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Charles
E. Jones passed away in 1936, leaving the business to his eight children
and his brother William. In 1937, the company was reorganized and
incorporated. At this time, William sold his interest to the children of
Charles, and they became the sole owners and stockholders of Jones
Hardware Company.
Robert
E. Jones eventually assumed presidency of the corporation. While remaining
in the retail hardware business, the company grew into a large wholesale
hardware distributor with sales encompassing several surrounding counties.
Also at this time, a department selling major appliances was added to the
store. The active members of the of the Jones family who were involved in
the business were: Robert E. Jones, President; Charles E. Jones, Jr., Vice
President; Francis B. Jones, Secretary-Treasurer and Manager of the
Appliance Department, and William B. Jones, Director and Department
Manager. Other members of the family, while remaining stockholders, left
the business to pursue careers of their own.
The corporation grew strongly during the war years and those proceeding
it. During this period, Robert had two sons, Robert Jr. and Patrick. As
they grew up, both became active in the business when he became older. In
1964, after the untimely death of Francis B. Jones, his son Thomas assumed
duties as head of the Appliance Department and Secretary-Treasurer of the
corporation.
The corporation continued to grow during the period with employment rising
to about 40 people with three outside salesman to handle the wholesale
trade.
Also during this period of time, the corporation acquired additional
properties surrounding the main building. They were utilized for
warehousing and storage areas for increasing inventory. In 1968, Robert B.
Jones passed away following his two brothers Charles and Francis.
The corporation had gone into the hands of the third generation of the
Jones family. Thomas being elected President, Patrick, Vice President, and
Robert Jr. as Secretary-Treasurer. Other members of the second generation
of the family still remained in the business as stockholders and
directors. The three youngest members of the Jones family came in control
after acquiring a good working knowledge of the business, and all
graduated college with various business degrees. The corporation again
continued to show strong growth during this period with sales doubling
through the period of the sixties.
In 1972, after the untimely death of Patrick Jones, Robert Jones assumed
the office of Vice President along with that of Secretary. Realizing that
the wholesale hardware business was being taken over by the large
dealer-owned cooperatives, the management shifted their attention to the
retail side of the business. In this period, while watching the influx of
mass merchants and new shopping malls spring up around itself, the
management of Jones Hardware felt the need to expand the retail business
by moving into the outskirts of town. Seeing the exciting growth of the
do-it-yourself market during this period, the decision was made to open
the Shamokin areas first full-featured Home Center. In 1978, Jones
Hardware Company purchased the old Acme market building on Route 61 South
of Shamokin. The building was fully renovated and new lines of kitchens,
building materials, lumber and floor coverings, were added. The Company
continues to operate the 20,000 square foot Home Center along with its
retail store in downtown Shamokin.
In 1980, Robert F. Jones was elected President of the corporation and
continues today in that capacity. Present management and employees of
Jones Hardware Company have and will continue to follow the policy of its
founder to serve their customers by offering good quality merchandise at a
fair price.
Jones ACE Home Center is #1. In 1997 was a great year for Jones Hardware
Company. Jones ACE Home Center won the ACE President’s Cup, the most
prestigious award given by ACE Hardware.
In October of 1997, at the Los Angeles ACE show, Jones Home Center was voted
best Home Center in 1997. Bob Jones, owner and president, went to the show
knowing his store was 1 of 6 stores from 6,082 ACE stores worldwide to win
the ACE National Six Star Award for excellent customer service and high
retailing standards
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Out of the six stores that qualify, 3 are Home Centers and 3 are Hardware
Stores. So Bob Jones knew his store was at least the 3rd best
Home Center in the USA.
At the end of the ACE Hardware Show in October 1997, Jones Home Center was
voted the best of the best.
Bob
Jones said, “It was all the staff members at both stores that made this
possible. Everyone came together and everyone deserves to have this award.
It shows how hard our workers in Northumberland County really are! We
have been striving to get to this level for a long time, and now we
finally reached the level we are capable of operating at.
In
1999 Jones Hardware purchased its 3rd location in Herndon, PA. Jones
Hardware acquired the hardware store formally known as Meckley's Farm Supply.
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JOHN MADDEN & BOBBY JR |
