J. C. Jacobs Looks Back on 85 Years, 57 in Business
J. C. JACOBS CELEBRATES 85th Birthday and 57 years in business with wife, Frankie, center, and daughters Janet, left, and Nancy, right. (Betsey Gooder photo) |
J. C. Jacobs just celebrated his 85th birthday with many longtime friends, neighbors and customers. Having been a businessman in Franklin for 57 years, that amounts to a lot of people. Jacobs said his life in Franklin has been “a very good road to travel.” Jacobs was born November 15, 1918 in the Iotla community. He said he walked two miles to school every day until seventh grade, then he road a bus into town for high school. After graduation, he said he considered becoming a dentist, but he was drafted for World War II in 1941 and spent four and a half years in the service, serving two years in the European theatre. When he came home in 1945, Jacobs said he “debated” his future plans, considering college vs. a business life. He opted to go into business and worked inby a bank, until he started the Franklin Five and Ten. In 1946 he opened The Twins’ Shop, named after his twin sisters Kate and Lois. In 1949, Jacobs married his partner in life and business, Frankie. Together they opened People’s Department Store in 1957 in the space formerly occupied by Belks. |
“It was tough,” said Jacobs, trying to get up the inventory and making sure the bills were paid every Monday so no money was owed.
J.C. and Frankie have two daughters, Nancy and Janet, both of whom are involved in the family business. Nancy is the buyer and pricer for both The Twins’ Shop and People’s, and Janet runs the office and does the book work for both stores. The Jacobs have five grandchildren.
Jacobs is a fervent supporter of the downtown area and said the area needs to stay “vital” with a variety of shops and offices.
“It would be terrible to have downtown all boarded up,” he stressed. The Wal-Mart and Kmart shopping centers have drawn shoppers away from downtown and “made us change,” Jacobs said. “We have had to go with brand names and we got rid of our accessories and things like buttons and patterns.”
Jacobs now suffers from macular degeneration and has retired from his active role in the running of People’s and The Twins’ Shop.
Jacobs says he is “grateful to the people of Franklin. They’ve been really good to us over the years.” He added that he hopes residents and visitors will continue to keep visiting the downtown area to keep it active and vital.