Joint resolution Catching up with the Joneses

A collection of miniature spoons, the handles engraved with artists’ renderings, graces the kitchen of Barbara and Sumner “Bud” Jones’ Pittsfield home. The spoons are a poignant reminder of the many places the couple has been to together in the course of their 58 years of marriage.

In the living room, a dozen photographs of great-grandchildren, along with a shot of Bud’s champion 14-foot sunflower, are displayed on a caramel-colored piano. Other family mementos are tucked in every corner of the tidy ranch home.

During more than half a century together, the Joneses have run a dairy farm, raised seven children and been pillars of their church and community. He served 15 years as a selectman and councilor, five of that as mayor, and six years as a state representative to the legislature.

“It hasn’t been a bed of roses,” Bud admitted, “but it has been a wonderful life.”

Public service. Volunteerism. Helping others. Those are the secrets to a solid marriage and a rich life, according to Bud.

“At one point, we were in 17 different civic and church organizations,” he marveled. “Each of these groups, such as the Masons, the Kiwanis, focus on honesty, faithfulness, being good to your neighbor. I guess it rubbed off.”

“A life of service means something,” Barbara added.

“Besides,” Bud quipped, “if you live an active life, you keep out of mischief, and you are just so busy that doing anything different is not an option.”

As a young man, Bud says he was given a piece of advice that has proved invaluable. A person should be a part of his community, not apart from it.

So, as they built their marriage and their life together, the Joneses have been building their community. He can be found in an apron serving up ice cream at the annual Egg Festival, or wrapping Christmas packages for the needy at the local Masons hall, or filling shelves at the local food pantry.

Barbara is on the Women’s Legislative Council of Maine and belongs to the Arts Club, the Tuesday Club, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Sebasticook Valley Hospital Auxiliary. In half a century, she has worked as a newspaper editor, a census taker and a cooperative extension homemaker. She can fill in on the organ at church, bake a half-dozen turkeys for a public supper, and come up with a meaningful poem for a friend.

“When we first were married, we were joiners and most of our friends were too,” he remembered. “No one had any money. No one had television. We just got involved.”

Through public service, the couple said they were able to stay strong and committed to each other.

“Today, a couple gets married and they already have everything,” Barbara remarked. “They have a house, a car, appliances. It was different when we got married. We worked together for what we wanted. We had goals. By living a life of service and being lifelong learners, we have just grown closer and stronger.”

Bud and Barbara’s first date was a square dance in December of 1943. At 16, they fell in love, riding their bicycles six miles a day to meet each other. Their romance continued while he served with the Navy in the Philippines, and she studied electrical engineering at Northeastern University (she was one of four women in a class of 150). They eventually got married on Oct. 18, 1947, and bought a dairy farm in Pittsfield.

As a young couple, their life revolved around their children and community.

Barbara put up 400 jars of preserves one summer. Bud trained a team of oxen that dazzled audiences at local parades. They grew and raised their own food. The children attended horse shows, agricultural fairs and held sliding parties.

“You could set your watch by the times the kids did chores,” Bud said.

And as the Joneses lived, they taught. “On the farm, our children learned the basic values of life,” he said. “Respect people, property and animals. Living and dying. What is important and how to love each other.”

Today, the seven Jones children, who range in age from 56 to 42, live in Maine, Colorado, Florida and the Virgin Islands. They include a farmer, a prison administrator, a doctor, a mail carrier, a teacher, an accountant, and a minister. Between them they have 18 children and those children have eight more.

Bud said it is important for young married couples just starting out to “pay attention to your vows and your obligations and think about what you’ve agreed to. Be involved in your community and church.”

Bud flashed Barbara a smile and she reached over and patted his knee.

“Don’t stand in each other’s shadow,” she advised. “Enjoy the differences in each other and behind it all, fill your life with service.”

Sharon Kiley Mack can be reached at 487-3187 and bdnpittsfield@verizon.net.