W.C. Coleman started his company in Brockton, Ala., with gas-powered lamps to light up the homes and farms of rural America. In an effort to show the public what gas-powered lights were capable of, he strung a series of lamps from poles so as to light the first night football game west of the Mississippi. It has been a long time since the Wheatshockers shut out Cooper College, and Coleman has lit up our country and our campsites for more than a century now. Since the company's start with lanterns in the early 1900s, Coleman has expanded to include stoves, tents, camping furniture, and coolers; and the name has become synonymous with car camping and recreating in the United States.