News

Jones urges 'younger generation' to write history

Stella Mace (left) and Madison Moss help Dr. George A. Jones cut the cake celebrating his 95th birthday.

By Bill Moss, Published: August 1, 2015

Dr. George A. Jones wants the younger generation to step up and take on the work of researching and chronicling local history.

“If you’re 65 or older or a little bit younger, you are considered young,” he told people gathered for the annual meeting of the Henderson County Historical and Genealogical Society. “And we need you young people to step forward and create for the society and for Henderson County ‘The Heritage of Henderson County.’ We’ve published two. We need you younger people to come on and publish another because many families are not included in I and II. We have a lot of history that has not been written down and explained and you can do it.”
Jones — a Saluda native, retired Baptist minister, dogged researcher, founding member of the Henderson County Historical and Genealogical Society, a walking encyclopedia of local history and longtime community leader who led the committee that pushed for the renovation and reopening of the Historic Courthouse — urged the members to continue work he and others have done over the decades. 

“I challenge you young people to step forward and fill the shoes that we are vacating — and we are vacating them. Let that be a challenge to you to go ahead and do it.”
Seguing to the manner at hand — a celebration of his 95th birthday — Jones said, “When Virginia tells me to jump I only ask, ‘How high?’”
And he cut his birthday cake with help from Madison Moss and Stella Mace, who earlier was honored for being 95½ years old.
Virginia Thompson, the president of the Historical Society, said the society would not exist without Jones’ work to start it.
The community is invited to a celebration of Jones’s birthday from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, his actual birthday, at the Historic Courthouse. Hosted by the Henderson County Heritage Museum, the event includes birthday cake and tributes to Jones by Tom Orr and County Commissioner Michael Edney.