| La herencia de la línea de Transporte Jones Truck
Line es una herencia de servicio y de caridad que continua
tocando nuestras vidas. Calidad de servicio. Calidad de
vida. El apellido Jones es sinónimo de ambos. Comportadiendo
el éxito de una de las mas grandes y exitosas compañías
de transporte del país en la historia recente,
la generosa herencia de Bernice y Harvey Jones de dar
y comprometerse con la comunidad del noroeste de Arkansas
continúa hoy tocando vidas.
Construído de las instalaciones de la antigua
terminal de la línea de transporte Jones Truck
después de su clausura y la visión de
Bernice Jones, para un lugar especial de aprendizaje,
juegos, y camaradería fue como nació el
Jones Center for Families. Más que los ladrillos
y el acero que encierran sus 220,000 pies cuadrados
de área, el Jones Center, instalaciones sin costo
alguno, es un destino para el enriquecimiento de la
vida, y un lugar donde Bernice Jones proclamó
que "Todos son bienvenidos."
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Historia de la herencia Jones |
| 1918 |
 It
was in 1918 that an 18 year old Harvey Jones hitched
up a team of mules and a Springfield wagon and lumbered
into Springdale to launch what was one of the largest
individually owned truck lines in
the nation before incorporation. He traveled from
Springdale to Rogers and Fayetteville with his team
of mules and wagon, hauling groceries and hardware.
It was approximately a 13-hour round trip between
Springdale and Rogers. His parents were hard working
farmers so he knew all about the task of hard work.
Being poor didn’t hamper his ambitions in
bettering himself in the business world. Businesses
quickly learned they could order goods one day and
Harvey would deliver them the next. |
|
| 1919 |
The profits from his wagon and team,
which he sold in 1919, helped him finance his first
truck; a hard-rubber-tired Federal. |
|
| 1920 |
 The
M&NA Railroad went on strike and Harvey saw
the opportunity of a new business venture. He started
hauling freight between Seligman, Missouri and Eureka
Springs, Arkansas. He kept his mule blankets to
nurse along the cold-running engine. |
|
1922
-
1928 |
Harvey Jones added more trucks and
named his freight service: the Jones Transportation
Company. In addition to the freight service, he
was hauling strawberries, grapes and apples to Wichita,
Topeka, Kansas City and Oklahoma City. |
|
| 1930 |
At times, the young company couldn't
make payroll, but everyone stuck it out. Because,
just as Harvey Jones stood behind his customers,
Jones employees stood behind the company. |
|
| 1932 |
 The
service area was growing. Things were looking up
for Jones Truck Lines. A new terminal was built
in Springdale, Arkansas on Emma Avenue. |
|
| 1933 |
 The
name was changed to Jones Truck Lines. Terminals
were established in Fort Smith, Springfield and
Joplin. Planned progress, a method of meticulous,
strategic expansion, designed to provide regional |
|
| 1934 |
 With
better times at hand, Harvey Jones, ever appreciative
of his employees’ confidence and diligence,
began doing what he could to repay them. This included
loans to buy homes. For some, it meant small loans
to make it to payday. |
|
| 1936 |
Jones Truck Lines bought 12 new International
trucks. These trucks had the latest hydraulic brakes.
This brought the number of units to 30. The trailers
were fitted with a custom designed mattress and
springs in the top front to enable the drivers to
have a place to rest.
The main business at the time was transporting meat
from Swift & Company in Kansas City to Little
Rock, Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, El Dorado and Oklahoma
City. The company would load 3 to 15 trailers a
day from Swift & Company. |
|
| 1938 |
 Jones
Truck Lines became known as the company with the
nicest, cleanest, best-equipped and best-maintained
trucks in the business. The best drivers around
wanted to drive Jones trucks. Terminals were added
in Kansas City, Little Rock and Tulsa. |
|
| 1941 |
 Routes
were opened into St. Louis and Memphis. Business
slowed down during wartimeas there were not as many
consumer goods, which Jones normally hauled. Company
resources were dedicated to delivering supplies
to help the country’s war effort. |
|
1941
-
1947 |
Trucks, trailers, tires, parts, fuel
and help were scarce and hard to find. Jones’
employees made some parts in the machine shop, and
enlisted the help of day laborers to get the job
done. |
|
| 1948 |
Jones Truck Lines acquired Breeding
Motor Freight Line. This put Jones Truck Lines into
Oklahoma City, Muskogee, Henryetta and Okmulgee.
Jones Truck Lines was the largest privately owned
carrier in the country. |
|
| 1950 |
 Hauling
goods free of charge
to disaster areas
The perishable part of the operation was named
the Eski-Motive division. |
|
| 1951 |
The Federal government regulated routes
throughout the United States. In 1951 Jones Truck
Lines was able to purchase two routes; one from
Keystone Freight Lines from Tulsa to Dallas that
included McAlester and Durant, and an Oklahoma route
into Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas. |
|
| 1954 |
Jones Truck Lines rolled a total of
9 million miles. |
|
| 1956 |
Jones Truck Lines purchased the Dallas
- Fort Worth Express. |
|
| 1957 |
 Jones
Truck Lines purchased routes to Wichita, Kansas
from Yellow Transit. The new corporate office was
built on Emma Avenue in Springdale, Arkansas. |
|
| 1959 |
The old and the new in a parade. |
|
| 1960 |
Jones Truck Lines bought Capitol truck
Line. This opened service into the Mississippi Delta
area, to Greenville, Greenwood, Clarksville, Indianapolis,
Leeland and Cleveland, Mississippi. Jones Truck
Lines employed over 700 people at this time. The
goal was to be the best, if not the biggest, truck
line in the country. The Jones Truck Shop was built
to service the trucks. It was a 24-hour a day operation
for all types of maintenance. The purchase of Mound
City Forwarding Company gave Jones Truck Lines service
to Chicago. By buying Clifford Transportation Company,
Jones Truck Lines gained access to the "boot-heel"
of Missouri. |
|
| 1962 |
Jones Truck Lines was given authority
to operate from Dallas, Texas to Greenville, Mississippi. |
|
| 1963 |
Jones Truck Lines had 21 terminals
in 8 states. |
|
| 1964 |
 Trucks
line up to unload Civil Defense supplies into Zero
Mountain Storage as part of the Northwest Arkansas
Cold War effort. Commodities were stockpiled at
Zero Mountain at Johnson, Arkansas which was designated
a shelter. |
|
| 1965 |
 Jones
Truck Lines Shop employees. |
|
| 1968 |
Jones Truck Lines celebrated its 50th
Anniversary. There were 15 terminals, 420 city trucks
200 road tractors, 590 trailers, and travel exceeded
50,000 miles per day. Jones employees numbered over
1,000. The company used one million freight bills
in a month. The tractors consumed 180,000 gallons
of diesel and 22,000 gallons of gasoline. |
|
| 1970 |
 A
100-door freight terminal was built in Springdale,
Arkansas.
A service lane and automatic truck wash was built. |
|
| 1972 |
Routes were purchased to Omaha and
Lincoln, Nebraska. |
|
| 1973 |
Jones Truck Lines purchased routes
to Denver, Colorado. |
|
| 1975 |
Jones Truck Lines purchased routes
to Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. |
|
| 1978 |
 Jones
Truck Lines had 40 terminals in 14 states. |
|
| 1979 |
Jones Truck Lines had 2300 employees
and did $80 million worth of business. They had
3200 pieces of equipment and installed about 300
new tires a month. |
|
| 1980 |
 Harvey
Jones sold the Jones Truck Lines, Inc. to Sun Company. |
|
| 1995 |
On October 29, 1995, the first phase
of the Jones Center for Families opened to the public.
This event honored Bernice Young Jones on her 90th
birthday. The Jones Center for Families is located
in the former Jones Truck Lines Building. It has
220,000 square feet and houses educational, recreational
and community events.
 |
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