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Alberta’s Hotel near U.S. Highway Route 66 in Springfield offered Black travelers a reliable and welcoming place to stay during the Jim Crow era. Run by Alberta Northcutt Ellis and her family, the hotel provided comfort, home-cooked meals, and a sense of ease at a time when many African Americans had to plan every stop with care. Drawing on photographs, oral histories, family recollections, and entries from The Negro Motorist Green Book, this paper traces how Alberta transformed a former city hospital into a trusted stop along one of America’s most well-known highways. Join SHSMO historian Bridget Haney, PhD, and Kathleen Seale, coordinator of the SHSMO Rolla and Springfield Research Centers as we explore how everyday acts of care shaped the meaning of travel for Black Americans who were not always free to move without worry. Alberta’s work also connected her hotel to a wider network of local businesses and families who helped travelers move across Missouri with greater confidence.