Coffee With Jim

Wake Up With Jim, December 16, 2021

Route 66. The Main Street of America. Long ago the old double 6 morphed into something more than a mere highway. It has a dedicated international fan club. It is the stage used for the introduction of an array of products from electric Harley Davidson motorcycles to insurance in Australian. 
How did this happen? How did this highway come to symbolize the quintessential American road trip? Will the highways popularity continue into its centennial and beyond? 
Join author Jim Hinckley for a fun filled, fast paced look at the most famous highway in America.
Today's program is sponsored in part by the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and the iconic Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri. 

Wake Up With Jim, December 15, 2021

On this mornings episode America's storyteller shares the tale of an Arizona pioneer, and a territorial era hotel that still stands in spite of a bitter breakup of partners, changing times, and premature attempts to use it for the launching of an historic district renaissance. 
And there is a diverse celebrity connection to the story. Edsel Ford. Clark Gable and Carol Lombard. Senator Barry Goldwater. 
Also on this mornings program, updates on the innovative program that is bringing Kingman's rich and colorful history to life. 
Today's program is sponsored in part by RouteTrip USA, your one stop shop for a memorable road trip holiday in the USA or Canada. It is also sponsored by the magic of crowdfunding on the Patreon platform. 

Wake Up With Jim, December 14, 2021

Budville a few miles west of Laguna, New Mexico was never much more than a wide spot in the road. There was a garage and service station, store, and across the highway a roadhouse, the Dixie Tavern & Cafe. 
But on two separate occasions Budville made national headlines. Once in 1967 when the owner H.N. "Bud" Rice was murdered. And also in early 1956 with the discovery of Ralph Rainey's body along Route 66 just west of Budville, and the linking of his death to a string of murders along Route 66.
On this mornings episode of Wake Up With Jim, author Jim Hinckley, America's storyteller, shares another dark tale from his book, Murder & Mayhem on The Main Street of America: Tales From Bloody 66. 
Today's program is sponsored in part by magical, surprising, delightful, memory making Tucumcari, New Mexico. It is also sponsored by the one and only Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari where the past and present blend seamlessly. And these programs are also made possible through the magic of crowdfunding.

Wake Up With Jim, December 13, 2021

It was never more than a remote desert railroad siding in northwestern Arizona. Today few even remember that it existed. Only a few concrete slabs, scattered trash piles and a scattering of graves marked with weathered wooden cross or rocks mark the site. 
It is a haunting place. And it is the site of not one, but two epic disasters. In November of 1901 two trains collided head on just west of Franconia, Arizona. The Santa Fe railroad said it was the most horrendous disaster in the company's history. And then in 1945, an express train collided with a passenger train at the siding. 
On this mornings program America's storyteller author Jim Hinckley shares the story of these disasters, and of the remote desert outpost that was Franconia. 
This program is sponsored in part by RouteTrip USA the road trip holiday professionals. 

Wake Up With Jim, December 10, 2021

It's Friday and that means it is time to dig into the mail bag (or email) and answer your questions about Route 66, road trips, enchiladas, festivals, … Where is the best Mexican food on Route 66? Most interesting auto museum? What is the best Route 66 festival? 
The answer to these questions on this mornings episode of Wake Up With Jim. Today's program is sponsored in part by the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and the road trip specialists at RouteTrip USA. 

Wake Up With Jim, December 9, 2021

On this mornings program we take a Route 66 trip with Jack Rittenhouse. Did I forget to mention that our odyssey takes place in 1946? 
Rittenhouse's A Guide Book to Highway 66 didn't sell as well as expected when it was first published. But the rerelease in 1988 hit at the dawning of the Route 66 renaissance. And so for legions of Route 66enthusiasts it has become a popular guide to the old highway. But it is also a time capsule. 
Join author Jim Hinckley as he pulls back the curtain, and transports the traveler to 1946. 
Today's program is sponsored in part by RouteTrip USA, your one stop shop for a grand road trip adventure in the USA or Canada, the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico, where the line between past and present is delightfully blurred, and through the magic of crowdfunding. 

Wake Up With Jim, December 8, 2021

Welcome to Needles - Arizona. This morning America's storyteller shares the odd stories of two frontier era communities named Needles, both with a Route 66 connection. Remember, it is better to fill the head with useless knowledge than no knowledge at all!
On this program we roll western history, railroad history, Route 66 trivia, and an invitation into one package. As the song by The Road Crew says, come along for the ride.
Todays program is sponsored in part by RouteTrip USA , road trip specialists for a holiday in the US or Canada, magical and fascinating Tucumcari, New Mexico, and through the magic of crowdfunding. 

Wake Up With Jim, December 7, 2021

Published in the fall of 1907 was a particularly comedic story about the deplorable state of the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Arizona. “Because all the prisoners in the Mohave County Jail, grown tired of the sameness of the menu, and their surroundings, walked away a short time ago. All of the fugitives face additional charges for the jail break. None of the escapees have yet been caught.”
On this mornings program we step back to the territorial era in Arizona, and share the story of a fascinating historic landmark. It is a tale of jail breaks, a hanging, and a look into life in the last years of the western frontier. 
This program is sponsored in part by magical, delightful, fascinating Tucumcari, New Mexico, the holiday road trip specialists at RouteTrip USA, and through the magic of crowdfunding.