Dick Jones (Wyoming politician)
Encyclopedia
Richard R. "Dick" Jones (September 5, 1910–August 20, 2008) was a trucking executive
from Cody
and Powell
in Park County, Wyoming
, who served in his state's House of Representatives
and Senate
from 1955 to 1974. He was the unsuccessful Republican
gubernatorial nominee in the nationally Democratic
year of 1974. A conservative
, Jones was allied with the Ronald W. Reagan political faction
in Wyoming. His family-owned Dick Jones Trucking Company still operates from Powell; at its peak, it reached into thirty-eight states.
immigrants and naturalized
citizens, Alfred and Elsa Jones. He spent his early years on the family homestead east of Billings
, the largest city in Montana
, on the Huntley Project
, an irrigation
showcase. In 1928, he graduated from Huntley Project High School
. The area is now referred to as the unincorporated
community of Huntley
in Yellowstone County
. Jones visited Sweden on several occasions and also took his five grandchildren to meet their Europe
an relatives.
As a young man, Jones worked for the railroad and delivered milk
in Billings. He started the first trucking company in Casper
in eastern Wyoming. In 1932, he married his high school sweetheart, the former Estes "Jackie" Clarke, and the couple had three children. Estes died in 1984, and two years later, Jones married the former Evelyn Nelson. In 1935, Jones purchased a one-truck freight company in Powell, the original Dick Jones Trucking. A son, grandson, and a granddaughter work in the business. For many years, the company was based in Cody, but it returned in 2001 to Powell, where Jones had been elected to the city council
in 1940 and as mayor
in 1950.
. Jones was also the Wyoming Senate President from 1967—1968 and for a time was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. While he was a senator, Governor Hathaway named him to the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education.
Jones won the Republican nomination for governor by only 834 votes (1.4 percent) over his closest competitor, then state Senator Malcolm Wallop
, a New York City
-born ranch
er and businessman from Sheridan
in northeastern Wyoming. Two years later, Wallop would unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Gale W. McGee
. Jones received 15,502 (26.5 percent) of the primary ballots to Wallop's 14,688 (25.1 percent). Two other candidates were marginally behind, Roy Peck, a newspaper
publisher from Riverton
, with 14, 217 (24.7 percent), and Clarence Brimmer
(born 1922), with 14,014 (24 percent). Brimmer was appointed in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
, to one of the Wyoming federal judgeships and has announced his retirement. There is no runoff election in Wyoming; so Jones' primary plurality was sufficient for the nomination.
Jones then faced Democrat Edgar Herschler
of Kemmerer
in Lincoln County. With 19,997 votes (46.6 percent), Herschler defeated two primary rivals, Harry E. Leimback and John J. Rooney, who polled 15,255 (35.5 percent) and 7,674 (17.9 percent), respectively. Rooney had been the unsuccessful 1970 Democratic nominee against Hathaway. Herschler prevailed, 71,741 (55.9 percent) to Jones' 56,645 (44.1 percent). The national political mood worked against Republicans in light of the Watergate scandal
though nearly all of the Republican candidates nationally had nothing to do with the matter. The total Republican vote in the primary had been 58,421. So Jones failed to acquire 1,776 votes cast in the Republican primary and made no apparent gains among Democrats. Herschler, however, polled 28,815 more votes in the general election that the combined Democratic primary total. Herschler served three terms as governor from 1975—1987.
In 1978, former Republican State Senator John C. Ostlund
(1927–2004) of Gillette
, the seat of Campbell County in northeastern Wyoming, polled 67,595 votes (49.1 percent) in his unsuccessful effort to deny Herschler a second term. Ostlund's vote was hence 10,950 more than Jones' had been four years earlier.
Jones was thereafter a financial supporter of Reagan in 1976, 1980, and 1984 and contributed to various Republican candidates in Wyoming during that time as well as the state GOP and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. In 1999, he became a contributor to the first presidential
campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain
of Arizona
. He also donated to former primary rival Malcolm Wallop and former Senator Alan K. Simpson
of Cody.
in Powell Hospital some two weeks before his 98th birthday. In addition to his wife Evelyn, he was survived by daughter Nancy (husband Tom) Cook of Cody, and sons Alan C. Jones (born 1941) and wife Alayne of Powell, and Tom Jones and wife Barbara Costa Jones of Cheyenne
; five grandchildren, Pam Ruehle, Rick Cook, Carol Zierk, LeAnne Kindred, and Mitch Jones; ten great-grandchildren; sister Ruby Snyder and sister-in-law Alma Jones, both of Huntley. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Bill and Bob Jones, and sisters, Irene Hauf and Lois Weidinger. Services were held on August 25 at First United Methodist Church
of Cody. Interment was in Riverside Cemetery, founded in Cody by "Buffalo Bill" Cody
.
Jones was a mover and shaker behind the creation of Northwest Community College
in Powell and served on the original board of trustees. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Northwest Community College Foundation and served on the board of directors. Wyoming has a collection of community college
s but only one four-year degree-granting institution, the University of Wyoming
at Laramie
.
Jones' lack of higher education
proved no impediment to his success. When he was once quizzed about his "luck", he replied, "Yes, I am luck
y, the harder I work, the luckier I am."
Senior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
from Cody
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
and Powell
Powell, Wyoming
Powell is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,373 at the 2000 census. Powell is an All-America City and home to Northwest College.-Geography:Powell is located at ....
in Park County, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, who served in his state's House of Representatives
Wyoming House of Representatives
The Wyoming House of Representatives is the lower house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 60 Representatives in the House, representing an equal amount of single-member constituent districts across the state, each with a population of at least 9,000. The House convenes at the Wyoming...
and Senate
Wyoming Senate
The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 30 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal amount of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne.Members of the Senate...
from 1955 to 1974. He was the unsuccessful Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
gubernatorial nominee in the nationally Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
year of 1974. A conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, Jones was allied with the Ronald W. Reagan political faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
in Wyoming. His family-owned Dick Jones Trucking Company still operates from Powell; at its peak, it reached into thirty-eight states.
Early years and business success
Jones was the third of six children born to SwedishSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
immigrants and naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
citizens, Alfred and Elsa Jones. He spent his early years on the family homestead east of Billings
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, the largest city in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, on the Huntley Project
Huntley Project
The Huntley Project is an irrigation project in southern Montana that was established by the United States Bureau of Reclamation in 1907. The district includes the towns of Huntley, Worden, Ballantine, and Pompeys Pillar....
, an irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
showcase. In 1928, he graduated from Huntley Project High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. The area is now referred to as the unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
community of Huntley
Huntley, Montana
Huntley is a census-designated place in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. The population was 411 at the 2000 census. Huntley lent its name to the Huntley Project, a federal irrigation project that began delivering water to the arid district in 1907...
in Yellowstone County
Yellowstone County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Nez Perce National Historical Park * Pompeys Pillar National Monument-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129,352 people, 52,084 households, and 34,219 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile . There were...
. Jones visited Sweden on several occasions and also took his five grandchildren to meet their Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an relatives.
As a young man, Jones worked for the railroad and delivered milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
in Billings. He started the first trucking company in Casper
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
in eastern Wyoming. In 1932, he married his high school sweetheart, the former Estes "Jackie" Clarke, and the couple had three children. Estes died in 1984, and two years later, Jones married the former Evelyn Nelson. In 1935, Jones purchased a one-truck freight company in Powell, the original Dick Jones Trucking. A son, grandson, and a granddaughter work in the business. For many years, the company was based in Cody, but it returned in 2001 to Powell, where Jones had been elected to the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in 1940 and as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in 1950.
Legislative service and gubernatorial bid
Jones was elected to the Wyoming House in 1954 and elevated by voters to the Senate in 1956, where he served until he resigned to run for governor in a bid to succeed retiring Republican Governor Stanley K. HathawayStanley K. Hathaway
Stanley Knapp Hathaway served as 27th Governor of Wyoming from 1967–1975, and as United States Secretary of the Interior under President Gerald R. Ford.- Early life and military service :Stanley K...
. Jones was also the Wyoming Senate President from 1967—1968 and for a time was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. While he was a senator, Governor Hathaway named him to the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education.
Jones won the Republican nomination for governor by only 834 votes (1.4 percent) over his closest competitor, then state Senator Malcolm Wallop
Malcolm Wallop
Malcolm Wallop was a Republican politician and former three-term United States Senator from Wyoming.-Early years:...
, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-born ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
er and businessman from Sheridan
Sheridan, Wyoming
Sheridan is a city in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The 2010 census put the population at 17,444 and a Micropolitan Statistical Area of 29,116...
in northeastern Wyoming. Two years later, Wallop would unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Gale W. McGee
Gale W. McGee
Gale William McGee was a United States Senator of the Democratic Party, and United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States...
. Jones received 15,502 (26.5 percent) of the primary ballots to Wallop's 14,688 (25.1 percent). Two other candidates were marginally behind, Roy Peck, a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
publisher from Riverton
Riverton, Wyoming
Riverton is a city in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. It is both the largest city in the county and the largest within the historical boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The city's population was 9,310 at the 2000 census...
, with 14, 217 (24.7 percent), and Clarence Brimmer
Clarence Addison Brimmer, Jr.
Clarence Addison Brimmer, Jr. is a United States federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming....
(born 1922), with 14,014 (24 percent). Brimmer was appointed in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford, Jr.
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, to one of the Wyoming federal judgeships and has announced his retirement. There is no runoff election in Wyoming; so Jones' primary plurality was sufficient for the nomination.
Jones then faced Democrat Edgar Herschler
Edgar Herschler
Edgar Jacob Herschler , popularly known as "Gov. Ed", was the 28th Governor of Wyoming from 1975 to 1987. Herschler built a personal appeal to voters based on charisma, a small-town background, and shrewd political maneuvering to such an extent that he was the only three-term governor in Wyoming...
of Kemmerer
Kemmerer, Wyoming
Kemmerer is both the largest city and the county seat of Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,651 at the 2000 census. It dubs itself the "The Fossil Fish Capital of the World" and the "Gateway to the West." As the county seat of Lincoln County, Kemmerer is the location of...
in Lincoln County. With 19,997 votes (46.6 percent), Herschler defeated two primary rivals, Harry E. Leimback and John J. Rooney, who polled 15,255 (35.5 percent) and 7,674 (17.9 percent), respectively. Rooney had been the unsuccessful 1970 Democratic nominee against Hathaway. Herschler prevailed, 71,741 (55.9 percent) to Jones' 56,645 (44.1 percent). The national political mood worked against Republicans in light of the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
though nearly all of the Republican candidates nationally had nothing to do with the matter. The total Republican vote in the primary had been 58,421. So Jones failed to acquire 1,776 votes cast in the Republican primary and made no apparent gains among Democrats. Herschler, however, polled 28,815 more votes in the general election that the combined Democratic primary total. Herschler served three terms as governor from 1975—1987.
In 1978, former Republican State Senator John C. Ostlund
John C. Ostlund
John Chapman Ostlund was a diversified businessman from Gillette and Cheyenne, Wyoming, who served in the Wyoming State Senate from 1973 to 1978, when he resigned to seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination...
(1927–2004) of Gillette
Gillette, Wyoming
Gillette is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 29,087 in 2010. Gillette is a city centrally located in an area involved with the development of vast quantities of American coal, oil, and coal bed methane gas...
, the seat of Campbell County in northeastern Wyoming, polled 67,595 votes (49.1 percent) in his unsuccessful effort to deny Herschler a second term. Ostlund's vote was hence 10,950 more than Jones' had been four years earlier.
Jones was thereafter a financial supporter of Reagan in 1976, 1980, and 1984 and contributed to various Republican candidates in Wyoming during that time as well as the state GOP and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. In 1999, he became a contributor to the first presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. He also donated to former primary rival Malcolm Wallop and former Senator Alan K. Simpson
Alan K. Simpson
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming as a member of the Republican Party. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S...
of Cody.
Death and legacy
Jones died of complications from surgerySurgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
in Powell Hospital some two weeks before his 98th birthday. In addition to his wife Evelyn, he was survived by daughter Nancy (husband Tom) Cook of Cody, and sons Alan C. Jones (born 1941) and wife Alayne of Powell, and Tom Jones and wife Barbara Costa Jones of Cheyenne
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
; five grandchildren, Pam Ruehle, Rick Cook, Carol Zierk, LeAnne Kindred, and Mitch Jones; ten great-grandchildren; sister Ruby Snyder and sister-in-law Alma Jones, both of Huntley. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Bill and Bob Jones, and sisters, Irene Hauf and Lois Weidinger. Services were held on August 25 at First United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
of Cody. Interment was in Riverside Cemetery, founded in Cody by "Buffalo Bill" Cody
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
.
Jones was a mover and shaker behind the creation of Northwest Community College
Northwest Community College
Northwest Community College is a post-secondary educational institution that serves the residents of northwest British Columbia. NWCC was first established in Terrace in 1975..-Campus:...
in Powell and served on the original board of trustees. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Northwest Community College Foundation and served on the board of directors. Wyoming has a collection of community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...
s but only one four-year degree-granting institution, the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
at Laramie
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
.
Jones' lack of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
proved no impediment to his success. When he was once quizzed about his "luck", he replied, "Yes, I am luck
Luck
Luck or fortuity is good fortune which occurs beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention, or desired result. There are at least two senses people usually mean when they use the term, the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense...
y, the harder I work, the luckier I am."