Selling Light

In A Life Worth Living, C.A. Roberts tells of meeting W.C. Coleman, founder of the Coleman Lantern Company. At eighty-four, Coleman recalled how he went from pauper to millionaire overnight.

As a young man, W.C. loved to sell—everything from newspapers to typewriters. One day, a man showed him a gasoline lantern and offered him the franchise for $1,000. Coleman liked what he saw and said, “I’ll take it.” He invested all he had, borrowed the rest,…