This is the third in a series about Andrews resident Dana Jones.
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About two years after Dana Jones opened a steak house in the shopping center, he got his real estate license. He went to work for Ralph Crisp Realty, then later for Cherokee Land Company. Over a course of several years, Dana married again and had two more children, Suzanne and Thomas.
Dana and Tommy Nichols bought a Coldwell Banker franchise and set up selling real estate on U.S. 64. I had gone to work for Ralph Crisp Realty, which was located across from the steak house, where the Murphy Walgreens is located today. My sister Peggy Yon, Audrey Bentley, Jean Twiggs and I had received our real estate license and went to work in Ralph’s office.
Dana was all about helping people, and he told us if we ever needed help to just call him. Well, just because you have a real estate license does not mean that you know all the ropes about selling property, and we knew nothing.
We had a few listings, but if my client wanted something different, I would call Dana, and he would pick us up and drive around to see property.
I learned a lot listening to Dana talk to the clients as we rode around because he could always answer their questions. One day, he stopped by the office and we told him what Jean Twiggs’ father, Frank Crow, had told Jean and me. Frank was sitting in a chair near Jean’s desk, and I was standing by the window and he said, “Neither one of you will be worth a damn selling real estate, you are too honest.”
Of course, that cracked Dana up, and he agreed.
After Dana’s divorce, he sold out to his partner, Tommy Nichols, so he could take care of his children. He had to find a business that would allow him to work in his home, since his children’s ages were 7 and 2.
That’s why he opened an appraisal service, and through the years expanded into five offices in western North Carolina. Dana said the thing that disappointed him the most was people having kids and not taking care of them.
Through the years, and at the time of this interview, Dana served as president of the Board of Realtors, Board of Trustees for Four Square, Chairman of the Board at Tri-County College, treasurer of the PTA, treasurer of the Band Boosters for three years, coached Little League for four years, coached youth basketball and was president of the basketball league.
He served as chairman of the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, as well as serving as a county commissioner for many years. His dedication to education and prosperity in this county was without question, because his determination for a better future for the residents was the cornerstone of his political agenda.
The family of Dana Jones is rooted deep in the fertile soil of the Andrews Valley. He was an example of the “American Dream,” and the embodiment of personal perseverance. His steadfast love for this county and his hometown of Andrews could not be shaken by hardships. From the training fields of San Antonio,
Texas, to the Philippine Islands, his service to the United States of America has been faithfully marked, even upon the pages of the turbulent history of Vietnam.
Dana’s life was like the road to Jericho, it was a journey to find himself in a world of temptation, and a pilgrimage back to where he wanted to be, where he knew he should be.
Booker T. Washington once said, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
Dana Jones overcame many obstacles in his life and was a better man because of them. But for those who knew him best, his greatest success was for being a devoted father to his children and a loving husband to his wife, Laurie.
Kandy Barnard is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. To talk about the Andrews Valley, call her at 828-361-3268 or email kandybarnard@gmail.com.