places and people." -- Louisiana Book News From Modern History Press