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story I’ve thought about it a lot lately. My parents put me in a position to help people. — Mike Jacobs
Johnson County Judge Mike Jacobs leans on the front porch post of his childhood home in Hunt, Ark.
Road to honorable started in Hunt
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By Scott Perkins County Lines Editor
oing to the store isn’t what it used to be. Mike Jacobs, a fifth generation Johnson countian and long-time public servant, has served as Johnson County Judge for 20 years, but the 64-year-old man he is today started to take shape in a country store in the 1950s in the community of Hunt, Ark. J.O. and Pauline Jacobs owned and operated the Hunt Store for 75 years until 2007. J.O. also served about 20 years in the United States Forestry Service. Jacobs was the youngest of five boys and he said he could remember his first job at the store “just like it was yesterday,” even though times were different back then. “At the time, most people didn’t have anything and daddy always had to work,” Jacobs said. “I was the baby and my first job was cleaning and sweeping the store. Nobody had money, but people still needed things.”
This image hangs in Mike Jacob’s office in the courthouse. It is a Johnson County Graphic newspaper article titled, “Visiting the Country Store.” Pictured are J.O. and Pauline Jacobs on their 60th anniversary. They were also celebrating their 60th year of operating the store. 28
Trading and bartering was common in those days, and he said it was also commonplace for the store to extend credit so residents could provide for their families. “Growing up in the store, we were always around people,” he said. “I learned that the people mattered and if we could help them along the way, then it was just that much better.” Jacobs developed a community-minded attitude through his experiences at the store and his parents’ commitment to him paved the way for his future. “The sacrifices my mom and dad made for me had a lot to do with how I got here,” Jacobs said. “Sharing their work ethic with me taught me a lot. It was basically: if you start it, finish it, and if you are going do it, really do it right.” After mastering sweeping and cleaning at 5 years old, Mike laughingly said his duties at the store advanced to casing eggs and milking cows as well. “We would case 125-150 cases of eggs a day,” Jacobs remembered. “Daddy would make you eat an egg if you broke it. You learned real quick to be fast and not break any eggs.” However, milking the cows garnered a sweet reward. “Whoever milked the cows that day got the cream!” Jacobs said. Jacobs was the first of the five sons to have an opportunity to go to college, and that opportunity was realized through sacrifice by his parents and his athletic ability. He recalled the exact moment when he “gained a new perspective” and knew he wanted to go to college. “I was 14 and working at a turkey plant cutting legs and …,” Mike said shaking his head. “On my last day, they let me hang turkeys and I made the decision right there that I wanted to go to college.” Jacobs said the family didn’t have the money for college, and an athletic scholarship was his opportunity to be the first in the family to earn a college degree. The Hartman School did not have organized sports, so the Jacobs obtained an address and a place to stay in the city limits of Clarksville while Pauline continued to run the store about 20 miles away and J.O. continued to work for the forestry service. They did all this so their youngest could be a Panther and play sports for Clarksville High School. COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2012
