{"id":338919,"date":"2021-02-22T06:05:40","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T20:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=338919"},"modified":"2021-02-22T06:05:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T20:05:40","slug":"tinian-beach-park-named-after-kenneth-thomas-jones-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/tinian-beach-park-named-after-kenneth-thomas-jones-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Tinian beach park named after Kenneth Thomas Jones Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kammer Beach on Tinian is now called the Jones Beach, named after businessman Kenneth Thomas Jones Jr. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kammer Beach on Tinian is now called Jones Beach, in honor of the life and contributions of late businessman Kenneth Thomas Jones Jr., who built a cattle ranch and farm on Tinian in the \u201960s to raise crops on 7,500 acres of land that he called \u201cBar K Ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tinian and Aguiguan municipal government and legislative delegation officially renamed the beach last week, in time for the opening of the Triple J-owned Tinian Western Lodge and its Bar-K-Diner and Drive-In.<\/p>\n

Jones was already an established businessman in Guam and Saipan in the \u201960s when he extended his vision to Tinian, providing not just employment opportunities to its people but also creating a bustling economy that gave Tinian the reputation of being the \u201cbread basket of the Marianas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 wife, Elaine Cruz Jones, who is currently in North Carolina, said it\u2019s been decades since she\u2019s been on Tinian \u201cand the best memories I have of Tinian are the people, the church, school, and everything. \u2026It may be a memory now but\u2026it was one of the memorable times of my newly married life when I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she asked him what he\u2019s going to do with all the land, he replied that he was going to plant vegetables. \u201cHe had already brought in cattle from New Zealand and he wanted to expand the herd and produce fresh and healthy milk not only for the people of Tinian but also for the Payless Market in Guam and Saipan if he produced enough. His goal was also to make cheese and have a butter making factory,\u201d Elaine Jones added.<\/p>\n

His daughter, Ramona L. Jones, chief executive officer of Jones & Guerrero Co. Inc. and is now based in Guam, who grew up spending time and working at the farm, said her father brought in Charolais cattle from New Zealand because he felt that the hardiness of the cattle will do well on Tinian.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he decided from the beginning he also needs to find a local cattle to have them breed and that\u2019s why he brought the cattle from Rota and Tinian to have heartier breed specific to Tinian. \u2026Different managers came from Australia and Hawaii because he wanted to get the expertise of professional educators and ranchers but he ended up taking the advice of all the local folks like Uncle Freddy Hofschneider and Sylvestre Palacios,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jones earned the trust of the people of Tinian as he was inclusive and down to earth. As a farmer himself, he knew how to embolden and encourage people to work on the land. \u201cMy father was born in North Carolina in 1917. \u2026He knew that the heart of the farm is the people working in it,\u201d Ramona Jones said.<\/p>\n

This was echoed by Elaine Jones who experienced the solid relationship her husband created with Tinian people. \u201cKen would work with them in the fields and the people of Tinian knew that this man is not here to make a fast dollar and take off. He was loved and respected by the people whom he hired to work at the farm,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The very same farm workers knew that the area of the beach that is now called Jones Beach was Jones\u2019 favorite spot. \u201cIt was known as Jones Beach in the old days because our employees would say, \u2018Let\u2019s go to Jones Beach!\u2019 and now it is official. \u2026It was one of his favorite places to go to, especially when the children are with us as we would go there to swim, climb the rocks and Ken would call me, \u2018C\u2019mon, Mama!\u2019 Elaine Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was such a nature lover and to be on that beach that is now named Jones Beach is beyond expectation. \u2026To give him that honor is beyond my comprehension and, really, beyond kindness. I\u2019d really like express my sincerest thank you whoever thought of the idea,\u201d Elaine Jones added.<\/p>\n

The Bar K Ranch was eventually sold when the conditions dictated it. The people who worked on the farm continued to be ranchers and farmers.<\/p>\n

Their family were not able to attend the ceremony on Tinian due to COVID-19 concerns but Ramona was able to witness the renaming ceremony online. \u201c\u2026Those men and women who knew my Dad and worked with him were gritty pioneers, had great sense of humor, and courageous. \u2026For people to look back and remember it fondly, to laugh at stories\u2026just shows courage, determination and a wonderful time to be a part of that group and history. \u2026I just can\u2019t believe after many decades\u2026the people of Tinian would come up with something so heartwarming to the Ken Jones family to remember what he left behind on Tinian. Thank you, too, to Uncle Rob [Robert E. Jones of Triple J] who designed the sign and it was so nice of him to recognize his brother,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

It was in 1966 when Kenneth Jones, with his own hands, started cultivating the land on Tinian and 55 years later, he is remembered for how he valued the people of Tinian and vice versa. \u201cMy fondest memories are all connected to Tinian. \u2026Best days of our lives were sitting under the ironwood trees on that beach, eating popcorn with the children. \u2026To dedicate the beach that my whole family love is beyond comprehension and I hope to give back the generosity and recognition someday,\u201d Elaine Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Ken was alive and heard about this dedication, there will be no such thing as a decorum with him. Like a real cowboy he would be jumping up and down from his seat and saying thank you while waving his hands in the air. \u2026I promise when this pandemic is over, I will go back to Guam and make that trip to Tinian,\u201d Elaine Jones added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kammer Beach on Tinian is now called Jones Beach, in honor of the life and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":338920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}