Local

Jesse Holmes, cousin Jim Holmes and Jesse’s brother Clarence Holmes are pictured in front of Clarence’s kitchen door after a successful rabbit hunt in the winter of 1911. Jesse and Clarence were residents of Phillips County for many years. In 1923, they formed a partnership and bought Bruce Waln’s Ford agency. The partnership was dissolved in 1934. Clarence then became custodian at Phillips County High School and a few years later was employed as a powerhouse attendant by the town of Holyoke. After the partnership with Clarence was dissolved, Jesse opened a repair shop in the rear of the American Legion building. In the fall of 1946, Jesse and his wife Rilla went to California. They returned to Holyoke in 1947, and he was parts man at the Holyoke Motor Company. He later became the local dealer for Allis-Chalmers farm equipment and continued in that business until 1952, when he operated a small repair shop at his home until his death in 1959. — Source: Phillips County Museum