When roots run deep and a place holds ground in your heart it becomes a part of the fabric of your life and the bonds that are formed are impossible to forget. That is the case for Bowie County businesswoman Jane Skaggs, who is definitely Bowie County proud.
When I say the roots run deep for Miss Jane, that is a proven fact. Going all the way back to her great-great grandparents Howell Mitchell and Nancy Brewer Mitchell, and a total of seven generations, her roots are as deeply imbedded in New Boston, and Bowie County, as anyone’s.
These roots run deep with her brothers as well. Rex Stone taught school and coached in Bowie County for years and Kelley Stone has returned recently to Bowie County and is now a part of the Bowie County Sheriff’s Department.
Her grandfather, Howell Newton Kelley, once owned a grocery store in New Boston called HN Kelley and Sons. Kelley was also on the New Boston ISD School Board back when the rock school was first built. Kelley was also a cotton buyer, that worked with H. Ross Perot’s father buying cotton.
Kelley was big on helping people, whether it be family or friend. He proved that point over and over throughout his life, but never more than when he took on the role of providing for his brother’s family after the brother passed.
It is said of Howell Kelley that he was never seen without his trademark white, long sleeved shirt, tie and vest, regardless of whether he was at Sunday morning service at First Baptist Church of New Boston, or out working in the field. Though he did admit to loosening the tie while working the crops.
That same work ethic carried on to the next generation as his daughter, and Miss Jane’s mother, Winnie Kelley Stone, served the people of Bowie County for more than four decades. In her years of service to the people, both at the old courthouse and the new, Winnie Stone was especially devoted to handling child support issues and was determined to get the money to the mothers and chiltaught dren who needed it. Jane’s dad, like her today, also had a service station. Rex Stone, Sr., also known as Stoney, operated Stoney’s Mobil, across from where the New Boston Post Office is today. Stoney, also a believer in hard work, also worked out at Red River Army Depot. He was known as a character that would help anybody that needed it.
Jane loved the courthouse and New Boston and wishes now that things were more now like they were then. Everybody nice to each other and helped one another.
Miss Jane in her early years was a secretary for the Director of Library of Science for a year and two years as the secretary for the Dean of Women at the college in Commerce. She then had a shop in Texarkana called Interior Collections. When the decision was made to close that shop, she gave her full devotion to the store where you will find her today. She says her daddy taught her to always do her best whether she was sweeping floors or whatever else she was doing.
Jane had two chilformer in her first marriage, Sean and Heather. Heather was a speech therapist until she passed way too soon, almost 19 years ago. Sean has now returned to Bowie County from the Metroplex, and has become a driving force behind Skaggs Country Store, a fact that Jane says, “makes me very proud. Sean has been a big asset and I just thank the Lord he has been here for me.”
Jane remarried, to Benny Skaggs, and the two of them built the store from the ground up and had a great marriage for 25 years until he passed. She says, “Losing the two of them (Benny and Heather) has been hard, but we are doing okay. It has been a struggle keeping the store going, especially with bigger stores coming in and losing employees to them, but business is really great and we have some dedicated employees.”
Miss Jane says that people in the beginning thought the store was too far out of town, but notes that New Boston is growing and the town is coming to them.
And have no doubts, the town of New Boston is a part of the fabric of Jane’s life. She recalls her 12 years in the school district and the great teachers that helped form her into who she is, noting Hamp Atkinson. Atkinson was her 8th grade teacher and she says she was so happy to be able to vote for him when he ran for office. She holds in high regard others who are a part of the bedrock of New Boston like Lloyd Wilson and Pop Russell.
Miss Jane says that these people and many more helped instill in her a Christian heart and work ethic, and she has always tried to instill those same qualities in the store and the people who work there.
She says, “I tell my people, 90 percent of who come in the store in the morning are not in a good mood, don’t want to be going to work so early, but we want them to leave the store with some good food in their hand and a better mood to carry them through their day.”
New Boston definitely holds a place in Jane’s heart. She tells of her thankfulness for the local fire department, the New Boston Police Department, and the Bowie County Sheriff’s Department, calling them a huge asset to the community. And yes, she is thankful for the local newspaper and recalls the days that the Laney’s owned it and Mr. Laney would come and take her picture at the school.
Miss Jane says exactly how she feels about her town by saying, “I love New Boston, and I love our story. I hope that I can keep it going and I hope the spirit of God will intervene and bring our city back together.”
