Recollections of the early days of The Mill in Lincoln

Geoff Ladd in 2007 conducted this interview of Robert and Norma McAfee. Robert and his sister, Pauline, were greeters when The Mill (known then as The Blue Mill) opened July 25, 1929, along Route 66 in Lincoln, Illinois.

The audio is hissy, so you probably will have to turn up the volume on your smartphone or computer to hear it clearly. It also contains a closed-captions option.

Ladd recently digitized the interview and uploaded it as a 12-minute video with a variety of vintage ads and images from The Mill.

https://youtu.be/pH0cDIMstko

The Mill reopened as a local museum in 2017 after being closed for 21 years and near-demolition of the site.

The Mill is a member business of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame.

(Screen-capture image from video of The Mill in Lincoln, Illinois, when it still was open as a restaurant)

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