Shared Memories of Al Jones '50
Students, alumni, faculty, and friends share their stories of Al Jones '50, professor emeritus of history. Jones passed away Feb. 10, 2007.
I came to Grinnell in 1966 as a very young professor of history, a newly-minted PhD from Columbia with no idea of what life was like West of Manhattan.
It was our good fortune (I speak for my wife Judy and myself) to meet some wonderful people in the history department - in particular the late Joe Wall, Phil Kintner (may he enjoy many more years of health and happiness), and Al Jones. All received us with open arms and with warm hospitality. Al offered me friendship and guidance in the (to me) strange ways of the Protestant American heartland. He even forgave me for almost killing him on Christmas eve, when he asked me to give his car a push (as a New Yorker, I actually did not know how to drive).
I last saw him only a little more than a year ago, when I was invited back to Grinnell to talk at a symposium on genocide. I thank God that I was able to meet up with him again, and to find that he had retained his good spirits and splendid wry sense of humor despite various health problems. He was a wonderful man - warm, smart, wise, tolerant, tough (in a good way), open-minded. Grinnell was lucky to have him for so many years. For me he will always remain the symbol of everything that is good about America. Judy and I send our heartfelt condolences to his family.
Ezra Mendelsohn, Jerusalem, Israel
Al Jones was both my professor and my faculty advisor. In an inestimable number of ways, and more than most, he personified the best things about the "Grinnell experience," as the admissions department used to market it. Prof. Jones was at once intellectually motivating, challenging, wise, and kind.
It's still amusing to think that a guy who looked like Mr. Magoo was one of the most clear-sighted people I knew at the college. No anecdote illustrates this quality better than his public reaction to a celebrated campus visit by Georgi Arbatov, the Kremlin's leading expert on the U.S. in the 1980s.
Arbatov's descended on the college with great fanfare, and his charm offensive fooled a LOT of the campus community. But Al Jones saw right through the whole performance. In the only "senior week" speech I remember ("Peace, War, Russia, and Communism"), Jones correctly, publicly debunked Arbatov as, fundamentally, just another servant of power. And, if I recall correctly, Jones declared that, in that respect, Arbatov was really no better than Henry Kissinger. Given the college's zeitgeist at the time, and the enthusiastic embrace that Arbatov received, it was a gutsy charge.
So, yes, Prof. Jones was a really nice guy. And, yes, he was a fun professor. But beneath that easy manner, there was a principled, tough-minded seriousness that benefited all who enjoyed the privilege of his guidance. The world is the poorer for his departure.
W Joe
Although I was a history major, I only had one class with Mr. Jones, American Diplomatic History. I was mostly studying Latin American and Africa, so it seemed like the logical course in US history to take. I was entranced by his teaching style. He drew us into the topic and was a true master at it. As others have noted, the ubiquitous cigarette ash fascinated many of us, waiting to see when it would fall, placing side bets. I loved his board work. In the days before overheads, before power point, Mr. Jones could captivate our visual learning through his wonderful drawings on the board. At the time someone suggested that we should make a copy of all the drawings he made on the board some semester and present it as a memento of the class. I don't know if it ever happened but his skill at keeping our attention was nonetheless undiminished. We will not see his like again.
J. F. Schwaller '69
When I saw the e-mail about Professor Jones' death, I felt the feeling of a blow to my heart that occurs when someone very important in my life passes away. I never was one to become "friends" with teachers and professors. I always felt that I was just one of so many students they taught throughout the years, so why would they want to be "friends" with me? Despite that insecurity of mine, I felt that Professor Jones was so approachable, and that he really did remember his students. I always felt a deep respect for his intelligence, his dedication to educating young minds, and his humor and kindness.
After Grinnell, I only spoke with Professor Jones once more when I called to ask him for a letter of recommendation for law school in 1987. He remembered me right away, and didn't hesitate to provide the letter. I was applying to night programs for law school because of my financial situation, and told him I was planning to attend Loyola University of Chicago. His only comment, other than to agree to send the letter was - "Doesn't University of Chicago or Northwestern have a night school you could go to?" I received a fine legal education from Loyola, but Professor Jones' comment made me feel that he respected me and truly believed in my abilities. I owe many of them to him. I have to go now because crying at my desk isn't very professional. I will miss Professor Jones, and I'm honored to have encountered him in my life.
Roberta Saielli Lewis '86
Al was one of my mentors at Grinnell (the other being Joe Wall), and served officially as my advisor, urging me to go on and teach and write about history, which I did at several colleges and universities before a mid-life career change. We saw quite a bit of each other for a few years -- I worked as a Grinnell admissions counselor while going to grad school at Berkeley -- and then a couple of times back in the 70's and 80's when I was invited back to the college to give lectures in the Rosenfield Program.
About a year and a half ago, when driving across country, I stopped off at the college and popped into Al's office to chat for an hour or so. He remembered me and my wife (Carol Shaver, '64) as though it was yesterday, and it didn't take long to discuss the state of the world (grim in his eyes), and the state of the college (less lively than in the turbulent 60's, and one heck of a lot wealthier these days). He bemoaned the role of at least one graduate in the Iraq catastrophe and gave me a characteristic burst of mid-western populism when describing the role of 'special interests' in Washington politics and American foreign policy. We talked about my decision to leave the Democratic Party after their vote to give Bush the power to go to war in Iraq. A wonderful hour.
And, though I remember Al as a stimulating (if a tad disorganized in those early days of his career) teacher (always with lit Camel in hand), it was his commitment to Democratic politics that I remember most clearly. So, this little story.
As a student I was an active Democrat, one year serving the Democratic intern (my Republican counterpart was South Younker friend Dave Kennedy, '63) for the Program in Practical Politics, a nice little perk which got lots of face time with Eugene McCarthy, Barry Goldwater, Hubert Humphrey, Harold Hughes and other luminaries. It also required that I help organize a Democratic float for a parade in some some small town south of Grinnell, the name of which escapes me, for some holiday, which also escapes me. We put together a little dixieland band and when down there to ride on a flatbed pulled by a tractor. Much fun. I remember getting very few cheers save when we passed the local jail and a few residents stuck their heads out and gave us thumbs up.
Anyhow, after the parade I sought out Al in his office in ARH (he was almost always there, even on weekends and at night) and I remember him saying "Goodenow, what are you doing here? You should be in jail by now." To make a long story short, he explained that Democrats who had paraded in that town for several years had been arrested for disturbing the peace and this year he had contacted a judge in Des Moines who was going to spring us immediately, thereby getting a story in the Des Moines Register by a reporter he had also contacted. Sadly, either the plot was leaked or the GOP enjoyed our music. But that was Al, a tad cynical with one of his advisees, but all in the name of justice.
I last heard from him around Christmas. He was feeling better after his last heart attack, asked after me and my family and predicted a "hard couple of years" in the country. I was happy he had lived long enough to see the kind of change in the political winds of which he approved, but am now truly saddened that this person who played such an interesting and important role in my life, and in those of so many other Grinnellians, is gone. I suspect that Al Joneses are few and far between.
Ron Goodenow, '63
Reflecting on my memories of Professor Jones, I realized he "inspired" me in a couple of ways.
I first met him when he was head of the Rosenfeld lecture program and our group, Students Helping the Homeless, was requesting money for a lecture we wanted to present. We told him about how we were going to shelters in Des Moines every Saturday. Somehow it came up that we were borrowing any car we could to get there. He looked up and said, wouldn't you like funding to use college cars? We knew enough to agree and that kept our group volunteering the next few years. That encouragement was extremely heartening, and the time in the shelters led to my career as a legal services lawyer.
He also inspired me academically - the first day of his Diplomatic History of the US class he was getting no answer to his question, "what is a theory?" His gazed rested on me and he said, Deborah, you're an anthropology major aren't you, what's a theory?" I replied that I was an American Studies Major. He paused and said, "ah, American Studies, the history of comic books." I knew then I had to get an A in that class!
Also that day, his first class in the then new science building wing, he grew silent for a while. When he spoke, it was to observe that his stack of papers was standing up vertically, unsupported. His comment that the desks in this building sure are flat, still makes me smile.
Debbie Gottschalk '90
In my day, all freshmen had to take Humanities and Historical Studies. I was lucky enough to be in Al Jones class in the spring of 1960. A flailing freshman, I did not as well in my first history class as I wanted to, considering my desire to graduate ready to teach high school world history students. I took my concerns to Dr. Jones, who suggested we go for coffee at the student union. Over our 10 cent cups, he asked me if I had read this book, or this one, or another one he thought important. When I replied I had read none of them and should probably retreat to Seattle and not return in the fall, he told me, in no uncertain terms, that all I had to do was read the aforementioned books, and I would make a fine history major and become a good teacher. I did all of that, and had the joy and wonder of a Grinnell education, thanks to Al Jones. I'll be forever thankful to him for that coffee session; it was, of course, simply an extension of his inspirational and caring teaching style. With fond memories, Peg.
Peg Dombek '63
It must have been 1956 or 1957 when the flu hit Grinnell hard: I remember those with lower fevers tending those with higher, the infirmary being full. As Al Jones' American History class assembled, many of us shakily just out of bed, as was Professor Jones himself, he explained an extraordinary moment in the Illinois Senate or nominating convention when Abraham Lincoln made an entrance. We were all busy taking notes, of course, while Mr. Jones tried to get us to see the grandeur of that moment, his voice shaking. I glanced up and saw that he was weeping, probably frailty from the flu, but certainly in his effort to make that historical moment come alive for us. He broke down completely, sitting at his desk and hitting it with his fists, saying, "Oh, hell! Oh, hell!" The class was embarrassed, I thought: how often do you see the grownups cry? But I was profoundly moved because, whatever his flu-created weakness, he cared so much about what he was trying to get us to see. I won't forget that. Nor the moment when he returned a paper on President Jackson with the comment that it was confusedly written--in the same week when I won several writing prizes. It was his look of puzzlement I carry with me. He was absolutely right--the paper was badly written. I remember his puzzlement at there not being any chalk in the tray underneath the blackboard and his bemused smile at finding a couple dozen nubs of chalk in his jacket pocket. Also the time during a lecture when he discovered his fly unzipped and laconically zipped it up without missing a beat in the point he was making. He was so entirely human as well as being so well-read and thoughtful. I tried to emulate those qualities in my own teaching career.
Some of my warmest memories of Grinnell--which are many--are of Al Jones and his mentor Joe Wall, though I was an English literature major, both principled men devoted to the truth and to their students.
Liane Ellison Norman '59
I've struggled to find the words of appreciation adequate for the gifts that Prof. Jones bestowed on me while I attended Grinnell. His wit and wisdom were surpassed only by his compassion. He understood, when I met him, what it was like to be a 17 year old kid away from home for the first time. From reading the memories shared in this journal, his understanding never faded. I save for him my highest accolade: He taught me how to think. He did so without trying to tell me what to think. For this I owe him my deepest gratitude. This was the gift I was given. I can best show my appreciation by passing it along, as best I can, to my children, and the ones that I coach. He asked me an odd, but simple question at our 10th reunion: "Are you successful?" An incoherent jumble of a response prompted an even more piercing inquiry: "But do you believe that you are successful?" I wasn't sure, and I told him so. He told me to "Become sure." My process of "becoming sure" continues. I am sure that Prof. Jones continues to succeed in all of us.
Pat Kasperitis '86
I cannot think about Grinnell without thinking about my advisor and mentor Al Jones. His passion and compassion were contagious and whatever I had been considering for a major changed as soon as I had my first class from Al - and of course I ended up a History and American Studies major with a thesis on Iowa community sociology and politics with a focus on minorities. He helped me make sense of the turmoil of the late 60's, helped me get purposefully (and almost articulately) angry, and made me feel responsible to be part of the solution - beginning with my rather well-broadcast departure from ROTC. Living in the closet, I recognized that his kind of active social conscience was the key to what I personally needed, what I ached most deeply for, and was in fact a personal obligation in solidarity with minorities of all sorts. My several careers since then share the one common theme of requiring me to tap into the lessons he taught me. Even now, every day I am still on intellectual and spiritual quests he helped plant in my gut - which I still water earnestly and which still flower as if in tribute to him. As a university administrator now ("Wisdom University" no less) I would be thrilled to have a faculty of curious and impassioned and compassionate Al Jones clones launching students into wisely purposeful quests - yep, even inviting his dancing cigarette here to San Francisco.
Bob Meyer, '72
In his remembrance, Dan Bucks '67 has proposed a marvelous tribute to Al Jones:
"I think a fitting tribute to Professor Jones would be for college to establish an Al Jones Institute for Social Justice Studies and Action--and to fund it well not just with memorial contributions from his grateful students but also with an especially generous allocation from the healthy Grinnell endowment."
I encourage all who have contributed to this remembrance of Al, and all those who read these comments, to contact the college in support of this proposal. Al often disagreed with the Grinnell Board of Trustees, so he would be very surprised, but extremely pleased, if the trustees adopt Dan's proposal.
Bill Mohrman '66
I think the thing I will always remember about Al Jones is that he was the first teacher I ever had who took a genuine interest in me as a person. In high school I was just a name and a face to my teachers but Al Jones was different. Although the difference in intellectual level between me as a lowly 18 year old college freshman and he as a renowned historian was (obviously) a world apart, he managed to bridge the gap because of his personality. He treated students as equals, while also offering guidance about any aspect of life you asked him about - academics, employment, social life, etc. The respect he showed for his students had a profound impact on my own self-image as a young person. Grinnell has lost more than a professor; the college has lost a part of itself.
Jason Wolf '95
I remember Mr. Jones as my intellectual and political mentor, my academic role model and friend for over thirty years. He guided so many of us through important times in our own lives as well the history of our times. I hope they have chalk boards in heaven because, as he said many times, he cannot teach without one.
Douglas S. Russell '71
Al Jones was one of the main reasons I came to Grinnell. When I first told my parents about Grinnell they were wary of me spending four years in Iowa...a different planet from New Jersey. They suggested I attend the High School Summer Institute there, I think in the hope that a four-week dose of cornfields and hogs would be enough to send me scampering back to the shopping malls.
I enrolled in Professor Jones' Critical Thinking Seminar focusing on Small Towns in America. We read Sinclair Lewis, we went on door to door interviews of Grinnellians, and we were treated to the daily thoughts of Professor Jones who we all quickly came to adore. I returned to New Jersey even more certain to attend Grinnell and was shocked and surprised when Professor Jones graciously agreed to write a recommendation for me. For a person with such a long history of the school it seemed he never forgot a student.
From the moment I stepped into his office as a matriculated student to my semester in his Diplomatic History Class, to those occasions when I would drop by his office in the Carnegie Building, he always made me feel his warmth. To know him was to feel tangibly connected to the long history of Grinnell -- to the Phillip Noyces, to the Harry Hopkins, to the many more and less famous but equally important people who came before us. It meant being there for the day Harry Truman came to campus or the night during the Cuban Missile Crisis when Professor Jones decided to dig a bomb shelter in his basement (after a few drinks). His loss is a tremendous one and I stand here a little dumbfounded by his passing. As hard as it is to imagine Grinnell without Professor Jones, it is equally hard to imagine myself today without the role he played in my life at a crucial moment. And perhaps that is the highest tribute I can pay him. May his memory be a blessing.
Joshua Ford '94, American Studies
Al Jones taught two generations of our family. As my son, Eric, has already written, I was a student of his in the 1960s, and Eric and our daughter-in-law, Kendra, were his students in the 90s. Al Jones had a strong influence on all three of us. We each have our special memories of him as a professor, friend, advisor and even as a political practitioner--when he served as Powesheik County Democratic Chairman in the 1960s and recruited some of us to help out in local campaign activities.
I will always remember Al Jones' annual lecture on the history of Grinnell College. While covering the broad sweep of the college's history, he would focus especially on Grinnell's role as a center of the Social Gospel movement in the late 1890's. His lecture always seemed to be a call for Grinnell to return to its roots and be a strong force for justice in our society. It is a call that Grinnell seems to resist. I spoke with Al Jones the last time in the mid-90s on the occasion of Eric's and Kendra's wedding at Grinnell. He reflected that Grinnell College was in the process of becoming incredibly and unimaginably rich with money. He wondered if Grinnell would use its riches to be a force for good in the larger society. Many of us who were influenced by Al Jones continue to wonder the same thing. I think a fitting tribute to Professor Jones would be for college to establish an Al Jones Institute for Social Justice Studies and Action--and to fund it well not just with memorial contributions from his grateful students but also with an especially generous allocation from the healthy Grinnell endowment.
Dan Bucks '67
Very sad news, indeed. I heard from Professor Jones at Christmas after he suffered a heart attack, but he said it wasn't life-threatening. Maybe he just didn't want people to worry....
The class of '86 invited Professor Jones to speak at our 20th reunion last year. Even though, he couldn't make it due to his declining health, he appreciated the fact that we thought so highly of him. I'm also glad to have seen him and Jean in Grinnell during the reunion. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I had put it off until our 25th.
We can put off much of the flotsam in our lives and I well-remember the word "procrastination" sprinkling many a dorm conversation about writing papers, studying for quizzes, etc. Speaking to someone before he or she dies, however, is one of those things we can't put off because events won't wait for us. As I stood up to say goodbye to Professor Jones, it occurred to me all at once that it might be the last time to see him alive and I tried my best not to show it. Maybe I didn't want him to worry.... I shook his hand firmly, as if to transfer some of my youth and optimism to him through the handshake, saying "thank you, Professor Jones...for everything."
Dan McGrath '86
I (Mary Sue) had Alan Jones in my first year at Grinnell for World Civilization. He was a fabulous professor! All of us in the class were relatively nervous about our imagined rigors of Grinnell. Al eased us into the course and made it a delight. Ken (as a major in Government) also enjoyed knowing Al and engaging in many conversations over the years we were undergraduates. When we returned to Iowa in the 1990s and during our many trips to campus, we renewed our acquaintance and enjoyed many more conversations. What makes me most proud, though, is that Alan was an alumnus of the University of Michigan, the institution I now lead. He represented us very well and made us proud.
Mary Sue Coleman ('65), President, University of Michigan and Kenneth M Coleman ('65)
I was really fortunate to know Al Jones as a family friend while growing up and then as a professor at Grinnell College. He was without question one of my very favorite people. While it's true Mr. Jones could be a bit intimidating in class it was never accompanied by more than, oh, maybe a touch of malice. He just wanted students to do their reading, and try to be more thoughtful. (I got better at the former but didn't make significant improvement at the latter.)
A few '82 graduates have mentioned the Iowa and the New Deal senior seminar and I actually saved everyone's final papers from that class. It was the most enjoyable course I took at Grinnell, followed closely by Urban History (with Mr. Jones, naturally). I also fondly remember an independent study course in historic preservation, an interest of his that was developing in me.
John Kissane '82
Two favorite memories:
A Grinnell-in-London overnight trip to Cambridge in 1979. We ran into Al and Jim Kissane that evening after we had all enjoyed a beautiful fall day wandering the campus and town. Al had an epiphany. Cambridge showed him that Grinnell needed three things: (1) something had to be done about making the grounds more beautiful; (2) something else I can't remember any longer; and (3) most important, Grinnell needed a boy's choir. When we all laughed heartily, he laughed too, but insisted that he was serious...
Jump forward to last year. I am on campus for an alumni meeting and I get a chance to talk with Al at a reception. He tells me about data he has on how all the Iowa counties voted going back decades. I said I supposed he was trying to figure out exactly what to do with all that information. He said, "Oh no, I know what I'm going to do. I am going to write about "How The Republicans Ruined Iowa."
From beginning to end -- from my freshman year in 1977 in American Civilization to last year -- every encounter with Al was not just a learning experience, it was great fun.
Jim Bowhay '81
From Grinnell in Iowa to Grinnell in London to Graduation to 2007 Professor Jones has always been the Professor. The visits over the years to campus were pleasant stops in my travels across the State of Iowa and filled with great conversation on current research, politics, family and where I was in my life and always professorial advice. The Professor and his philosophy has, and always will be a part of the Grinnell experience and carried by the boomers to whatever we call the following waves of young people. The Professor had a special place within for each of his students and I a special place within for The Professor. To Jean and the kids thanks for sharing the Professor.
Scott Sobel '80
Al Jones was my advisor at Grinnell, and I could not have been more fortunate. Besides taking a number of his wonderful courses, which defined the "Grinnell experience", he was instrumental in my future career choices outside of history. First, as a senior, I applied and was accepted to graduate school in three different fields; American studies, international politics, and demography. Unable to make a choice, I asked for his advice. With wisdom and humor he suggested I try demography since I knew very little about it, UC Berkeley was a cool place, and they gave me money. How could I disagree, and off I went.
When I decided later to switch paths and apply to medical school, I was unsure if I would get in, and applied to thirty schools. I asked Al to write me letters of recommendation to each one. He complied, although the few times I saw him subsequently, he never forgot about those letters, and with a twinkle, he told me he would never write another. Luckily, I did not need to ask again, but I was always grateful for his previous advice and support.
Matt Cort '71
My condolences to the Jones family and to the college. As with John Mohan, one of the most inspirational professors of my time at Grinnell has passed, but the inspiration continues.
I first met Al in an "informal" visit when I visited as a prospective student - he wasn't on my "visit itinerary", but my Dad had been a classmate of his, and wanted to drop in. Like so many Grinnell professors, Al stopped what he was doing, took quite a bit of time to get to know me and encouraged me to attend (as you would expect, on that last point).
Not that any of this helped me when I took American History I from him in my first year. I still remember him chiding the entire class for not reading the newspaper before our 10:00 class and his other attempts to make us believe he had higher expectations of us. I didn't get it then, but later learned that his main point in that class was for us to understand what it meant for the first settlers to envision the Massachusetts Bay colony as a "City on a Hill" and how that led to a number of the events in history that followed. I always laugh now that I reflect he was teaching us this point at a college that was nowhere NEAR a hill.
His appreciation for irony and the ability of including a good laugh as a way to make his point was exemplified in his "book tour" during the sesquicentennial. I saw him in the Twin Cities, and later at reunion and 2 things stand out: one, his reading of a letter to the S&B from a faculty member in the 1960's that blasted a hole in an earlier student letter titled, ominously, "What is to be done?", and two, his assertion that the students of my generation were living better at the college, with better facilities and seemingly more disposable cash, but that we also seemed to lack the drive and commitment of previous generations of students. He still had higher expectations - but a great love of the college and its students.
Frank Douma '92
I am sorry to hear of Al Jones' passing. Some of us history majors used to call him "Easy Al," not because his courses were not challenging, but because of his rather gentle dreaminess when lecturing about the virtues of an earlier America. Nice guy who leaves a hole in our fabric.
Terry Finn '70
I only had Alan Jones in the large lecture section of a freshman course, where he alternated with Joseph Wall, and apart from his lectures, the thing I remember most is that he consistently wore sox of vastly different colors - left red and the right navy with loafers. It was deliberate.
Kitty Pape Alexander '66
A second-hand memory of Professor Jones: I once mentioned to Professor Jeff Ostler of the University of Oregon that Al Jones had been my advisor at Grinnell. It turns out that Prof. Jones had commented on Jeff's very first conference paper when he was still a graduate student at Iowa. Jeff still fondly remembered him after more than twenty years, which perhaps shows that not only Grinnellians benefited from his presence. Probably more than anyone else at Grinnell, it was Professor Jones' example that inspired me to become a college instructor - he was simply a wonderful teacher, inside and outside the classroom. It is a bit of that "Grinnell experience" that I try to bring to my students at the large, chronically underfunded university where I teach.
Alex Dracobly '87
It's uplifting to read these tributes to Al Jones. It is clear his caring and wisdom touched many of us through the decades. I had the good fortune to have Al Jones as an advisor, as well as an instructor for half of the history courses I took for my major. I can remember how pleased my Dad was to see I had been assigned to Al Jones' freshman tutorial session. Dad graduated in '67, had taken courses from Al, and remembered him fondly.
I've got a particular memory, one that Tad mentioned, that I'm going to elaborate on.
I remember a spring semester afternoon course upstairs in ARH. This was ARH before the renovation, before air conditioning. Some days the room would get too warm, despite opened windows. Since Al had recently returned to the classroom following his heart surgery, he spent most of the lectures sitting and wouldn't stand much to write at the board. When he did use the chalkboard, it was more to jot down some broad themes, such as "POWER," "RACE," "TRADE," or the like, along with a few lines drawn, or maybe a name or two. Like most lectures, those scant details on the board were nothing without the narrative.
And so there was Al, on a distractingly warm spring afternoon, speaking to the class from a chair with his back to the chalkboard. Nearing the end of the lecture, he stabbed out suddenly with chalk held in his right hand, and he smacked it into the chalkboard behind him while still looking ahead.
< THWACK >
Then he used that chalk as if it were a lasso, circling one word from the board, reeling it in as the final word of his sentence. Never looking back at the board, he said, "And it all comes down to... [circle now complete]... Power." Chalk back into chalk tray. Thought finished. Game over.
I looked over at Mark Baumann, and we shook our heads at what we'd just seen. Here was a man not long removed from the hospital, a man who, to be honest, looked a bit frail, and on warm days was visibly perspiring. Yet he was delivering those lectures with the insight and wit that we all remember fondly. And what's more, he was so obviously back in his element. Al was back in the game, so to speak, and had casually uncorked the chalkboard equivalent of a no-look pass.
Whether teaching or mentoring, Al Jones had a knack for knowing what to say. Watching him pluck the word, "power," off the board, just where he knew he'd left it, was a charmed moment.
Eric Bucks '92
I majored in "Al Jones" at Grinnell. I was fortunate to be able to take an Al Jones course ever year I was at Grinnell, including Humanities I, Medieval History, US Diplomatic History, and senior History seminar. Beginning in my sophomore year, Al was my advisor. He was also a mentor and a friend. After graduation, I tried to visit Al whenever I returned to campus. Al was a great teacher. Al was passionate, in the low-key Al Jones style, about whatever he was teaching. Al Jones was a wonderful person. He loved Grinnell. Grinnell and I will miss him.
Bill Mohrman '66
My condolences to the Jones family. While he was a great teacher of history, he also taught many of us about living a balanced life. One spring day he was crossing the central lawn, and said he was skipping a faculty meeting to do some gardening. The capstone of my Grinnell experience was Al's seminar on Midwest History. Al and Jean were kind enough to have the class come to their home for a Sunday night dinner, and Al encouraged John Hinde and I to go off campus to do primary source research and to produce seminar papers that were well beyond our perceptions of our abilities. When our daughters toured the campus in 2002, we were able to visit Al in his office across from Herrick. He was still doing research, analyzing historic Iowa voting patterns for a project. We shared stories of the 70s, family, and, of course, national politics. He set the bar very high for those who follow him.
Mark Genereux '75
Al was my advisor and also my friend. There are surely a new crop of professors positively impacting the students, the college, and the community. These individuals will be measured against the likes of Al Jones.
Here are a few of my memories:
Al's class, Constitutional History of the United States, was one of my most memorable. He would stand at the board and hold court on big concepts such as power and liberty, circling key words, banging his chalk, and calling on students to share a thought. Al was open to all points of view and seemed to enjoy the class most when a genuine debate broke out. The tests were a blast, full of open ended essays and the famous "Al Jones matching" -- you had match a Justice with a concept, a case, and a time period.
Al's poor health in the 90-91 academic year forced him to step away from teaching his seminar on Colonial History. I was disappointed but in a twist of fate Joe Wall came out of retirement to pinch hit for Al. I believe that was the last class that Joe Wall ever taught at Grinnell.
I tracked Al down in the summer of 2002 when I returned for my ten year reunion. He and Jean seemed happy in their new place. We shared a cold drink on his couch and talked mostly about the politics of the day, good naturedly agreeing to disagree.
I came back to campus in the summer of 2004 for my wife's reunion and took Al, Jean, and Don Smith out to a new (to me) restaurant called the Phoenix. We dined on some good food, talked about politics, the college, family, travel, and parenting. I saw a different side of Al that evening (call it grandpa Al) as he warmed quickly to my then nine month old daughter and talked fondly of his grandson Max.
Alan Thomas '92
With Al Jones's passing, I feel as though a very big part of the Grinnell College that I attended has gone. His passion for history, sense of humor, and political engagement inspired me to jettison my ambition of attending law school and become a historian instead. I still crib from the notes I took in Professor Jones's Constitutional history class and senior seminar on the New Deal. The superb history professors I had at Grinnell-Al Jones, Don Smith, Phil Kintner, and Randy Roth-still set the standard that I try to attain in my own classes.
One of my most vivid memories of Professor Jones dates to the spring of my senior year. We were sitting in his office, discussing my senior seminar paper, grumping about the policies of the Reagan administration, and pondering my future after graduation. Commenting on the bleak political and economic climate of the early 1980s, he took a drag on his cigarette, half-smiled, and informed me, "You know, you picked a lousy time to be twenty." "Thanks a lot," I replied. It was true, of course, and it is probably true for my students today. His wry humor and commitment to a more just America have remained with me this past quarter-century, through good times and bad.
Chris Rasmussen '82
I don't feel I can express as eloquently as those who have already shared their memories, though I too feel much sadness over the passing of Al Jones. Prof. Jones was my freshman tutorial professor and therefore my first advisor at Grinnell. Beyond the survey of American style warfare that was the basis of the class, Al taught me to be a better writer and a better researcher. We met weekly in his office outside of the classroom in which he would critique our papers. He let us know what was and was not up to Grinnell's standard (that was the last time I used an encyclopedia as a cited source), but he never critiqued us in a condescending manner. Though we all moved on to different advisors (due to his retirement) and different majors, those of us in his tutorial met him each year for dinner. I will always appreciate his knowledge, his teaching skill, and his passion for Grinnell.
John Zabel '95
I fondly remember Al Jones handing out a mid-term and instructing us that if we did not know the answer to the question he had provided us, could we at least indicate what question we would be answering so as to assist him in understanding what it was he would be reading. He also never failed to let us know that he followed our athletic endeavors and gave great insight into what we could do to improve. What a kind gentleman.
Cornell Rudov '79
If I ever again have to write one of those essays about "my most influential teacher," it would most certainly be about Al Jones. He was a great professor and advisor who kept me inspired and interested for four years. As many have related, it wasn't just his ability as a teacher but his wit and wisdom that I remember most. We quoted him like a favorite movie. For some reason to this day this particular truism rattles around my head: "It all goes back to the theme of nationalism...manifest destiny."
Ben Wohlauer '93
For some reason, I imposed upon the Jones family to store many boxes and bicycles after graduation. As I passed through Grinnell by Greyhound bus on my way to San Francisco a few months after graduation, Al said to me, "Read Candide." He gave me many wise thoughts over the years, but "get a garden" perhaps said it all. "Il faut cultiver notre jardin" ("It is necessary to cultivate our garden"). He will be missed.
Katherine A. Kramer '76
I have the same fond memories of a great teacher that many of you have expressed most eloquently. The sharpest memory, however, is of a different sort. There came to be through some machinations or other in 1965 or 66 a faculty-student touch football game. The faculty were a bit older and slower than the students, but they made up for that in caginess and a certain awe that their status evoked from the students. It just wouldn't do to break the leg of an about-to-be full professor. I was on defense. A play developed the details of which runneth beyond the memory of man. I headed for the ball carrier. A blocker came from outside my field of vision. There was a sudden thud and a rush of air being expelled from my lungs. The next thing I saw from the turf along East Street was Al Jones, grinning broadly standing over me. The history of diplomacy, he might have said, is replete with resorts to undiplomatic force. I've never viewed professors quite the same since.
Hal Fuson '67
Al Jones was my Freshman year advisor and my tutorial class was 'Utopia'. I recall very few of my classes at Grinnell but this one stands out in my mind due to Al's excellent teaching methods and natural kindness. One of his first acts of kindness was to have me and another student read their first essays outloud to the class - one being very personal and emotional (not mine) and the other being very academic and dry (mine). He diplomatically explained that the goal of an analytical paper was to find a happy medium between the two styles. I also recall a great field trip to the Amana Colonies early in the semester. Goodbye Al Jones, I will always remember you fondly.
Tracy Benton '75
Al Jones´ passing is very sad news. He was my unofficial advisor when Grinnell was still only marginally interested in Latin American Studies and preferred Spanish students to study Spain. I remember when the CIA´s Psy-Ops manual from the Contra war surfaced in 1984, and reading it with Al Jones, and our blood just boiling. I followed his lead on how to interpret US involvement in Central America, and as a result, I was much more on target in my read then I could really know back then (Meanwhile, Ollie North has been rewarded with a Fox News contract!). Al Jones was very good to many of us, and I certainly carry his dim view of state power and empire. I also remember when Reagan was reelected, taking down the flag at Central Campus and raising it upside down in protest, and then going to Al Jones´ office to tell him. It prompted him to talk to me about his experience during the 1970 Grinnell Spring when the university sent students home early amid anti-war protests following the Kent State shootings. Several years later, I went and asked his advice when I was considering grad school in history, and he tried to dissuade me. He said he thought that I was more inclined to activism, and that I might learn that the academy was kind of stifling or limiting. I think he also had his own doubts about where the academy was going, in terms of the division between publishing and teaching. I ended up doing it anyway, but his advice prompted me to slow down, and think for a long time about whether a life in the university was right for me. He was one of the most natural and inspiring teachers I had at Grinnell, and for his concern and because he talked to me honestly, I will always be thankful. I have developed my own variation of his convocation talk "The Active Life and the Contemplative Life", which I use with undergraduates at the University of Guadalajara, in Mexico. In the end, I have tried to follow in his steps, and at the same time I know he was right: I have struggled to balance the active with the contemplative life, and probably always will. I learned that at Grinnell, and Al Jones was a central part of it. We addressed him as Mr. Jones, but amongst ourselves we referred to him as Big Al, and I will remember him as a mentor.
Robert Curley ´85
My years at Grinnell, 1954-58, were Al Jones's first years on the faculty, but he was the best teacher I had. He worked so hard to share his interest in and love of American history that it caught fire with me, and turned me into a serious student for the first time. I also worked with him in student government, and trace my own work in student and faculty governance to his sense of fairness and sensitivity in governance relationships. As professor myself, and later a provost and chancellor, I remembered his lessons of mutual respect as central to governance--characteristics he developed over time at Grinnell, and for which he was so much respected. I feel as if my last connection to the College is gone, though I know better.
M.E. Hannah, '58
To me, Al Jones epitomized the Midwestern virtues in favor of which I'm hopelessly prejudiced, most notably that peculiar mix of feisty contrarianism and great good nature. By the time I knew him, at least, and doubtless long before that, he always fought his battles with a twinkle in his eye. One of the battles he was waging when I first met him (in the fall of 1982) was against what he called "American hegemony," which we critiqued in considerable detail in his freshman tutorial on the US and Latin America. I think Al was the first person I ever met who showed me -- not by preaching, but simply by being himself -- that openly criticizing the misjudgments and challenging the hubris of one's government was not only a respectable thing to do, but sometimes, and indeed frequently, no less than a patriotic duty. There have been times in recent years when I doubt I was the only one who wondered whether this idea would ever regain its vigor in this republic of ours. Over the last six months or so I've become convinced that this is indeed beginning to happen. I hope Al was pleased.
All the best, Phil
Phil Harling, '86
I got an email from Al about a week before he died. He forwarded me an AP news item regarding the FCC's attempt to re-write the rules on media ownership, and he thought that I'd find it interesting. Always the egalitarian and the big picture thinker, he wrote about how he believed that any increase in media ownership concentration would not serve our democracy. It's reassuring to know that a week before his passing, Al was still looking at breaking news on the AP, keeping a skeptical eye out for big government, and keeping up with his former students. It also makes me feel good that I had the opportunity to write him one last time, show him recent pictures of my kids, and tell him how great he was. Not only was he a great professor and advisor, but to me, he was an influential role model and mentor. Al, I already miss you, and I thank you for all your guidance.
Jon Minkoff '94
I credit Prof. Jones for turning me on to American History - a subject that I continue to explore and learn about largely due to his influence. Al's socratic method and amiable style encouraged me to set aside my normally reticent ways and share my ideas in class openly. I still have my books from the classes I took with Al, and when I occasionally read them again I think back to my time at Grinnell and what a great teacher he was.
Bill Warburton '90
I took American Civilization II with Al Jones and I can still see him in his navy blue pullover sweater, chalk dust stained and this great grin of his as he lectured and cajoled us into thinking and discussing. I should say it was in his class that I had one of my many epiphanies of what I wanted to do with my life. We read Anzia Yezierksa's The Breadgivers, a wonderful gritty immigrant story set in the Lower East Side of NY.... I read it and it thoroughly transformed me. I became a folklorist, and now work at an old synagogue in the Lower East Side which had a tribute for Anzia Yezierska a few years ago. Al was just so smart and funny and engaging. Before I landed in New York, I got to teach American Studies at Grinnell and got to teach alongside Al and Don Irving (I am imagining them somewhere together right now) and I couldn't have had a more wonderful "internship" of sorts for teaching. Godspeed.
Hanna Griff '81
Al Jones introduced me and my American history senior seminar classmates to the new field of urban history in Spring 1968. In 1968, urban history was just emerging as an academic field and we were all fortunate that Al wanted to share it with us. Four years later, when I entered graduate school in history, because of Al's seminar, I specialized in urban history. Recognizing that there were no jobs for Ph.D.s in history at that time, I moved into urban and regional planning where I got my master's and Ph.D. at the same university Al attended, the University of Michigan. Even though I switched to planning, I kept my roots in history and when I had the chance I shifted my interests to the emerging field of the history of urban planning, where I remain today. I owe this all to Al, who nearly 40 years ago decided that he and his history seminar students should learn something new and vital.
Chuck Connerly '68
Al Jones was one of my faculty for the Grinnell-in-London semester. I had not taken his courses on campus, and learned in London how much I'd been missing. He was indeed a terrific teacher, both inside and out of the classroom. I got to know Al even more during my frequent visits to campus over the years, and his passion for Grinnell and the students remained constant. He will be missed.
Trish Fitzgibbons Anderson '80
Al was a fine teacher, an excellent and helpful colleague, and a campus leader. His was a voice of intelligence, of thoughtfulness, and social conscience. He was a respected leader during the troubled times of the late 1960s, and he continued to offer his wisdom and experience generously to students and colleagues throughout his career at Grinnell. I'll miss him a great deal.
Jon Andelson '70
In the summer of 1968 Al Jones was an alternate delegate from Iowa to the Democratic Convention in Chicago (sometimes referred to as the Mayor Daly convention) and I was an alternate delegate from Colorado. Since alternates didn't get on the floor much, Al and I spent a fair amount of time sitting in the balcony together observing the proceedings. As with so many subjects, his comments on this most extraordinary convention were perceptive and highly entertaining. I will miss him greatly.
Jim Hautzinger '58
Like many who have written, I will always remember Al as a gifted teacher and wise mentor who always had time to chat about whatever "urgent" matter an energetic 20-year-old brought to his door. I also remember serving on a student-faculty curriculum committee with him. Not surprisingly, the numbers were stacked 5-4 in favor of the faculty lest the students get too much power. In the early 80s various proposals were floating around to impose more required courses. In any case, on one vote on this subject I remember the outcome being 5-4, with Al joining the four students against his faculty colleagues. This to me embodies what was great about Al: he took students seriously, he liked to side with the underdog against the establishment and he was fiercely independent, occasionally to the consternation of his colleagues and the administration. Grinnell is fortunate to have been touched by him.
Eric Green '85
In his passion for scholarship, love of teaching and joy in the give-and-take of ideas, Al Jones embodied many of Grinnell's virtues. He displayed his capacity for camaraderie one rainy winter afternoon in London in 1979 when he joined two or three members-in-exile of the Celestial Sacred Harp Choir in some spontaneous shape-note harmonizing in a student flat. Neighboring Londoners were no doubt puzzled and perhaps alarmed at the sound of 18th-century American Protestant lyrics wafting through the air. In the classroom one watched in suspense as he gesticulated with a cigarette in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other while denigrating Richard Hofstadter or reminiscing about the 1968 Democratic Convention. It's difficult to imagine Grinnell without Al Jones.
Bob Mitchell, '80
I was fortunate to have Al as a professor, and he was without doubt one of the best teachers I had at Grinnell--high praise given that I had a host of excellent professors in my time at the college. I was also fortunate to visit with Al again last year when I had occasion to return to the college. Al was not in great health, but he was as lively as ever. At our dinner he joked and laughed with a gleam in his eye--pointedly teasing Brad Bateman about those "West Des Moines" types. He was very funny and it was great to see him hold forth in his witty style. He was in so many ways the institutional memory of Grinnell and is, of course, irreplaceable.
Steve Pickle '90
Professor Jones' "Constitutional History" class was my first taste of the socratic method. I ended up going to law school after Grinnell, and am grateful that he showed me that law school -- and a legal career -- might be an option for me.
Dion Smith '83
"Prof. Jones" served as my academic advisor and "Al" served as my mentor and wise sage. This combination of formal and informal teaching provided me with a wholistic and integrated education. Almost twenty years after graduating from Grinnell, Professor Alan Jones remains a part of me as if I had just graduated. I believe that he symbolizes the best of Grinnell College. May we all continue to draw upon his lessons for years to come.
Kent Koth '90
Professor Jones was one of the two professors who most influenced me during my four years at Grinnell. I took Constitutional history with him my freshman year, and he taught me how to think critically. He also, in a very nice way, taught me to grow up and not be so self-centered. I don't recall exactly what he said or did, but mostly his patience in listening to my petty problems helped with that process. He was a very good lecturer, and his personal convictions influenced his students greatly.
Snehalata Huzurbazar '84
Mr. Jones was my advisor while @ Grinnell. I shall always remember his kindness and care for me as a student and a human being. I once overwore a contact lens, was in considerable pain, and really unable to figure out what to do. Mr. Jones offered to drive me to an ophthalmologist if it became necessary. As a college teacher myself, I cannot imagine making such an offer to one of my students, but that was Mr. Jones. He was always willing to help.
Wanda Wakefield '75
Al Jones was a tremendous teacher and a wonderful man. I try to use the lessons he taught me every day with my own students and with my children. He may have passed from this life, but he will live on in my memory forever. Whenever I think of Grinnell College, the image of Al Jones and everything he represented during the time I attended Grinnell College come up as a strong, warm and vibrant memory.
Scott Weil
Mr. Al Jones will always have a dear place in the heart of my Grinnell memories. What a character. Beyond that, what a gifted teacher, intellectual, the list can go on. His lectures seemed liked novels, well written, to the point, and often, funny. He was a caring individual, who saw through the student into the person inside. When he looked at you, you had the idea he was thinking about more than what you had said, was understanding more than what was on the paper or on the surface of your words. "Mr. Jones" had a taste for humor. He could and would find the irony, the double meanings, the hidden agendas and the humanity behind not just history (which made it come alive), but behind the every day. As great teachers do, he touched hundreds of lives. But beyond that, his extraordinary gift for understanding and humor elevate his impact as a person, teacher and friend. He will be missed. I'm sorry I only saw him once since graduation, but I'm grateful for that time. Jones was instrumental in my life, encouraging the integration of my interest in photography with my major in history. It was more his social conscience then mine that got me shooting pictures and writing papers on the "down and out" in Chicago. It was through his understanding of political division in small Iowa towns that got me driving around photographing them. Those were probably the best things I did at Grinnell. In the real world, I became a documentary filmmaker, among other things. I recall many pleasant meetings at my advisor Mr. Jones' office, never dreaded, always encouraging, positive, full of laughter. Current Grinnell profs, you have large shoes to fill.
JB Letchinger '87
I was blessed to have taken several classes from him... Truly he made a lasting impression with me on the beauty and joy of learning and education.
More than any other instructor, my memories of professor "A. JONES" and his classes and content are the most cheerful and vivid memories I have of Grinnell College. A brilliant and witty historian, wise professor and wonderful person who excelled in inspiring students. I recall that class listings for this history department always hand the hand written initial "A" written in ahead of the typewritten JONES. I often wondered who wrote in the "A"? Perhaps he had done this in his cramped corner office on Third Floor Carnegie?
His wonderful class lectures and dialogs with students stand out in my memory...Rational and balanced Lectures which were so enchanting and relevant to the issues of the day, course content and themes still relevant today. Remembering the lecture hall in ARH first floor, Mr. Jones standing in the middle, the quizzical smile, the black glasses, surrounded on all sides by students with books piled up on the white slab desks (the room directly under the 2nd floor theatre).. There was always too much information he wanted to impart to us in the allotted time--and he always left us wanting more.
Duncan Gray Casselman '81
Al Jones was an incredibly dynamic teacher. He was also one of the coolest people I've ever been around. I copy one of his chalkboard moves [circling a phrase then slamming the chalk while looking at the class] in my own classes when I think a point deserves special emphasis.
I was impressed how well he took care of himself after his heart attack in 1990 or so. He grumbled to me about someone's Frisbee pegging him in the forehead as he did some his many rehab laps in the PEC.
He seemed to know too much about Chile. Several friends and I thought he WAS Salvador Allende brought to Grinnell by the CIA to educate and lay low. Note the resemblance at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Allende-Presidente-crop.jpg .
Tad Johnson '92
Professor Jones was never one of my instructors at Grinnell. I was too afraid to take his courses -- particularly Constitutional History due to the reputation he had acquired. However, I got to know Al Jones via my work as a summer programs assistant and through my relationship with Professor Wayne Moyer.
Professor Jones was one of the most kind, sincere, and intellectually curious people I have ever known. I truly enjoyed my conversations with him and his true passion for Grinnell College -- and particularly -- the students that make up this wonderful institution.
I know the world is a little less "friendly" without Professor Jones in it.
May peace be with all the family, friends, colleagues, students, administrators, staff, and faculty who knew and cared about him.
Dennis Still '95
I remember he would give us a list of 50 or so "optional" readings. He suggested we read them on Sunday afternoon instead of wasting our time watching football. But since he had already read them, he'd probably take in a game or two... I love that joke.
Grinnell will miss you, Professor.
David Gerard '90
My classes with Al were unforgettable. In the classroom, he was fully engaged, passionate and always entertaining. His skepticism of power and outrage about injustice was tempered by a wry appreciation of human foibles. Al was never didactic in the class room and always showed respect for the views of his students. His sense of humor was first-rate and I remember him being as amused by some of his students as he was about the figures he lectured us about. He was, of course, a keen student of his home state and Grinnell College. There was a terrific seminar on Iowa and the New Deal that he taught and I can still picture him pouring over computer print outs (this was back in 1982!) interpreting presidential voting results in Iowa's 100 counties. His curiosity was wide ranging. I have memories of talking with him outside the classroom about municipal labor relations in New York and the different Hasidic sects of Brooklyn. On top of his great qualities in the classroom, he was sympathetic and supportive of his students. Whether it was an American Studies course, Constitutional History or U.S. Diplomatic History, I always looked forward to his classes. In so may ways, he embodied the best things about Grinnell. I am very lucky to have known him.
Jacob Margolies
Mr. Jones was the reason I was a history major at Grinnell. He made past events, movements, etc. come alive. But as great as he was a teacher, he was an even greater guy when you got to know him. He was one of the professors in London during my "Grinnell-In-London" stint in Fall, 1979 and really made the semester enjoyable by encouraging all of us to put away the books and get out and explore the city including a daily pub lunch. His death is tremendous loss for the college.
Kevin Starrett '80
I had Professor Jones for two courses -- Medieval and Renaissance Culture, in which he once accused me of being too cynical (which, coming from him, I always wore as a badge of honor), and American Constitutional History, which was among the most demanding and mind-expanding courses I took at Grinnell. I also had the pleasure of working with him as an alum on the College's Sesquicentennial, and then for several years on the Joseph Wall Service Awards selection committee. He was always passionate, thought-provoking, and audacious -- but always with a twinkle in his eye, and never dull.
Al Jones epitomized everything good about Grinnell. He had a lifelong commitment to the College family and its history, although always the love of the true loyalist that pushes the institution toward its aspirations. He believed in good scholarship and demanded nothing less from his students. And, of course, he wore his heart on his sleeve -- he was passionate about connecting the College's academic mission to repairing the world and making it a better, more just, and more peaceful place. He will be missed, but he is also one of those people whose presence will always be felt. The College will always be a better place for having been blessed with his presence
Wes Kennedy '81
Although Professor Al Jones was no longer teaching courses during my years at Grinnell, I was fortunate to have met him once while on an assignment to take portraits of the History Department faculty. We had a short conversation and I remember that he was kind and showed genuine interest in my studies. I'll never forget when he corrected my pronunciation of the word "emeritus."
Ken Yeung '03
Al was a big part of my wonderful Grinnell-in-London experience, in fall '79. Al's conveyed his (contagious) love for that great city through his London history and urban planning courses. He and Jim Kissane also showed us new worlds--not to mention a few choice pubs--on field trips around the English countryside. And Jean and Al graciously welcomed homesick Grinnellians to their Holland Park flat for that year's Thanksgiving dinner.
Last June, after my class's 25th reunion, I stopped by the Joneses' home. Even though his breathing was labored, Al was as fun to talk with and as opinionated and outspoken as ever. (He detested the campus's new student center, for example.) I'll always be grateful for that final chat.
My sympathies to Al's family. A wonderful man, he will truly be missed.
Kathy Willhoite '81
When I eventually ran out of classes I could take from Prof. Charles Cleaver, I took a class from Prof. Jones. It had to do with urban planning, and I remember that while on a visit to Memphis, I took a lot of slides of Beale Street and wrote up a sort of script to go with the pictures, to present as part of a class project. Today it would have been a powerpoint with video, but back then, I was just hoping the "technology" would work. I remember how impressed I was that "Mr. Jones" knew so much about and had a genuine interest in Beale Street, jazz, the blues and the whole Black Experience, especially as it pertained to the life in the South. He was a very warm, patient and engaging gentleman, who you could stop and have a chat with wherever you saw him around campus. He always seemed like a perfect fit for a place like Grinnell, with his casual approach to academic rigor. ps I note an earlier comment about Jones' smoking - seems that all my teachers smoked throughout class!
Gregory Lee '77
One of my favorite Grinnell moments occurred in Al Jones's "Diplo" class (The Diplomatic History of the United States) in 1971 or '72 during the height of the War in Vietnam.
Carolyn Ashbaugh (who went on to have the highest grade point average in our class) was discussing Robert McNamara, who had recently become the head of the World Bank after serving as Secretary of Defense. She said something along the lines of, "How can he sleep at night, exploiting those people?" Al, who had been turned away from her, turned toward her slowly, his cigarette ash quivering, and said, sighing, "I don't mind his exploiting people; I just wish we'd stop bombing the hell out of them."
I was a better person around Al Jones. I expected more of myself; I was more anxious to right the wrongs of the world; my vocabulary was even better.
One measure of a life well lived is the positive impact the deceased had on the lives of others. By that standard, Al Jones accomplished more than most people.
Linnet Harlan, American Studies, '72
I was deeply saddened to hear that Al Jones had died. Al was my advisor at Grinnell and I took a number of his courses. As much as anyone, I credit Al with awakening in me some semblance of intellectual curiosity and social conscience. I'm not sure I had either when I arrived at Grinnell, and I think that I left with at least the genesis of both. But more than that, Al was an avuncular friend and a gentle mentor. I remember a time during senior year that I had just received a particularly humiliating public thrashing in the S&B. With a few words and a smirk, Al put the whole thing in perspective; he made me realize how small the issue really was and somehow made me feel a lot better. He was dear friend and a kind soul. I'll miss him.
Matthew Golden '85
Mr. Jones was a big fan of "lucid and concise," a philosophy that really marked my developing writing style, and made writing a joy, not a chore. I remember assignments of "one page, two if you have to, I won't read any third pages." No fluffed up five page drivel papers for him.
He was the Grinnellian who only got as far away as Michigan, yet held his own alongside Yale and Oxford. Like all Grinnell's best professors he could laugh at himself. I miss him already.
Larry Brow '80
Al Jones helped me a great deal to overcome writer's block early in my years by expressing his confidence that I, too, could proceed with intellectual self-confidence even though I was a fledgling student. He convinced me that I need not fret about absolute precision in word choice to convey my thinking. It was a breakthrough for which I have always been grateful, and have not forgotten.
David Sellergren '65
Prof. Jones was my advisor and I was also fortunate to take several classes from him. The most striking moment to me was when I saw him at my 10 year reunion and he remembered my senior seminar paper better than I did. He was a great teacher and I'm glad to have known him.
Chris Jacobsen '92
Al Jones taught me constitutional history, and it remains one of the most valuable classes I ever took, one of the most relevant to my understanding of the world and particularly my country. What a great professor, and what a nice guy.
Aaron Wiener, '94
As a history major, I seemed to visit Al Jones in his office during times of personal historical crisis. He encouraged my C average to be much more but he also helped me to see the lighter side of history, myself and life. I think it was that shy, cunning smile he flashed that made me feel at ease for knocking on his door. My uncle, Donovan Hapgood 51', speaks fondly of Al and it is clear that he has been well respected and loved throughout the decades. I am grateful to have learned how to think as an historian and also pleased that he tolerated my composition on Rufus King. Most importantly, I will always remember that Professor Jones taught me to consider my source.
Amy Fort '93
As Poli Sci major with many American Civ. classes, I was fortunate to be in some of Al Jones' courses. But my special memories of him come after graduation. The year following graduation I wandered through a series of public service exams and substituted at local high schools. I returned to Grinnell on the way to a friend's wedding and stopped by his office to say hello. As he listened to my state of indecision, he suddenly jumped up, took me by the arm and hustled me down the stairs to look at an announcement on the bulletin board. He jabbed his finger at it and said emphatically, "This is what you should do!" The announcement was for a credential and master's program at Claremont Graduate School working with low income students. I thought it sounded interesting but I told him that I didn't have the required grade point to be accepted. He said, "If you will apply, I will get you in!" And so he did. How did he know that this profession would become my life's passion?
Amazingly over the years, he remembered me and asked about my teaching and my family, even when there were many years between visits. At our last class reunion, I thanked him once again for the great gift he had given me. He took no credit, he only wanted to know that my family was okay, because he had seen an earthquake clip of us on PBS at least 15 years earlier. I am glad that I had the chance to tell him that we were all fine and to thank him once again for starting me on this path.
Mariana Alwell '68
Ah, yes, the cigarette ash...and the people who jumped when it finally made its way to the floor. And the maps, series of lines and squiggles and arrows looking like nothing so much as the work of Paul Klee in an absinthe reverie, punctuated by legends like "broad historical perspective," underlined, then underlined again, then boxed, then the box underlined, then more arrows drawn to the underlined box. And the willingness, almost to a fault, to forgive late papers -- the almost being the 100-question objective midterm he sprung on his diplomatic history class after far too many of us (read: all) failed to hand in the first paper within something like two weeks of its due date. Al Jones was, is, and always will be a mensch, a great teacher and a great man, someone fearless (and goofy) enough to slide on the ice past a pack of students on the way to the Forum, shouting "Why so slow?", someone kind enough to invite the more than skeptical parents of one of his students over for lunch to tell them how much he appreciated what their child had done at college (Al Jones was the one and only thing about Grinnell those parents would ever speak well of), someone who made the work of the intellectual so appealing that that child decided to follow him into that work. If I retire half the teacher and half the human being that Al Jones was, I will have done very well indeed.
Jeffrey Miller '76
Professor Jones taught one of my senior seminars and, because our group was so small, we often met at his house. He always offered us refreshments and, as I recall, beer was the beverage of choice! I was the only woman in the group and he never let me drink a beer out of the bottle. He always insisted that "ladies drink out of a glass"! Somehow the memory of that combination: a small group of people, meeting at a prof's house, drinking beer, discussing and debating history, being treated with an old-fashioned, Midwestern gentility - has always personified Grinnell to me.
My deepest sympathies to his family and friends. He is a person and a "personality" who will be missed very much.
Kirsten Pangelinan '89
I was lucky-- and foolhardy-- enough to take Al Jones' last Constitutional History class as a freshman-- I only spoke three times all semester, because I learned you had better be VERY well-prepared before you say anything! This served me well through the rest of my undergraduate and graduate career.
As intimidating as I found him then, the year I spent in the college archives as his research assistant for Pioneering was the richest academic experience of my time at Grinnell. He pointed me in the direction of the interesting stuff, and then gave me free rein to explore on my own. His passion of the history of the college was contagious and he made me feel that I was a partner in the process (despite his almost 50 years more experience!)
"Al", as he asked me to call him but I never could, was warm and supportive in my career beyond Grinnell-- he kept up-to-date with my job changes and always wanted to know if I was finding a way to put my history experience to use. Through the years, he was an important touchstone that symbolized much of what I love about Grinnell.
A significant part of Grinnell is missing to me now that he is no longer there.
Jen Jacobsen '95
I'm sorry to hear of the passing of Professor Jones. My condolences to his family and friends.
Al was a great teacher and a great person. His intelligence, his care for students and his ability to educate and convince in an unassuming manner were, for me, perfectly representative of what Grinnell College has aspired to be.
I consider myself fortunate to have had him as both a teacher and advisor. He will be missed.
Adam White '95
Al Jones was an almost iconic figure, but in the relaxed Grinnell way, for so many in the social science disciplines. We learned the importance and satisfaction of understanding history through a deeply informed and properly skeptical approach. I recall his wonder sometimes at the way those who have made history conducted themselves, although he reserved condemnation and ridicule for the deserving few. What I learned from Al Jones in and outside his classes played a vital role in later academic and career life. Of course, wondering when the cigarette ash would break during one of his circular and metronomic hand gestures while lecturing was a special treat.
I'm thankful for knowing him, and I mourn his passing.
Joe Genereux
Prof. Jones was my advisor and I was also fortunate to take several classes from him. The most striking moment to me was when I saw him at my 10 year reunion and he remembered my senior seminar paper better than I did. He was a great teacher and I'm glad to have known him.
Chris Jacobsen '92
Dr. Jones was my advisor. Of all the instructors I had at Grinnell, he influenced me the most, particularly because of his wide interests. He was interested in anything that had to do with history and allowed me to be interested in anything that had to do with anything. I got away with a multitude of independent projects. He later told me, only half kidding I think, that I probably should not have graduated with so many.
He was a delightful person, an outstanding teacher, and a warm and sympathetic human being. I was not the easiest student to get along with. He tolerated a good many of my rather juvenile idiosyncrasies with what I realized later was considerate concern and kindness and, so like him, quiet amusement.
He was a great deal of my life at Grinnell, though at the time I did not realize it. I did later, when I visited him. I missed him when he was here; I'll miss him more now. In many ways he was for me the best of what Grinnell was about.
Bruce Palmer
He was a great teacher. I am grateful to have been in several of his classes.
Barry Krost '81
Mr. Jones brought a unique style to teaching. I had the good fortune to take Constitutional History of the US with Mr. Jones. His dry sense of humor and quick wit kept the class lively and the students engaged. Though it would be completely out of the question now, I will always remember Mr. Jones smoking his way through class, waiting until just the right moment to flick the ash from his cigarette. Funny how that flick often coincided with an important lecture point. I am sorry to hear of his passing. The college and the community are the lesser for it.
David Hoffman '84
I never had Professor Jones for an entire class - but I took Intro to History with Professor Hietala and they took turns doing the two combined "lecture" sessions each week. I had him my first semester of my first year at Grinnell -- and I remember thinking, wow, now this is a professor, and I really am in college, every time he held court.
As I became more involved in student government and the life of the College over my four years, I had the good fortune to know and work with him in more informal committee settings. He was so important in the life of the college for so many decades (5!). He *mattered,* and Grinnell quite literally not be the same place today without him. We should all be so fortunate to have the same said of us someday.
Godspeed, Professor Jones.
Rob Killion '90
Professor Jones was the embodiment of the true liberal to me. He was extremely intelligent and witty. He knew what he thought and why. He had his own views and beliefs, but he was always respectful of the views and beliefs of others. He was full of knowledge and always aware of the past, present, and future of Grinnell, but yet he always took time for the one sole student. He was instrumental in giving me a scholarship of which I knew nothing prior. I was amazed that he knew me and took the time to know my interests and my financial need amidst all the things in which he was involved. Over the years we have corresponded, and his knowledge about things so obscure as Montana politics was always astounding. He will forever be my example of the true enlightened liberal, and I will miss him greatly.
Corbit Harrington '90
Al Jones was one of my favorite professors at Grinnell because he had a way to make an entire class ready to learn. It might be a joke or story, or that unique smile that just enveloped the class.
One 400 level seminar met at his home and at lunch in the Amana Colonies. Discussing populism in Iowa over a schooner of beer is the way to learn history!
One final story........my last final at Grinnell was Al's Urban History 300 level class. It was quite hot in the class room and he gave us the questions and left, only to return with ice cream bars for the entire class to cool us off.
I was lucky to have been a history major in the era of Wall, Jones, Smith, Kitner, & Jordan.
Robert Render '77
I attended Grinnell from 1951 through 1955. Al Jones came to Grinnell when I was a senior and (to put it honestly) we had a very good time as students staying just a little bit ahead of him!!! When I retired I returned to Grinnell to live at the Mayflower. After a couple of years Al and Jean moved into a retirement duplex in the same semi-circle where my wife and I live. It was only a short time until I became a regular visitor to his home--just like student days--still the teacher and the student 50 years later. My love for Grinnell grows from the roots he helped to plant--with his encouragement I was a history major, which stood me in good stead as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (Congregational roots), as a college president, and as a denominational executive. His emphasis on the fact that we are making history has never left my psyche. I treasured him as a teacher. I respected him as a neighbor, I cherished him as a friend and (later) a colleague. I will miss him very, very much.
With the greatest respect,
Orlan Mitchell
Al Jones was more than a professor for me. Even though I was a history major, I never had a class with him. His son, Tom Jones, was my freshman roommate. I spent many hours with the family and getting to know a part of Grinnell that most freshman did not have a chance to experience. Al had a dry, sly wit and, yes, like so many others, I remember being mesmerized by his cigarette ash as he spoke. Always a twinkle in his eye, and a sense of humor about the world...
I only wish I had kept contact with the family. Al and Jean were a quietly, warm family. I wish all the best to the Joneses, and mourn the passing of a great man.
Jack Carpenter
How rewarding it is to read that Grinnell students through the years recognize how much Al Jones gave them to think about. I landed in his class in 1956, despite warnings from former students who thought he worked them too hard. He inspired me to work hard, to think hard, and when I look back at the papers I wrote for him from 1956-1958, I thank him for honing us on his sharp, dry wit so that we were willing to examine ourselves, our lives, and our history. Well done, Dr.Jones!
Lois Fredregill Day '60
I am extremely sorry to hear of Prof. Jones's passing, although I was aware that he had been in poor health. His quiet (almost arch), yet infectious, enthusiasm for his subject, and for teaching, served as an important model for me in my own teaching career. I am especially grateful for the patient and persistent ways in which he helped me channel my rather unfocused energies as I pursued my American Studies major. He was always ready to listen to my unformed ideas, and then quietly put something into my hands saying, "Read this. I think you'll find it interesting." He was always right. Grinnell was lucky to have him. He was a great standard-bearer of the kind of education that Grinnell champions.
Marjorie Wekselman Goldman '78
I was fortunate to start and end my Grinnell career with Professor Jones. I can think of no better introduction to Grinnell's lively academic debates that Professor Jones' freshman tutorial in the fall of 1985. The title escapes me, but the subject was the history of U.S. involvement in Latin America. Professor Jones was, shall we say, opinionated then, as always. I rounded out my Grinnell education four years later, a history major, with his seminar on the Constitution. I was a far better student when I finished than when I started.
Ken Varnum '89
I was one of Prof Jones first students. After his course on the middle ages I nearly became an historian with a focus in medieval history. At that time "Al" was one of the most accessible members of the faculty. This was long before his lectures and book on the history of Grinnell, but even then we gained more insight from Prof Jones into both the history of the school and how it worked than from any other source. In fact, the interplay between this local history and ongoing events that we could see for ourselves were probably more instructive about the uses and abuses of history than any purely pedagogical exercise could ever have been. Thirty years later my children attended Grinnell and spoke of Prof Jones with the reverence we reserve for the lofty and accomplished. When I heard him deliver a lecture at an alumni event I understood why. But when I spoke with him one-on-one after the talk and then again on several subsequent occasions, he reverted to the form I'd known in those early days. His insights were always uniquely his, and he never pulled his punches. And I still haven't forgotten that he made me read my blue book final exam to him because he found my hand writing so insufferable!
Craig Henderson, '63
What I remember most about Al Jones:
His big-picture perspective. Al Jones's lectures roamed widely through the humanities and especially the social sciences, accompanied by ever grander gestures trailing great sweeping circles of cigarette smoke, until he had somehow managed to Tie It All Together, whatever the subject du jour was, in one great socio-political-economic-historic insight. Seemed to happen every class: a multidisciplinary epiphany, right on schedule.
His gentle tolerance and good humor toward even the most obnoxious students. One year, in London, there was a student--lets call her Susie--that constantly interrupted his lectures, instructions, suggestions and even simple points of information with a particularly whiney and grating "But ALLL...." followed by some objection. It wasn't only the tone that was annoying, it was the presumptive use of his first name at a time when profs were still revered to by their title. Jones always responded patiently and never seemed to take offense. But the rest of us did, and one day Susie took a breath in preparation for another interruption and the entire class, or so it seemed, turned to her and let fly with a collective "But ALLLLL!" There were a few seconds of dead silence. Then Jones said quietly, with his trademark bemused squint and faintly impish smile, "You had a question, Susie?"
His bibliographic knowledge of the literature. The man seemed to have read several libraries, and authors' names spewed forth during his lectures faster than we could take them down. Generally they would appear something like this: "As so-and-so says--have you all read so-and-so? No? Anyone? You should know so-and-so," followed by a precis of the author's work and an explication of how it pertained to the subject at hand.
Great teacher, wonderful man.
Dan Weeks '80
Al Jones was a true embodiment of Grinnell to me. His lectures to the Am Civ group were stimulating--he truly knew how to get us thinking and talking. He gave the last group lecture in Am Civ in the spring of '84, and closed by describing an America where then-President Reagan's program (described in metaphorical terms) was full steam ahead, and where the government's various safety nets (again described metaphorically) were all but withdrawn. Contrasting that scenario with the democratic (small D) spirit of helping one's neighbor, he intoned, "If that's the case, then try to survive as best you can." He got a standing ovation.
John Wetterholt '86
I remember Mr. Jones not only as a professor, but also as a friend. There were quite a few occasions where I stopped by his office just to chat about politics (e.g., Hillary Clinton's health care task force) or just to share a laugh. At the time, I was one of Grinnell's few raving conservatives and, therefore, my political views were diametrically opposed to his. He always kidded me about it in class--in front of the entire class. I think he appreciated the fact that I had a different voice than many of my classmates, but that didn't stop him from ribbing me.
As a second year law student at Washington University, I attended a presentation Mr. Jones gave in St. Louis. He must of relished the chance to get one more rib in, because he spied me in the audience and had a chuckle about me being Grinnell's "lone conservative"--again, in front of the whole audience. The last laugh was on him, though--I told him I had become a stark-raving-mad liberal! He smiled.
He will be missed.
Eric Krauss '94
