Jim Hinckley’s Blog
Times Change
Counted among the many lessons that can be learned from history is that times change. Life on Route 66 in 1930 was different from life on Route 66 in 1950. And life on Route 66 in 2022 is dramatically different from life on that storied highway in 1950, 1970 or even...
Tales Of Inspiration & Independent Thinking
An accident as a child left Charles blind, yet he became a prolific inventor best remembered as the creator of cruise control. At age four Mary's family moved deep into the north woods of Minnesota and built a log cabin by hand. She was a musical prodigy that wrote...
A New Era on Route 66
If a community is to become a destination for people looking for a place to raise a family, to retire, and to open a business it must be first transformed into a destination for travelers and tourists. That transformation includes appealing streetscapes, a diverse...
Changing The World, One Partnership At A Time
When Beth and Paul of Kingman Main Street first approached me, I was taking sunrise photos for a project at the desert oasis of Beale Springs near Kingman, Arizona. They had an idea for a project that would enhance tourism, and that would transform the community...
Milestones
In my humble opinion birthdays are like mileposts. For a brief moment in time they give you pause with reflection on the miles traveled, and then they are in the rear view mirror. In that moment of reflection you give thought to the people met along the way, friends,...
Adventures With The Beast
It seemed like a good idea at the time. And on occasion it still does. But that depends on the frustration level as I make a valiant attempt to install a stem to turn wiring harness and upgrade the '51 Chevy, AKA The Beast, with turn signals, twelve volt gauges, and...
From Arizona to Germany on Route 66
My pa was full of million dollar quips that he wove into a rich and colorful tapestry that illustrated how to live life with a proper perspective. But Brad, a weathered old cowhand that I worked with on the Sierra Mesa spread along the Mimbres River in New Mexico, was...
Good Times, Good Friends & Route 66
After a two year hiatus courtesy COVID 19, the annual Route 66 Fun once again transformed almost 150 scenic miles of Route 66 in western Arizona into a lving time capsule. The Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona, the hosting organization, hasn't provided a tally...
Blurring The Line
History has an interesting way of using the past to reflect the future. I was deep into a research project about the Great Depression, the implosion of the American auto industry and an era of dramatic societal as well as technological transition when I stumbled on a...
Well, That Didn’t Work
As late as March of this year it still seemed feasible. The Beast would not be finished but it would be drivable (safely and with dependability) by the first of May in time for the Route 66 Fun Run. It just needed a wiring harness, new gauges, and installation of a...
