Audio slide show: Pullman porter and family patriarch
At 100, Lee Wesley Gibson is nearly the oldest surviving former Pullman porter. He is one of thousands of African Americans whose lives were transformed by working for Union Pacific Railroad. Gibson was married to his wife, Beatrice, for 76 years until she died in 2004.
This feature requires that JavaScript be enabled and the Flash plug-in be installed.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.