The Color T.V. Motel

Elton Baum told me that U Betcha's Fountain, his old-fashioned drug store and soda fountain, minus the pharmacy, is off to a good start. So he's got a new project: re-opening the Color T.V. Motel, out on the old highway.

The Color T.V. Motel was going to be "Johnson's Motel" back in the early fifties. Then Melvin Johnson's custom-made sign arrived. The words "COLOR T.V." and "MOTEL" were there, as specified.

"JOHNSON'S," though, wasn't on the sign. At all. The only place his name appeared in the shipment was on the invoice – and the bill.



He couldn't afford another sign, since the outfit he'd worked with wouldn't fix the problem, or refund what he'd already paid them. Then the company went out of business: leaving Mr. Johnson with a brand-new sign that wasn't what he'd ordered.

We have a saying in Minnesota: "It could be worse." Mr. Johnson applied this grim wisdom, re-named his motel to match the sign and opened in time for the tourist season.

Years later the Interstate came. Folks seldom used the old highway, except for local traffic. The Color T.V. Motel closed its doors.

The buildings have gone through several hands since then, being used mostly as rental housing. The property went up for sale again this year. Elton Baum bought the land and buildings, but says he doesn't plan to restore the motel right away.

"It'll be a huge job. Besides, I'd like to give the folks living there time to find new homes."

Baum Media Productions: From Light Bulbs to Galaxy Cadet

Baum Media Productions, with its distinctive "When You See the Bee" logo, started as a studio lighting company in the early seventies.

"I sold equipment that filmmakers use: lights, backdrops, filters, cables, booms, the whole thing," Elton Baum explained.

"There were a lot of experimental studios then, in the San Francisco area. Creative people, but without much practical experience. They needed help."

"I saw the sort of stuff they were making - and selling! - and thought, ‘I can do this.' So I talked to some people I'd met, and started making films."

The early films, like "Jerome Doesn't Live Here" and "The Krakow Chronicle," were commercially successful without achieving critical acclaim. "So what? A critic buys one ticket. I'm interested in what everybody else likes."

Baum Media Productions moved its studio to Minnesota in the eighties. "Partly for the climate," Elton grinned. I'll admit I'm biased, though, I like it here."

I discovered that Stan Parks and his brother Xul had worked on a Baum film that never made it to production: "Dino Side Story."



"Two gangs of dinosaurs, the fangs and the claws. A boy from one and a girl from the other fall in love, wish on a new star, everybody ‘sees the light,' makes friends – and then the star falls on the city and they die." Elton Baum shook his head.

"The legal department said there were problems with it: and I'm not sure I liked the ending, myself. Oh, well: there's always the next Galaxy Cadet film."

Rags to Riches to Rags: Sometimes

My dad once told me that the 'rags to riches' story often was 'rags to riches to rags' in three generations. It's not a universal rule, but the pattern exists.

The founder is born poor, but has energy, ambition, and a really good idea. A few decades later, the founder's children start taking over the business. Let's say it's one child.

The kid's smart enough: but doesn't have the founder's spark. The second generation keeps the business running, though. Or, is sharp enough to live on the interest of investments.

The third generation comes along. This wunderkind grew up surrounded by wealth, and has bold, innovative ideas.

Which turn out to be innovatively suicidal, when applied to the founder's business.

Or, the founder's grandchild isn't all that interested in the business, but enjoys spending money on things like sports cars and skiing in Vail: and spends two generation's accumulation of wealth.

There are many exceptions, of course.

Like the Adams family: the real one, starting with Samuel Adams, who helped stir up the American revolution and was Governor of Massachusetts for a while. Two centuries later, Charles Francis Adams IV was Raytheon's first president.



They're not as famous as the Adams, but Loonfoot Falls has the Baums. The family is into its seventh generation now, and most of Zachariah Baum's descendants have done pretty well. I've mentioned Elton Baum's efforts with Haskell's Corner Drug, and the I Love Fruit! stand. Next week, I plan to tell about Baum Media Productions.

Elton Baum and His "Green" Golf Cart

Elton Baum and his high-performance golf cart.

When gas went over three dollars a gallon in late 2006, Elton Baum decided to do something about it.

"I couldn't keep the price down," he said with a grin, "but I could do something about how much I used. Now, I don't go into town with the truck, unless it's for something really big."

Even a small car uses some gasoline, so Mr. Baum looked around for an alternative.

"About a year ago, I found a golf cart. Trouble was, I couldn't drive it on the roads except in daylight, and in good weather. Makes sense, but I wanted something where I wouldn't be stuck in town, or out here, if it started raining."

Elton Baum's golf cart looks about the same as it did when he got it, except for an extra bar across the back and license plates.

It's what you don't see that makes it special.

Under the seats, ten golf cart batteries take five or six hours to recharge. "Four, if I'm lucky," Elton said. He doesn't use a pedal generator to recharge his cart. "I thought about it," he said, "but … life is too short to spend that much time cycling."

A beefed-up suspension and high-performance motors boosted the golf cart's top speed to about 40 miles an hour, so Elton doesn't need a slow-moving vehicle sign. He does, though, generally wear a motorcycle helmet when he drives. It's safer, but that's not the main reason.

"It gets breezy, driving with no windshield."