from Cedar Crossing. Like Betty’s father and many other
families in rural Georgia in the 1930s, Jacky’s father was
a farmer. His mother, Nannie B. Jones, served as Clerk of
County Commissioners in Toombs County for over thirty
years.
“There were two buildings on that one campus,” said
Coach Jones. “One was the elementary school for grades
first through eighth. The other was a two-story building
for grades ninth through twelfth. The buildings stood near
the Methodist Church in Lyons.” The two-story school
building would later be destroyed in a devastating fire in
1975.
Ms. Betty pulled out an old yearbook and flipped to
a picture of her and Coach Jones on the Homecoming
Court. Jacky was a junior and on the first string of
the football team, and Betty was a sophomore on the
14 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE
cheerleading squad the year they began dating. “There
were some outstanding players that year: Dan Thompson,
Milton Nobles, Marion Jordan, Harry and Larry Lane,
T-bone Smith, Raymond McClain, and Norris Herndon.”
Even as he turned all the attention to the seniors, I knew
he was a star athlete in his own right, not only in football,
but in baseball and basketball as well.
Co-Captain of the football team his senior year with
Buck Cravey, the two had been good friends since 4th
grade when Buck first came to school in Lyons. After
high school, both went to Georgia Teacher’s College (now
Georgia Southern University) and served in the National
Guard together. Years later, when Coach Jones was head
football coach at Lyons High School, Buck was head
football coach at Vidalia High School. The two remained
good friends by sticking to an agreement: “Whatever