Dr. Stacy Weaver--Principal and Farmer

Dr. L. Stacy Weaver, who in later years became the first president of Methodist College at Fayetteville, NC, was principal of Jonesville Elementary and High School in the 1930s. He lived on (and supervised) a 200-acre farm just 200 yards from the school campus. This picture appeared in the "Personalities of the Northwest" column of the Winston-Salem Journal during his 6th year as principal.

Calvin Kerley--The Coffin Factory Man

Calvin Kerley, a native of Alexander County, was born in 1872, the year the Covered Bridge opened across the Yadkin River between Jonesville and Elkin. He survived the bridge by 49 years, dying in 1962 at age 90. He is buried in the historic Jonesville Cemetery beside his wife,
Sarah Elizabeth Amanda Watts Price Kerley, also an Alexander native.

In the 1890s, there were three recessions back-to-back, and the Kerleys sold their property in Taylorsville and moved to Jonesville.

Mr. Kerley was Sarah’s second husband.

Sarah’s first husband was Levi Price. There were six Price

children--Texie, Flossie, Cordelia, Jim, Mag and Kerley. When Levi passed away in the late 1880s, he left Sarah not only with the children to parent but also three farms to look after.

Sarah was able to hire a good man to operate the farms--Calvin Kerley. She fell in love with Mr. Kerley, and they were married.

In Jonesville, Calvin and Sarah moved into what became known as the Kerley House, standing adjacent to the Mathis House. It was in this home that the other Kerley children were born, Maude in 1901, and Sam about three years later. Mr.Kerley

opened a two-story shop on West Main Street and began using his talent for making cabinets, coffins and furniture to earn a living for his family. His shop had no boastful sign on it, but became known as Mr. Kerley’s Coffin Factory, and it remained in operation into the 1940s. The shop stood in the abandoned first road bed for the main Jonesville highway, parts of which lay next to the present West Main Street, but about 20 feet lower. Under the shop, in the old road bed, was a big crawl space, high enough for a man to stand under and a perfect spot for children to go exploring.

Around 1920, an auction sale was held at the Galloway House on Surry Avenue on the Big Elkin Creek. At the sale, Mr. Kerley purchased an old grand piano. About 20 years later, Miss Mary Mathis asked Mr. Kerley to design her a little drop leaf table out of the old piano, which was made of teak wood. He delivered the table to Miss Mary, who lived diagonally across the street from the coffin factory, one afternoon early in 1940. The table was cherished by Miss Mary until her death in 1979. It is now owned by her nephew, Charles Mathis.

Lois, the Kerley’s oldest child, was an eye witness to the night the Jonesville Schoolhouse fell in during a Christmas program in 1912. The school auditorium, heated by a potbellied stove, was upstairs and approximately 300 persons were present. Lois survived, but three persons died. Lois Kerley married Lester Martin and they made their home in Island Ford. Their daughter Lavene married Shorty Minton.

Maude Kerley married Carl Oliver and they later purchased and lived in the Kerley House, long after Sarah had died and Mr. Kerley had remarried. Sam Kerley moved away but sometimes visited. Maude’s daughter, Don Oliver Martin, provided four of the pictures exhibited here. Don’s husband, Thad, and Thad’s brother Leon operated Martin’s Doughnuts, which for a generation was the most famous business in Jonesville.

Sarah’s son Mag was a long-time resident of Jonesville. Price Chapel of Jonesville First Baptist Church is named for him and his wife, Lona. All of Mag and Lona’s children—except for Elizabeth Price Gwyn Kenan for whom a scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is named—are deceased.

Sarah's daughter Flossie Price married Gaston Deal and they were the parents of Brack Deal, who operated an orchard between Wilkesboro and Taylorsville. During apple season, Brack Deal was a frequent vendor of apples at the Saturday curb market (in the 1930s and 40s) on East Main Street in downtown Elkin.

Sarah’s daughter Kerley Price Vestal was mother of Mozelle Vestal for whom the Mozelle Vestal Kitchen dormitory at Campbell University is named.

Sarah’s daughter Texie Price married Willie Brown, and they made their home on West Main Street near the Kerley House. Among Texie and Willie’s grandchildren is Bonnie Stewart, wife of Dr. Hal Stewart of Elkin.

This is a work in progress. If you find an error or want to volunteer additional information, contact the writer.

--CHARLES GRAY MATHIS

Sources:
Maud Elliott Mathis
Mary Mathis
Weeta Elliott
Don Oliver Martin
Charles Mathis
Ruth Underwood Martin
Bonnie Hall Stewart
Judy Wolfe
Lois Kerley Martin

JOSEPH OF NAZARETH

Play To Accent Christmas
From Different Perspective

“Joseph of Nazareth,” a one man Christmas play starring Dale Martin Swofford, will be presented in December at Jonesville First United Methodist Church.

Swofford, a professional actor before he was called into the pastoral ministry, has performed the play more than 200 times throughout the southeastern United States.

Admission will be free. An offering will be taken to enhance the Christmas celebration for less fortunate children in the Elkin-Jonesville area.

A second performance is scheduled at Ebenezer United Methodist Church. The drama, written by Frank Roughton Harvey, deals with the Nativity from the point of view of the husband of the mother of Jesus the Christ.

Leon Reece's Second 'Old Jonesville' Song

OLD JONESVILLE #II 2009



THIS IS THE STORY………………OF OLD JONESVILLE
FANTASTIC PLACE TO LIVE AND GROW
FROM LILA SWAIM………………TO CHARLIE MATHIS
THEIR ENTERPRISE HELPED MAKE IT SO

HOW WE LOVED……………TO SHOP AT FLETCHER’S
AND CLINT HOLCOMB’S GROCERY STORE
AS A STUDENT………………..FOR YOR MONEY
THEY WOULD ALWAYS GIVE YOU MORE

THERE WAS THAT HOTEL…………….ON THE CORNER
JUST ACROSS FROM CITY HALL
THROUGH THE YEARS…………THE TRAVELERS CAME THERE
WE GAVE WARM WELCOME…………TO THEM ALL

IN CITY HALL……………………….THERE WAS A COURTROOM
WHERE CHARLIE WOLFE WOULD JUDGE THE MEAN
HE WAS FAIR……………………….….IN ALL HIS JUDGEMENTS
OUR COURTS, TODAY.…………………COULD ONLY DREAM

WE HAD SUCH FUN ……………....AT JONESVILLE SPEEDWAY
OH HOW FAST THOSE BOYS WOULD RUN
SOME CLIMBED A TREE…………………TO SEE THE ACTION
ALL BECAUSE THEY HAD NO MON

OH HOW WE LOVED IT…………………...IN OLD JONESVILLE
BUT OUR TOWN HAS COME OF AGE
THANKS TO THE DREAM……………….OF E. GWYN McNEILL
THE FIVE-LANE HELPED……………….US TURN THE PAGE

Copyright Leon Reece 2009

Leon Reece, radio personality, lyricist and singer, Jonesville native and member of the Jonesville Historical Committee, introduced his "Old Jonesville #II 2009" at the 7th annual Old Jonesville Day on May 2, 2009, with his two sons joining in, to the tune of Vince Gill's, "Go Rest High On That Mountain."

Old Jonesville Day Blue Ribbon Essays of 2009

How A Pencil & Epsom Salt

Made My Aunt Sue
The Woman She Is Today

By JORDAN MAYS

Fourth Grade, Jonesville Elementary School

My Aunt Sue is one of the most loving wonderful people I know. She also knows right from wrong, and I think she learned that at Jonesville School. She went to Jonesville School when it was grade 1-12. There was no Kindergarten or separate high school then.

Back then there were no smart boards, just chalk boards. Some of the teachers lost their temper with the boys and would throw erasers at them. My Aunt Sue’s mom worked at the cafeteria for 25 years, and her name was Myrtle Ray.

In the 4th grade, my Aunt Sue was talking and her teacher got on to her and cracked a pencil across her hand. (She learned her lesson then.)

In 5th grade, a teacher Ms. Jean Payne and Coach John Mathis would take the students to the gym every Friday and teach them how to square dance. Later, those two teachers got married and had two daughters.

The 7th grade teacher, E. B. West, punished students for chewing gum in class by making them stick the gum on a toothpick, roll it in Epsom salt, then chew it. My aunt only did this once. After that, she never chewed gum in class again.

In the 10th grade chemistry, Aunt Sue’s teacher was Mrs. Randleman. Jerry Finney made a miscalculation in chemistry lab that caused an explosion, and he lost part of his hand.

In the 11th grade, my Aunt Sue and three others skipped study hall and walked down to Fletcher’s country store for B-B Bats (candy) and a Coke. When they were walking back up the sidewalk, Principal Reece Shugart caught them. He said, “Where have you girls been?”
At her Junior Prom, Aunt Sue helped decorate in a Mardi Gras theme. Her escort was Seth Cheek.

My Aunt Sue was voted Most Athletic Senior Superlative.

John Mathis (softball coach) made the girls run from the gym to Lila Swaim Park and back (that’s like two miles); not for punishment but to stay in shape.

My Aunt Sue thanks Jonesville School for many of her great memories and for her learning to behave and to get along in the world.

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The Ferry
That Crossed
The River

　
By HOUSTON REED WRIGHT
　
Grade Four, Jonesville Elementary School
　

These are stories told by Robert Gray that have been passed down to my Dad (Calvin Wright) and are now passing down to me.

It was cold winter days, and the Yadkin River was frozen about a foot deep.

They rode their wagons across the river to get to Elkin. They also played and skated on the river.

When the river was not frozen--which Robert said was all the time but the one time he was telling me about--they took the ferry from one side of the river to the other.

The way the ferry worked is this way: a rope was connected to both sides of the banks, and they would pull the ferry from one side of the river to the other.

My Papa also told me about how Lila Swaim Park was just about a NASCAR track. But Lila did not want the park track to get too big, so she told NASCAR to go somewhere else.

My Papa also said Barney Hall, who we used to hear every weekend on the radio, used to be the announcer for the dirty track races at Lila Park.

Papa told me, too, about how the farmers of Jonesville did not want the train to come because they thought it would bother the animals and mess the land up.

Brett Pardue Wins The Prize in 'Yadkin Valley's Got Talent' Show

Brett Pardue of Elkin, N.C. won the "Yadkin Valley's Got Talent" competition at the 7th annual Old Jonesville Day on Saturday, May 2, 2009 in Lila Swaim Park. He sang, "You Raise Me Up." His prize: a two-night stay at the Days Inn in Pigeon Forge, TN, tickets to two big shows and a large trophy.

Judges
Master of Ceremonies Leon "Simon" Reece made the presentation after calculating the results submitted by an American Idol-style panel of four judges, Ruth Crissman, June Boles Greene, Elizabeth Fisher and Donnie Shore.There were 10 finalists, but only one grand prize. The other finalists were: Annie Hart, Drake Macemore, Michaela Cockerham, Brooke Johnson, Asia Martin,Sarryn Meyer, Tristan Davis and Sheila Lynch, all outstanding.

Raffle
In the Old Jonesville Day raffle, John W. Mathis was winner of the Delta Peterson "Snowball Nine Patch" quilt, and Larry Irwin won Phillip George's framed pyrographic art rendering of "Pilot Mountain."

Foxx Is On The Scene
Among the Old Jonesville Day crowd was U. S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, who posed for a photograph with Jordan Mays and Eagle Scout Andrew C. Reece. Mays was a first place winner in the essay and poster contest. Eagle Scout Reece led the Pledge of Allegiance at the opening ceremony.

How 'Old Jonesville Day' Came To Be

　
The Jonesville Historical Committee, sponsor of Old Jonesville Day, came into being because John W. Mathis and Charles and Cecelia Mathis gave the historic home of James H. and Myra Messick Mathis, grandparents of John and Charles, to the Yadkin County Historical Society in 1998. The society hoped to make the home, located high on the Yadkin River bluff at the town’s West Main and Elm streets, a museum of the Yadkin Valley and headquarters for the society’s northwest branch.

A group appointed by the society chairman to oversee the project evolved over a period of time into the Jonesville Historical Committee. Anyone with an interest in Jonesville’s past, whether a resident of the town or not, was invited to join the committee to take part in Jonesville historic preservation efforts, beginning with the Mathis House but including other possibilities. Members of the historical society were also members of this committee, but it soon became apparent that Jonesville people did not want to put money into any project in which the committee was not in full control.

‘Worthless’

Among new members joining the committee were two individuals adamant in not wanting to raise money for restoration of a “worthless” old house that might require unlimited funds to accomplish and certainly not wanting to fund a Yadkin County Historical Society project. The two were able to persuade the committee to forget about the Mathis House as a museum and to pursue other ideas, but still to make efforts to raise money for historic preservation and a place to store and showcase local historic memorabilia.

In 2003, the Jonesville Historical Committee scheduled a Sunday afternoon historic event in the Yadkin Valley Senior Center and invited local singers, musicians and church choirs to provide musical entertainment as, hopefully, a lot of people would come by to witness Jonesville history and art collected by the town, churches, businesses and families.

The result was a gigantic exhibit of historical and artistic memorabilia that seemed to thrill the multitude that walked into the senior center to see for itself what the historical committee had come up with. The event opened at 2 p.m. and closed at 5 p.m., and for all three hours, there was a steady stream of curious people filing through the exhibits.

With the initial event a success, the committee decided to name the occasion “Old Jonesville Day” and to have it again in 2004, but to switch the day to Saturday, to make it an all-day affair utilizing Lila Swaim Park and--to the historical and artistic exhibits--add crafts and food vendors, fun things for children and a demonstration of border collies rounding up sheep.

A Live-In Museum

Meanwhile, the Yadkin County Historical Society was able to sell the Mathis House to a minister and his wife, both of whom possessed a special knack for historical preservation.

By time for the 6th annual Old Jonesville Day was held in 2008, the minister and his wife--Glenn and Frances Sanford of Lexington, together with Glenn’s sister and brother-in-law, Richard and Sidney Love of Mt. Pleasant--had completed restoration of the old home into a live-in museum and named it the Mathis House on the Yadkin Circa 1890. They scheduled open house in connection with Old Jonesville Day, and more than one hundred visitors toured the dwelling, which was beautifully furnished, much in the same way James and Myra Mathis maintained it from early in the 20th century until 1940.

Site of the house is approximately the geographic center of Elkin and Jonesville. The house’s double-decker porch commands a grand view of downtown Elkin and an ancient Indian Fish Trap just west of the modern-day link over the Yadkin River between Jonesville and Elkin, the Gwyn McNeil Bridge.