"Jewell" of the Industry

There have been many changes in the cattle industry over the last several decades. Moving primarily from railroad transportation, to highways, moving from door-to-door calls to cell phones, the way of life as an order buyer in Kentucky has changed drastically in Kentucky. But one man that has been around to witness a large chunk of these changes is Mr. Jewell Cole. Born in 1932, Mr. Cole started out in the business when he was just a boy. The oldest of 4 children, Jewell began working in the stockyards in his home of Maysville, Kentucky at age 12 for Mr. Spencer Crane. He started out driving lambs on Saturday, but within one year Jewell had moved on to taking care of the cattle at the stockyard. However, it didn’t take long for Mr. Crane to see that Jewell had a keen eye for cattle and Jewell kept gaining more responsibility around the yard. Unbeknownst to 12 year old Jewell, this job at the stockyard would lead him to a life-long career in the cattle order buying business. When Jewell turned 18 and had finished high school he began buying cattle for Warren Rouse from Maysville. Primarily, Jewell covered the sale in Montgomery, Alabama. Back then, Jewell would have to take a train from Kentucky down to Alabama. He would leave Maysville around 7 a.m. on Sunday morning on the train and wouldn’t arrive in Montgomery until roughly 9 or 10 p.m. that night. After riding it every week of the sale season, Jewell could still remember the name of the train down every week was the Hummingbird, however, he would have to take the Capital back on Wednesday. Both were passenger trains thus at that time the cattle would be loaded on straight deck trailers. A straight deck trailer would fit roughly all 50 calves and bring them back to Maysville, Kentucky where they would then be sold in the stockyards here in the Bluegrass state. Anyone could see that Jewell’s passion was in cattle, however, a higher duty put that passion on hold. At the beginning of the Korean War, Jewell was drafted. In a unit of 50, the first 25 were to pick if they wanted to go to Japan or Alaska. Jewell could see the writing on the wall that there was a high likelihood that those going to Japan would eventually get sent to Korea, thus as the sixth one to pick Jewell was the first man in the class to choose Alaska. Thus, up to the cold Jewell went. It was there that Jewell was stationed at the first weather base off the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean to record weather observations. When Jewell arrived in November it was already dark for the season with no prospect of light until March. Jewell remembered the bitter cold that they dealt with vividly. With an average of 20 to 50 below, Jewell told of his teeth cracking. He had to be flown back to Fairbanks to the nearest dentist to fix the damage the cold had done. However, to this day Jewell will still lend you his weather expertise from his time in the service. After Jewell finished serving his country he returned to the Midwest, returning to his agricultural roots working for a man in Bowling Green, Ohio where he was back to buying cattle. It was during this time that Jewell really began to travel. This was so he could retrieve the cattle he wanted. Jewell talked of going to Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma. However, he remembers the farthest west he bought cattle was in Missoula, Montana. Back then, Jewell could ship a load of cattle from Missoula to Finley, Ohio for $646. He chuckled as he said “how times sure have changed since then”. From that time, Jewell did a stint in Alabama before Warren Rouse, whom Jewell had worked for in high school had fallen ill and was looking for a business partner to help run his operation which brought Jewell back to his old Kentucky home. It was here that Jewell welcomed his first two children to their home, on which they fondly recalled, was on Fishing Gut Creek Road. The year 1962 brought another change to the Cole family, as it was then they made their final move to Lexington, Kentucky. After a while, Jewell and his partner Paul Ginger, went off on their own to start their own business. Over the years, Jewel did a variety of jobs and did order-buying for different customers. However, it was in 1982 when Paul Saunders talked Jewell into joining him at S&B Cattle Company where 40 years later, Jewell still works today. Eric Barber, partner of S&B Cattle Company, stated “Jewell Cole is one of the most honest and trusted order buyers in the industry. His customers are loyal to him and everyone that works with him has always held him in highest regards.” This year, Jewell celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by his 3 children, family and friends and a cake in none other than the shape of a bull. Jewell is still heavily involved in the order-buying business. Up until the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Jewell was still going into the stockyards to conduct his own billing and keep everyone in check at the office. Even a few years back Jewell suffered from 2 heart attacks and had 3 stents put in within a week's time, he still shipped 5 loads that same week. But, even in his 90th year if life, Jewell was able to do something he had never done before, sell a load of Jersey steers. Jewell commented, “There is a first time for everything.” In all his years, Jewell has shown the industry the definition of a true cattleman. Heart attacks, world pandemics, war, and 90 years of birthdays still can't stop Jewell from doing the thing he loves. If you need him, you can probably find him on the phone making sales and buying cattle.