Coffee With Jim

Mid century style, retro road trips, and the importance of websites in historic preservation and small business marketing were just a few of the subjects discussed in today's  wide ranging, occasionally smile inducing conversation with Mary-Frances O’Dea. Lustron homes (quirky prefabricated post WWII houses made of steel with porcelain enameled finish), time capsule motels, road trips, neon signs, muffler men, Schitt’s Creek, and t...

Our guest on today's episode is Dal Smilie, Tin Can Tourists ambassador at large and co host of Tin Can Tourist Route 66 Centennial Caravan. We talked about the history of Tin Can Tourists, Curtis Wright and Airstream trailers, the Route 66 centennial, Studebaker trucks and the history of Studebaker in this wide ranging, road trip inspiring, smile inducing conversation.

Tin Can Tourists The Original Vintage Trailer and Camper Club ...

Needles, California Mayor Janet Jernigan joined us this morning to discuss community revitalization, the Route 66 centennial, cultural and heritage tourism, and the importance of building cooperative partnerships. We also discussed the upcoming Route 66 Info Fair scheduled for Saturday, February 14, 2026. 

With presentations, authors, a car show, live music, El Garces tours and other programs, this event is an excellent opportunity...

On today's program it's a wide ranging conversation with Laura Misajet, Director of Museum Operations & Public Outreach at Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association in Goffs, California. The link between a 19th century camel caravan and Route 66. Edsel Ford's epic odyssey in the summer of 1915. The story of a pre Columbian trade route from the coast of California to New Mexico. A Harvest Host camp ground, an opportunity a...

It's fittingly promoted as a dessert museum, an interesting blend of old fashioned ice parlor and local hangout, and a huge collection of Superman memorabilia. But this is not the only thing that makes Supertam On 66 in Carterville, Missouri popular with locals, and a destination for the Route 66 enthusiast.

There is also the infectious enthusiasm of owners Chris and Andrea Briley, and their passion for providing the folks in Carte...

Cyrus Stevens Avery is known today as the Father of Route 66. But he was more, much more. Visionary highway commissioner, businessman, pioneering rangleand conservationist, and innovator. The legacy of the U.S. Highway 66 Association, a manifestation of Avery's genius and ability to build a network of cooperative partnerships,  lives on as the Route 66 renaissance.

On today's episode we visit with Joey Madia that is bringing the Cy...

Lots of inspiration and thought provoking discussion in today's conversation. Our guest taught art at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. And he spent ten years as an Emmy winning television graphics producer in New York City. That diversity is refelected in sculptor Donald Gialanella's  work.

He is an artist with unique vision, and a passion for using public art as a catalyst for community development. His ability to transform a...

The annual Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference is about the business and preservation of Route 66. It is a one of a kind networking opportunity, and a lot of fun with friends and friends yet made. It is also a tangible link to the annual US Highway 66 Association conventions of the 1930s that played a pivotal role in the transformation of Route 66 from highway to icon. 

On today's program we talked with Cheryl Eichar Jett and ...

Today in the virtual diner that is Coffee With Jim we had a lively conversation about time machines, the illusion of time travel, Edsel Ford, the allure of the lowly Model A Ford, and the magic that is a road trip on Route 66 with Jackie Dunn of the Tulsa Model A Ford Club. And we talked about getting a younger generation hooked on the Model A and the great American road trip. 

Next week on Coffee With Jim, we will be visiting with...

Muffler men. The surprising history of miniature golf and it's connection to Rock City. A giant roadside duck. Politically incorrect roadside architecture. A motel drive in theater combination. South of The Border. A house shaped like a shoe with an ice cream parlor in the sole. 

On this special episode of Coffee With Jim, the weekly podcast from Jim Hinckley's America, author and humorist Jim Hinckley shares the story of iconic an...

Acclaimed documentary film producer John Paget, our guest on this episode, launched his career on Route 66 in 1994. That was the year he took to the road with with his camera and his 1969 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible. That was the first of several adventures on legendary Route 66 that were captured in Route 66: An American Odyssey and Route 66: Return to the Road with Martin Milner. Fittingly he has returned to the iconic hi...

You are assured a conversation filled with a healthy dose of inspiration as well as exciting news about Route 66 and the Route 66 centennial, grants, community development, and the great American road trip when Rhys Martin stops by for a visit. Rhys is the president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, manager of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Preserve Route 66 Initiative that is offering grants to Route 66 business ...

Take one high school built in 1929. Transform it into a 30,000 square foot antique shopping mall. Add the ambition and imagination of Tonia and Wayne Pickerill. The result is one of the quirkiest family fun stops on Route 66, The Pink Elephant Antique Mall in Livingston Illinois. An ecclectic collection of historic fiberglass giants, the Mother Road Fudge Factory and Candy Shop and The Twistee Treats Diner provide a glimpse at what...

Navajo code talkers. Route 66 as the quintessential American road trip. Small town America and big cities. The international fascination with Route 66, that highways future, and the endangered small business.

Our conversation with Jonathan Bullington, a Chicago Tribune senior reporter, on this episode of Coffee With Jim, the weekly podcast from Jim Hinckley's America, provides a different perspective on the Route 66 experience. Bul...

Except for the savvy Route 66 (or Jefferson Highway) traveler, Joplin, Missouri may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of destination cities. But as we learned in this conversation with Patrick Tuttle, director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, that is about to change. Just check out the Visit Joplin tourism website and discover why this charming old mining town is perfect for a memory making weeke...

Public art does more than add a splash of color. It is a catalyst for building a sense of community. And as acclaimed Missouri based mural artist Ray Harvey of Ray Harvey Art noted during this mornings conversation, it can also be used to transform a community into a destination. Harvey detailed the transformation of Concordia into the official Patriotic Mural City of Missouri as an example. 

There is always a healthy dose of inspi...

This morning we served up a double dose of inspiration and a healthy heapin' of thought provoking ideas provided by our guest Anthony Arno of the Route 66 podcast and innovative Route 66 scholarship initiative. Today's program was a deep dive into the changing nature of education, projects that instill a passion for learning, and ideas on how to share the American story by getting students excitied about road trips and Route 66. 

T...

Jenn Tramaglino has come full circle. And she has had her share of adventures from Amsterdam to Las Vegas and Burning Man. Now she has returned to her roots in Kingman, Arizona. And with Kingman Rental Bikes she is adding her infectious enthusiasm to the renaissance that is transforming the historic heart of this desert crossroads on Route 66.

In our wide ranging conversation we talked about the long and winding road that led Jenn ...