John Allen Cassady, Estelle and Jerry Cimino, and Cathy Cassady
On Sunday, January 27th, friends and family of the late Al Hinkle gathered in San Jose, California to remember “The Last Man Standing.” Al’s claim to fame in the world of the Beat Generation was his inspiration for the character “Big Ed Dunkel” in Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel On the Road, but to family and others who knew him, he was much more than the 22-year-old ghostly visage that rose from the pages of Kerouac’s seminal work. Al was a family man who retired after 40 years on the Southern Pacific Railroad; he was the loyal, steadfast friend who not only gave Neal Cassady $100 cash out of pocket for the necessary down payment to buy the legendary ’49 Hudson; but also—according to John Allen Cassady, who knew Al as a “second father” his entire life—Al purchased the note on the Cassady family home, securing Neal’s wife and children a place to live while Neal was in San Quentin State Prison.
A few of the speakers at Al’s memorial:
Video courtesy of Tate Swindell
Dawn Davis
Daughter of Al Hinkle
Jerry Cimino
Reading a poem written by Brian Hassett in honor of Al
