THE MARK JONES FAMILY

There are quite a few Jones families in this area. My dad and mother are Art and Carmen Jones, who also were originally from here. When I was born Dad owned the Sinclair station on the northeast corner of the intersection of highways 69 and 34. I grew up there. We lived two blocks south of the station and while I was still little, I'd walk up there by myself. They would watch for me and escort me across the highway.

Dad has been a mechanic for many years. Stations such as he owned for all those years were called "service stations," and customers depended upon them for service which included mechanical work. He also had a wrecker service, and this was his role in the Army. I believe Dad was drafted in 1957, and Fort Hood comes to mind, but I am not sure where he trained. I know he also served as a mechanic the whole two years he was in, and that he was in Germany for over a year, so it would be fair to say Dad had 45 or 50 years of experience.

Dad was discharged in 1959, and that was when my parents adopted my brother, Kevin, 12 years before I was born. They were told they couldn't have children, but on November 17, 1971, I came along. Perhaps because Kevin was so much older, I grew up feeling like an only child, and my parents have been a big part of my life. Dad has always been my inspiration, and I paid attention to what he told me. In these later years he has had a heart attack and lung cancer as a result of his smoking since he was about 11 years old. He told me long ago that if I ever started smoking, he would kick my butt. Dad never talked this way, which made me pay more attention. I knew he meant it the way he said it, and it was enough to keep me from trying it.

At 37, if I had half of the work ethic Dad has at 74, I would be happy. Dad worked for Bud Wilder off and on for many years as a mechanic, welder, and in the wrecker service. He became known for this and when the Sheriff's office or State Troopers had need of a wrecker, they would call Dad at home rather than "going through channels."

Mom was a homemaker as I was growing up, but when I was in Junior High School, she started work as a cook at the High School. The kids loved her and often called her "Mom." She has also had her share of health problems. She has had a kidney removed because of cancer. She is diabetic and fibromyalgia. She doesn't get around well, but she gets by. She drives in town only. She also has given me a lot of love and strength. One thing she taught me is "always pay attention to what other people think of you and in that way you watch yourself a little bit better."

Another influential person in my life was my mom's only brother, Duane Silliman. His name was Clifford, but he always went by Duane. He lived in the state of Washington all my life. But earlier, long before I was around, he was Police Chief in Madrid, Iowa. He served in the United States Air Force, but at the time I knew him he did whatever work he could find. He lived in Des Moines for a short time before my Grandpa died. He worked security then, which he was doing when they built the Principal building. The last job he ever had was in a Washington Mutual Bank in Seattle. He was a "Barney Fife" type security guard. He knew all the bank tellers and flirted and joked with them.

We kept in contact all the time, especially after my aunt died in 1994. He called every other day or so. I can't really say what made him so influential to me but he was just special. I called him "Unk" ever since I was a little boy. His sense of humor just fit me, I guess. One of my best stories about him was that when he was in Seattle he went to a gun show every weekend. One vendor he knew made window stickers with little Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbs cartoons. The picture is just a little boy peeing — the stream of urine going over and splashing on whatever is there. It shows his attitude toward something he doesn't like. Unk had one on gun control. The vendor could make anything. Unk called and said, "You tell me what you want and I'll have him make one for you." I drive a Chevy pickup, so when I couldn't think of anything, I said to just put a Ford emblem on it.

Unk called back when he left the show and said he had bought me one, but I HAD to put it on my truck. I asked him what it was, but he wouldn't tell me. He had called and told Dad what it said, and Dad just hit the floor laughing. When I received it, it was Calvin peeing on "UNK". He told me I had to put it on my truck, so I did. Stephanie took my pickup to the store one time and the girl bringing out the groceries asked, "What does that mean?" Embarrassed, Stephanie claimed it was a family joke and didn't really know what it meant.

Other than a short time when I was 7 years old, I have always lived here. We lived in Bush, Arkansas, which was a little stop in the road about 10 miles north of Eureka Springs. Dad had gone there to help Junior and Maxine Luce start a mobile home park. We lived for six weeks without electricity or water hooked up to the house. Mom and Dad decided very quickly to move back home. We returned right back to the same house. Except for a couple weeks in Arkansas, I went all the way from kindergarten through high school at Clarke.

My best friend was always Troy Herndon. From about 5th grade we were inseparable. He was my brother. I would stay at his house one weekend and he stayed at mine the next. It was a terrible blow when we lost Troy at Christmas time in 2003, because of a pulmonary embolism.

Band was pretty much my only activity in school. I didn't really play sports. I played basketball in junior high — at least I held the bench down. It was then I decided that was enough of that and I'd just stick with band. It isn't surprising that of all my teachers, Ray Russell is the one I remember best. He was friendly and made kids comfortable around him He talked to us on a human level, not talking down to us like some teachers did. He could understand what kids were saying, and since band was my forte, I just rode on his heels. I always played drums — the percussion section. I was a percussionist. Another good friend of mine, Brian Dunn, was in band all through school also. He liked to sit behind the drum set and play rock music. I would stand behind the snare drum and do the xylophone and all that. He and I had a joke about it. He was a drummer and I was a percussionist, although we both did the same thing.

I have no idea what drew me to percussion. I just remember that instrument always excited me. When I was a kid, we occasionally went to Branson, and I always enjoyed watching the drummer. They put the drum set in the center, behind everybody, but he was always the center of the show. I thought it was neat that he could be in the background, not drawing a lot of attention to himself but he was still noticed. I loved watching the sticks fly, and it always interested me to know it was possible to make music out of hitting something. We still go to Branson for vacation and the performers in one of the shows we went to make musical instruments out of garbage cans, gas cans, anything they could beat on. It sounded so cool. It isn't possible to do that with a trumpet, for instance, but with percussion, almost anything can be a musical instrument.

I wanted to go on to college and be a band director, but as an 18-year old senior in high  school, I had all these other ideas. I wanted to go into law enforcement, so I started school at DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) for Criminal Justice. That didn't work out for me. I decided I didn't want to pursue it so I dropped out of college. I lived in Urbandale for a short time, and worked for NPI (Neighborhood Patrol Incorporated) as a security guard. My main job was in the medical offices at Methodist Hospital, which I guarded at night. Those were very slow, very long nights as I sat there doing nothing. When I was 20, I began working security at Valley West Mall, which I loved. During the three years I worked there, I learned a lot, particularly people skills, and found it was a good stepping stone for me.

On October 15, 1994, Stephanie McCarty and I were married. She was still in high school at Wayne Community in Corydon, Iowa when we met on February 16, 1991. I was working at the radio station, JC106.9 in Osceola. Stephanie lived in Allerton, and her best friend Dawn, called one day to make a request, and talked to one of the other DJ's, who was about my age. They struck up an acquaintance. They had exchanged pictures and eventually planned to meet. I looked at Stephanie's picture and said, "If you don't want to go out with her, have her call me." She called and was supposed to be setting me up with Dawn as a blind date. But we talked awhile and I said, "What if I ask you out instead?" That was the beginning and we have been married 15 years now.

Being married changed my perspective in several ways. We lived in Urbandale, and came to realize we didn't want to raise kids in Des Moines, so we moved back to Osceola. I worked for Plum Building Systems for about two years. Stephanie worked at G.A.B. Robins as a work comp/vocational rehab secretary and drove back_and forth to Des Moines for a year, until Richard Murphy hired her as his secretary. She worked there until she started doing daycare when our oldest son, Tanner was 10 months old. I worked for Plum until 1997, and was hired by the City of Osceola in September, working at the Wastewater Plant.

Stephanie is an awesome homemaker. She likes to keep organized. She does daycare so there are people in and out every day. For a long time she scrapbooked, but slowed down when we had our third child. She keeps all the pictures for the day when she will have more time. I admire how organized she is. She really works hard to keep things in order for our family. I don't know where I would be without her. She is very active with Scouts as a Committee member. She plans activities and outings for the Pack. Besides all that, she helps me behind the scenes. I certainly couldn't do what I do without her help. During the times I am gone with meetings, campouts or whatever I have taken on, she keeps life going at home. I know she really enjoys being a mother to our boys and she is excellent at what she does. I could never do what she does to keep our home in order.

Stephanie and I have three boys — Tanner, 12, Corbin, 8, and Logan, 4. Tanner is in 6th grade and is very interested in drums. I help him out at home. He is in his second year of band and is doing very well. He is also learning to play piano and enjoys baseball and basketball.

I can imagine that Tanner could go into science some day. My work at the Wastewater Plant is in the lab, and he likes to experiment. He is constantly finding books that tell how to do science experiments. He showed me recently how he could take an ordinary egg out of the carton, soak it in vinegar for two days, and the shell becomes soft and translucent. He is always coming up with things like that.

Corbin is in 3rd grade. There are exactly 3 1/2 years difference between him and Tanner. He was born on the 10th anniversary of the day Stephanie and I met. Corbin can melt anybody's heart and win them over with a smile. He can break your heart, too because he can cry at the drop of a hat. He loves to help outside with yard work and enjoys soccer and baseball. He's our charmer and my buddy. I try to do something individually with each one of the boys and he always makes it a special time whenever we are together.

Logan goes to Clarke pre-school and he is my baby. He looks just like his Mom and Grandpa McCarty. He is learning very well from his two older brothers. He's ornery. He gets away with whatever he can get away with. He is definitely a snuggler. He sits in my lap and tells Dad he loves him and promises me he is going to be a Scout when he gets bigger. He is another one who can win over anyone he wants to.

All of our boys enjoy guns and hunting scenarios. Corbin and Tanner are both into Scouts in a big way, so most of what we do has to do with that. We camp and get away as much s we can on weekends. We have a fold-down camper. My preference for camping is tent camping, but for the whole family to enjoy camping, we take the fold-down.

Over the years I have done a lot of volunteering. I was a Reserve Sheriffs Deputy for five years. When we had our second baby, I decided I would stay home on weekend nights. I have since decided to take on other volunteer stuff instead. I have helped with coaching the boys' sports but Scouting has become the most time consuming volunteer position. I was a Cub Scout as a boy. At the time, we didn't have Tiger Cubs, which they have now for first graders. I started Cub Scouts in second grade and went all the way through, earning the Arrow of Light which is the highest rank you can earn at a Cub Scout. I started in Boy Scouts, earned my Tenderfoot, which is the first real rank in Boy Scouting. My Tenderfoot badge isn't even sewn on, it's in the pocket of my old Scout shirt. I was only in Boy Scouts long enough that I earned two or three merit badges and went on a 15-mile hike, but my interests changed and I quit.

I started as a Cub Scout leader during Tanner's second year of Cub Scouts. The next year I was not only a Den Leader, I was also Assistant Cubmaster for 1 year, and am now going into my third year as the Cubmaster for Pack 101.. It is fun; I don't know why I get away with it, because I am just one of the kids.

I am sold on Scouting. I got into it for my kids, but I've gotten so much out of it. Two years ago in September, I started taking a Wood Badge course. That is the top training any Scout leader can take. It was given the name because when Lord Baden-Powell, founder of Boy Scouts, gave the first Wood Badge award, it was a little wooden bead from a necklace of a tribal chief he befriended. He gave each participant that completed the course one of these beads.

Part of the Course was to go to camp for two full weekends, go through training hands on, and then I had 18 months to fulfill five goals. After I got the goals completed and all this was approved, I earned my Wood Badge. I have a leather thong that has two of the wooden beads on it. I never wear my uniform without it. It is very important to me.

My five goals were: (1) to start a uniform scholarship fund and a uniform closet, because we have a lot of parents who simply cannot afford the $40 or $45 the uniforms cost and their boys don't get to join. Now we have money and some experienced uniforms set aside. (2) I made a parent handbook that refers to our path and I hand it out to all the new parents. At the time I was setting my goals, I had two boys who were Hispanic but when school started up again, we had none. Goal (3) was to encourage the Hispanic youth of our community to join Scouts. I did this by advertising in Spanish around the school, plus I had a sign-up table at the Latino Festival last year. (4) To form a Pack committee so I could have people sitting around the table helping plan so not everything was on my shoulders. I now have an active committee — I got that going right away. The Committee is generally made up of parents of boys that are in the Pack. (5) To have at least three BALOO-trained leaders (Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation). The purpose of having leaders for that is in order to have a Pack-wide campout.

A lot of Cub Scout rituals are based on the Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling. The boy, Mowgli, grows up in the jungle. He has a bear, whose name is Baloo. Akela, the pack's leader helped raise the boys. He was a wolf and he is over everybody in the whole pack. As the Cubmaster, I am Akela. The Den Leaders in smaller Den meetings are Akela. We also teach the boys that their teacher and parents act as Akela as well. They learn that "the Cub Scout follows Akela."

The values in Scouting are the same now as they were 100 years ago when it was founded by Robert Baden-Powell. In 2010, Scouting will have been around for a hundred years and it is still going very strong. The Eagle badge, which is the highest rank a Boy Scout can earn, and only 2% of boys earn it, is the final touch to the boys' learning to be leaders, well-rounded citizens of the United States, and that they will always be a positive influence to others.

As another aspect of volunteering, I am going into my fourth year of serving on the Clarke Community School Board as a member at-large. I have two years left on my tem". When I first started, I was asked to be appointed to fill a vacant seat. It was explained to me that the appointment would give me a year to decide whether or not I wanted to run for the seat. I found it to be a great experience, and after that year, I put my name on the ballot for the seat. I ran unopposed so I got a three year term, then the State changed the way they carried the terms, so my three years turned into a four-year term. My position on the Board will be up for election again in 2011. We'll see what happens in two years.

Ned Cox has been superintendent the entire time I have been on the board. Things have changed a lot in the school system in the last few years. Sometimes it is hard to roll with the changes and to agree with some of them. That is why I have my own seat, to give my own opinion. I'm really not an opinionated person, but I share my ideas at the table. I don't fight for any particular group. When someone comes to me with their opinion, I don't necessarily make it my opinion. Something I make it a point to do is speak my own mind of what I feel is right.

Last December, Stephanie and I took a trip — a 5-day Caribbean cruise. We flew to Fort Lauderdale, cruised one full day, then the next day we went to Georgetown, Grand Cayman. That visit was my favorite stop. The turquoise blue water and white sand was beautiful beyond words. The next day we arrived at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. That day was an experience in repelling pushy people. The locals are all over tourists to give tours, braid your hair, or just wanting a handout. We enjoyed the stop, in spite of the hassles. After that, we cruised one more whole day, and then on the last day, arrived back at Fort Lauderdale. It was an awesome experience that I would love to do again someday.

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Last Revised December 1, 2014