NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In just a couple of days, an Arkansas native picks up a very big honor in Canton, Ohio.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017.
His rise to fame is still celebrated in Rose City, the North Little Rock neighborhood where Jones spent his childhood before football became his focal point.
“There he is…there’s Jerry,” says Georgia Havens, his high school classmate, while looking at some old photos.
She enthusiastically re-lives 1960. She was a junior at North Little Rock High School. Jerry Jones was a senior athletic star.
“He played basketball and football…number 33. Wonder if he remembers that,” she says, laughing.
Long before Jones became one of the most recognized National Football League team owners, he was recognized all over Rose City.
His dad owned a grocery store, Pat’s Supermarket on Broadway. Jerry spent most of his time working at the store.
“Of course everybody would go in there and hope to see Jerry. All of us young girls… every once in a while,” Havens chuckles. “He was always friendly.”
And for the last 56 years, Georgia and her husband, also named Jerry, have lived just a few houses down from where Jones grew up.
“Rose City was a small community,” she continues. “There’s something to say for the good ole days.”
The current owner of Jones’ childhood home didn’t want to talk to us on camera but did tell us he hopes some of the Dallas Cowboys owner’s success will rub off on him.
