Generator—Summer 2022

Horatio’s Drive
& The Lincoln Highway
an electric American adventure
Jack Smith pushed a skateboard across
America four times.
Then he rode an electric skateboard from
Oregon to Washington, D.C.
That might be enough adventure for most
people. But Smith isn’t like most people.
“I’ve been attracted to crossing the
country in different ways,” he said.
In early June, Loup Power District
employees saw a vintage Volkswagen van
pull up to the electric vehicle charging
station in the parking lot.
They had to investigate. This was indeed
“different.”
And so, we met Smith and his childhood
friend, Larry Newland, and asked them to
share their stories.
HORATIO’S DRIVE
Last year, Smith sat down to watch the
Ken Burns documentary “Horatio’s Drive” at
his home in California.
It tells the story of Dr. Horatio Nelson
Jackson. He was at San Francisco’s University
Club in May 1903 when he made a
$50 bet (equivalent to more than $1,500
today) that he could cross the country in an
automobile.
A few days later, he purchased a
20-horsepower Winton touring car. He was
31 years old with very little driving experience
and no maps to follow. The country had
only 150 miles of paved roads.
Five days after the bet, he took off with
Sewall K. Crocker, who served as travel
companion, mechanic, and backup driver.
A bull terrier named “Bud” joined them
in Idaho. He was outfitted with goggles to
protect his eyes as he helped watch the road.
Most people doubted that the automobile
had a future. But Jackson proved them
wrong when he arrived in New York City 63
days later.
Smith was hooked on the story immediately.
After he watched the video, he bought
a book and delved into the story even more.
Then, he decided it wasn’t enough for
him to simply read about Horatio’s drive. He
wanted to make it.
“I told my wife, ‘I want to retrace this
guy’s route, but I don’t want to do it in a
regular vehicle.”
Left: Horatio Nelson Jackson and Sewall Crocker on their cross-country journey in 1903. They traveled in a 20-hp Winton touring car.
Right: The pair faced mechanical issues, navigational problems, and bad roads. Photos courtesy of Silver Special Collections, University of Vermont.
SKATEBOARDS ACROSS AMERICA
Most Americans have never traveled
across the entire country. Smith has done
it multiple times — but never in a “regular
vehicle.”
Back in 1976, at 19 years old, he and three
friends became the first to skateboard across
America, with sponsorship from a company
called Roller Sports.
They did so in leapfrog fashion, with each
skater going about three miles at a time.
In between, the skaters got a ride in their
support car — a 1969 Firebird.
Each guy skated a total of 35–50 miles
daily, depending on the terrain. As a team,
they could travel 150 miles on a good day.
The trip from Oregon to Virginia took 32 days.
“It was a great way to see the country,”
Smith said. “You’re going so slow, you don’t
miss anything.”
If anything, the trip only expanded
Smith’s love of skateboarding. He competed
in the infamous “Signal Hill Speed Run” in
Signal Hill, Calif., held from 1974–78.
Participants in the race set world records
in skatecars, topping out at almost 60 miles
per hour on the hill with a 30-degree drop.
The annual event ended when sponsors
withdrew because it became too dangerous,
with multiple life-threatening crashes.
By 1984, the “new guys” on the skateboarding
scene were tired of hearing all
Smith’s stories. They wanted stories of their
own, and asked if he would consider another
cross-country trip.
It didn’t take much convincing. The fourman
team took on the task again, raising
money for Multiple Sclerosis awareness
along the way. The journey took 26 days.
In 2003, Smith’s son, Jack, died of complications
from Lowe Syndrome, a rare genetic
disease. His father died of Alzheimer’s
Disease in 2013.
Smith made two more cross-country trips
to raise funds and awareness for those conditions
in the years they died.
That fourth trip in 2003 included his
younger son, Dylan. The 3,618-mile journey
set a world record that was broken by British
skateboarder David Cornthwaite in 2007.
By 2018, Smith was referred to as a
“skateboarding legend” by media outlets
and his fellow peers.
It might have been enough for most
people. But again, Smith isn’t like most
people.
That year, he decided it was time for one
more trip. But this time, he was going to go
solo on an Inboard M1 electric skateboard.
The 2,394-mile journey from Eugene,
Oregon, to the steps of the Smithsonian
Museum took 45 days.
He was 61 years old.
Story by Stacy Wemhoff
Jeff French, Jack Smith, and Mike Filben pushed their
4 | GENERATOR
Jack Smith (left) and Larry Newland charged
the Rust Bus at Loup Power District’s
electric vehicle charging station on June 3.
skateboards across the United States in 1976. Smith also
crossed the country on an electric skateboard in 2018.
Photos courtesy of Jack Smith.
SUMMER 2022 | 5