Jerry Jones

“Uh, this is Jerry Jones here at the Gazette,” how many times I’ve heard that over the years. Jerry Jones wanted his stories to be accurate and thorough. Many times, as did others, I got a call from Jerry, wanting to verify and add to information he’d gotten in an obituary. Or he wanted to supplement news of an area alumni who had achieved something great beyond Colfax or Whitman County.

What will I do without Jerry Jones at the Whitman County Gazette or Daily Bulletin? I will miss his daily trek for the latest happenings at the courthouse. I will miss him at public meetings, taking notes to give accurate details. I will miss Jerry lining up the little 4-H exhibitors at the fair to photograph them with their purple rosettes. I will miss those calls to clear up an obituary. I will miss his scouring the sidelines at ballgames, camera swinging from his neck, clipboard in hand. There has not been an athlete at any of the local high schools, he could not recall a decade or two later, and give the family history. I miss Jerry’s flowers adorning Main Street, and his nightly bicycle trips to water the flowers.

Jerry was not born and raised in Whitman County, but one would never guess in visiting with him about local history and families. Jerry knows Whitman County and its people. Jerry, you are one of a kind. Thank you for a lifetime of keeping the rest of us thoroughly informed with your painstaking reporting.

Karen Hinenkamp,

Colfax