Callie and Jennie Jones Later Years

         After an illness that extended over several years, Jennie Lora (Travis) Jones died in their home early in the morning on Monday, January 17, 1944. It was only one week before her 55th birthday. She was buried at the Sumner Cemetery in Sumner, Illinois. 

        Just two months after her death, son Bill was drafted into World War II. Callie and Bill exchanged many letters during the war which Callie kept in a scrapbook along with newspaper clippings and other mementos. He gave this scrapbook to Bill upon his return from the war.

        Callie remained very close with his son, Bill, and was thrilled when his only grandchild, Jeffrey Alan Jones, was born on November 18, 1953.

        Following a four month long illness, William Calvin Jones Sr. passed away on June 30, 1958 at the age of 71. He was buried next to his wife, Jennie, at the Sumner Cemetery in Sumner, Illinois.

Callie and grandson Jeffrey, Christmas 1953

Callie Jones and the Bank Robbery of 1929

 

        Monday, June 17, 1929 at 10:45am two armed men (later identified as Hillary Litton, 35, of Terre Haute, Indiana and Thomas Herndon, 19, of Mt. Gary, Kentucky) stepped up to the teller window at First National Bank of Sumner and told the four employees that were present to: "Stick em up!!" One of the employees made a motion to draw a gun and Litton fired at him from close range. The bullet struck one of the half inch steel bars and glanced off. 

        The employees then complied with the order to hold up their hands and three of the employees were told to lie down on the floor while the last employee was ordered to bring the money from the vault. Hastily scooping the money into a large grain bag, the robbers left the building as quickly as they came. Once outside they joined their accomplice (later identified as Harley Cochran of Lawrenceville, Illinois) who was waiting in a Chevrolet that they had stolen the night before.

    

    Callie Jones was at the front of the Charles Saxton grocery store across the street and witnessed the bandits carrying out their loot. One of the bandits saw him and opened fire as they sped away. The shots went wild but three bullets entered the store. One of those bullets shattered a showcase and landed in a sack of sugar. Callie and the other two men who were in the store ran for cover behind boxes and
counters. 

        The bandits headed north to the edge of town where they left the stolen Chevrolet behind and switched to Cochran's Oakland sedan. They then fled to Indiana where they divided up the loot and went their separate ways. The robbers made away with $8,338 which would be worth almost $136,000 in todays dollars (January 2022). Litton and Herndon were captured in Terre Haute, Indiana the day after the robbery with their share of $5,000 still in their possession. The two plead guilty to the the robbery and were sentenced to one year to life in prison.

        The third man, Harley Cochran, who was the mastermind behind the robbery managed to evade arrest for five months. Following the robbery, he returned to Illinois where he abandoned his Oakland sedan that was used in another bank robbery in Danville. He then went to St. Louis by bus and from there he went to Salt Lake City where he purchased a Ford and drove to Texas where he remained until the beginning of November when he returned to Illinois. He had squandered all of the money and was planning to steal an automobile and drive south of Hammond, Indiana where he could get a job shucking corn.

        It was during this attempted carjacking on November 13, 1929 when he was captured and charged with assault, intent to rob, intent to rape, and intent to kill. While in jail for this crime, he admitted to his involvement in the Sumner bank robbery. He was sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison for his crimes. 

Lawrence County News - June 19, 1929

Sumner Press - June 20, 1929

Lawrence County News - June 26, 1929

Daily Record - November 14, 1929

Callie and Jennie Jones Early Years

        William Calvin Jones Sr. known to his friends as "Callie" was born and raised in Sumner, Illinois. He was an only child born December 17, 1886 to Adda (Davis) and Sherman Grant Jones. Draft cards described him as 5 foot 7 inches tall, 140 pounds, with a light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair.

        Jennie Lora Travis was born in Lukin, Illinois on January 24, 1889 to Amazetta (Sutherland) and William R. Travis. Jennie was the third of their eight children together and moved to Sumner, Illinois when she was about seven years old.

Sumner Press

Sumner Press Office in 1908 - Left to Right: Calvin "Callie" Jones, Carl Sanders, James Wagner (editor) and Ella Goodwin

        Callie completed three years of high school before going to work at the Sumner Press as a printer. In the above staff photo from 1908, he would have been 21 years old. At this time the Sumner Press office was located in the upstairs of the Telephone Building. We can only assume that this was where he met his wife, Jennie, who was working as a telephone operator in 1910.

Marriage

        Callie (24) and Jennie (22) were married quietly at the Olney parsonage of the Evangelical United Brethren Church on the evening of October 19, 1911. Performing the ceremony was their former pastor, Robert Griffin. Edwin Thiele acted as the best man and Jennie's younger sister May was her bridesmaid. After the wedding, they immediately returned to their new home in Sumner which Callie had prepared for them.

Lora Alberta Jones

        After about two and a half years of marriage, Callie and Jennie had their first child. Their daughter, Lora Alberta Jones was born on June 14, 1914. On April 17, 1915 Jennie and the baby went to visit Jennie's sister Mae who was ill. Mae passed away four days later on April 21st. 

        This visit was likely where baby Lora caught the illness that would take her life. On April 23rd, six days after their visit with Mae, Jennie called for Dr. Hockman to see the baby. Things progressed quickly and they took her to see Dr. Green a few days later on April 28th. Dr. Green came to see her again in their home the next day and this was when he told them that things were bad. The day after that, Dr. Tompson of Bridgeport came to see the child. He and Dr. Green consulted with each other on May 1st as the baby continued to get worse but unfortunately there was nothing that they could do.

        Lora Aberta passed away on May 8, 1915 at the age of 10 months and 24 days following a terrible two weeks of whooping cough. They held a funeral service for her in their home on Monday, May 10th at 10am with Reverend B.N. Sypolt. A quartet sang hymns and the infant was buried at Sumner Cemetery.

William Calvin Jones Jr. 

Two years after the death of their daughter, Callie (30) and Jennie (28) had their second child, William "Bill" Calvin Jones Jr. on May 21, 1917. At this time Callie had left the Sumner Press and was working as a grocery merchant. This was the occupation that he would maintain for the rest of his working years. For awhile he clerked at a grocery store that belonged to his brother-in-law. He was then the manager of the Kroger Store during its location in Sumner, and later he owned and operated a store in Sumner. Little did he know, his son Bill would follow in his footsteps and open a store of his own in Sumner. 

Bill and Leota Later Years

 

        Bill and Leota were blessed with two grandchildren from their only son, Jeff. They welcomed their grandson, Shelby Ryan Jones, on September 7, 1975 and their granddaughter, Jenny Lynn Jones, on September 23, 1979. They loved spending time with their grandchildren and the kids would often visit their home after school.

        Shelby has many fond memories involving his grandparents. He considered Bill to be his best friend would walk to Jones Sundries after school to visit him. They would sometimes go to the grocery store to get a large box of oranges and use an old juice press to make fresh orange juice. When he was sick, Shelby would request to stay with Leota who would make him grilled cheese. This is still his favorite meal request when he isn't feeling well.

        Bill died suddenly in their home from a heart attack. It was about 4am on August 12, 1985 when he was 68 years old. Nine years later, Leota lost her battle with cancer and passed away on October 3, 1994 at the age of 74. They were buried next to each other at the Sumner City Cemetery in Sumner, Illinois.

Bill & Leota's Bird Paradise

Standard and white peacocks at their aviary.

   In the late 1950s, Bill and Leota began turning their property into the home of their dreams and it all started with birds. They both always loved birds and began raising pigeons and peacocks as a hobby. Bill was very creative, building the cages and most of the things needed to keep the birds. Before they knew it, they had their own homemade aviary. At one point they had 20 to 30 peacocks running around.

        Throughout the years they had pheasants, white peacocks, standard peacocks, swans, black swans, fan-tailed pigeons, and feather-toed pigeons. Their aviary became so well-known that every year, the grade schools would take a field trip to visit the birds. They would also receive visitors from the nursing home.

        Bill had what Leota called a "knack for creating". Using scrap wrought iron caging from the old Sumner Post Office, he built a beautiful glider swing. He even dug a 2-acre man made pond with a bridge leading to an island. They stocked the pond with bass, bluegill and crappie so that Bill and Jeff could go fishing any time.

        Flower beds, a wishing well, and a cabin next to the pond completed the wonderland. Bill made the screened-in cabin out of old railroad ties. It featured a wagon wheel chandelier and even a fireplace where they would host gatherings and make popcorn. 

Article about their home published in the Daily Record - November 7, 1985

Jones Sundries

Jones Sundries original location: 108 S. Christy, Sumner IL

        Bill Jones worked in various places of business in Sumner, IL including the Winter's Sundry Store for 7 1/2 years and for Joe Weiss Cleaning establishment for eight years. Leota was employed at Stouts Implement Store for a time.

        In 1953, when they were expecting their first child, Bill and Leota decided to go into business for themselves. They purchased the Winter's business located at 108 S. Christy and renamed it Jones Sundries.

Centennial Celebration

        In honor of Sumner's 100th anniversary, the town held a Centennial Celebration on July 2-5, 1954. As shopkeepers in town, Bill and Leota were required to wear period costumes during the event or face a fine. The men stopped shaving in February to ensure they had full beards in time for the celebration. Men who preferred to shave had to purchase a "shaving license" for $5.

New Location

Bill at the grand opening with one of the La Fendrich Cigars.
The wagon from Lancaster Hardware can be seen in the left corner holding flowers.

        Jones Sundries successfully operated out of their original storefront for seven years before upgrading to a new location across the street at 203 S. Christy in 1960. The new store was quite a big deal for the time. An article in the Sumner Press about the move said the building "lacks for nothing in modernity. With its new recessed plate glass front, beautiful marquee, tile floor, lowered ceiling and colorful decorations, it is a credit to any community. The building is entirely cooled and heated with natural gas." According to a representative from the local Illinois Gas Company, "Jones Sundries is the first building in Sumner to make use of this newest equipment available which air conditions in the summer and heats in the winter from one unit."

            In the storefront window of the new building was a wagon load of flowers. This wagon was part of the early days in Sumner. It was stored in the Lancaster Hardware store room and was used in the early days to make delivery of heavy purchases.

            Bill and Leota hosted a Grand Opening for the new location on Friday and Saturday, April 29-30, 1960 that included free gifts for each person visiting the store. Women received a potted plant, Men a La Fendrich Cigar, and for the Children, ice cream and candy treats. Each visitor was also entered to win one of the multiple door prizes in a drawing held on Saturday night of the celebration. The event was a huge success with over 1,400 visitors. 

Retirement

        The store and its owners continued to be a big part of the community until they retired and closed the store in the 1980s after thirty years in business. Years later, Jones Sundries customers still remember the store fondly, especially those who went to the store as children to buy "penny candy". 

Bill Jones and Leota McCleary

Love and Marriage

        About five years after returning home from the war, Bill found the love of his life. Leota Fern McCleary was born in the small farming community of Noble, Illinois on January 24, 1920. Her parents were Bertha Melinda (Bourne) and James Garfield McCleary. Leota was the fourth of their five children. After finishing high school she went to work as a stenographer. 

        Bill (34) proposed to Leota (31) by sucking on a LifeSaver until it was the size of a wedding ring. They married at 2pm on Saturday, June 16, 1951 in their home at 209 W. Sycamore St. in Sumner, Illinois. Reverend James McCoy, pastor of the Evangelical United Brethren Church of Sumner performed the ceremony that was attended by their immediate families. 

        The wedding party was Leota's younger brother Jim and his wife, June. After the wedding and reception, they departed for a 10-day honeymoon in the Ozarks.

Children

        Almost two and a half years after their wedding, Bill (36) and Leota (33) became the proud parents of Jeffrey Alan Jones. He was born at 10:28pm on Wednesday, November 18, 1953 at the Lawrence County Memorial Hospital in Lawrenceville, Illinois. Jeffrey weighed in at eight pounds and was the first, and only, child in the family.