Headlines
Related Photos
Discussion
Alum recalls Claremore childhood
October 10, 2008 — When C. Darnell Jones II returns to Claremore for Homecoming this weekend, he returns as a man of accomplishment.
He was recently confirmed as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Pennsylvania District, and his career achievements are as extensive as they are prestigious.
He was elected President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (in Philadephia) in December 2005 and was later appointed Chair of the Administrative Governing Board of the First Judicial District by the Supreme Court.
As President Judge, and Chair of the AGB, Jones oversees 137 judges, 1,965 employees and a $ 114 million budget.
But walking home from junior high football practice in the 1960s, all he really wanted was a cookie.
“It was more than 40 years ago, but I’ll never forget it,” Jones said this week. “My buddy, Toe Joe, and I were coming home from football practice. This is when the junior high was on Ninth Street.
“We were walking home and my mom had always told me to ‘come straight home’ after practice because she didn’t want us to get in any trouble,” he said. “We were walking by Mike Shelton’s house and his mom, Betty Shelton, came outside, wearing her June Cleaver apron, and holding a plate of fresh-baked cookies.
“There were some other boys around, white boys, and they were going ‘This is great’, but Toe Joe and I thought we probably shouldn’t ask for any of them,” he said.
“But she came over to us and held them up for us to see. Every time we’d reach to get one, she’d take a step back. We’d reach again, and she’d take another step back, until she backed into her house, and then she told us ‘Now that I’ve got you in my house, I’m going to pour you some milk to go with those.’”
Jones never forgot Mrs. Shelton’s kindness — or her cookies.
“Growing up in Claremore, for me, epitomized the adage of it taking a village to raise a child,” he said.
“Those were much different times. This was pre-integration, and the black students went to Lincoln School. But my (white) friends and I were bound at the hip. We genuinely loved each other and would stick up for each other, especially when I got into sports and we would go to another town that might not treat the black athletes so well. To paraphrase an old saying, it was the best of times, but it was never really the worst of times.”
Jones will be among the alumni converging on Claremore this weekend, revisiting their hometown and reflecting on their own “best of times.”
“After breakfast at Eggbert’s with some of my former classmates, I’m sure I’ll go by my old home on South Cherokee — I always do — make my normal rounds around town and go to my old church, Mount Zion, Sunday morning,” he said. “It’s going to be a full weekend.”
Jones graduated from Claremore High School in 1968, before studying at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., where he earned a degree and participated in football and track.
“My family is legendary for having teachers and educators — my mom, my dad, and even my grandfather, W.C. ‘Prof.’ Jones, all were either teachers or principals,” he said. “They had told me there was security in being a teacher, but after finishing my degree at Southwestern, I decided to go into law school at the American University in Washington, D.C. After graduating in 1975, I moved to Philadelphia where I went to work as an assistant public defender and started climbing the ladder of my law career.”
Jones has been a judge in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia since 1987.
In spite of Jones’ accomplishments, he never forgot his roots. He returns at every opportunity.
“People tell me often how well-rounded I am, particularly for having come from such an itty-bitty town in the Midwest, but it’s because of my parents and the people in that itty-bitty town that I became so well-rounded,” Jones said. “My time in Claremore was, and will always be, one of the finest times of my life.”
- Headlines
-
-
NEW DORMS: RSU going more traditional
In just a year, Rogers State University will double the number of students sleeping, eating and studying on its campus. That’s twice the students walking to class in the morning. Twice the students calling RSU home.
-
DEQ: Public drinking water in Oologah is safe
Public drinking water in the Oologah area is not contaminated by heavy metals from the local Public Service Company of Oklahoma power plant according to officials at PSO and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
-
County will not use carryover for new hires
Rogers County Commissioners oppose spending money carried over from last year’s budget — in spite of county officers who say they need money now.
-
Rogers County men arrested on burglary charges
Sheriff’s officers are hoping the recent arrest of two Rogers County men will halt a recent bout of burglaries.
-
Crews zero in on courthouse design, cost
Rogers County’s new courthouse has been nudged over and stretched to take advantage of the closing of Missouri Street, according to schematics unveiled Monday.
-
Sheriff: ‘Extraordinary’ need for new deputies
The Rogers County Sheriff’s Office may lose the ability to provide even basic services if it can’t hire more deputies this year, Sheriff Scott Walton told commissioners Monday.
-
Symphony League hosts membership drive
The Claremore Symphony League will host a wine and cheese reception to launch the membership drive for 2010 - 2011. The reception, to be held at the Will Rogers Memorial on September the 23rd from 5:30 to 7:30, will feature wine tasting and the presentation of the Honorary Chairman of this season’s Symphony League Ball.
-
Felony charges filed against former Chelsea chief of police
Formal charges were filed Thursday in Rogers County against a former Chelsea police chief.
-
Report hits Oologah power plant for river pollution
Waste improperly handled by the AEP/PSO power plant in Oologah may be contaminating the Verdigris River, according to a report released this week.
-
Groups support bicycle safety overhauls
Bicycling groups across the state said they support a new legislative package designed to protect riders and motorists. However, many cyclists are calling for the state to do more to educate residents and enforce existing laws and practices.
- More Headlines Headlines
-
