Balloons and other festive décor brightened the interior of the GW Jones Cassopolis branch last week as part of a multi-day celebration.

Last Thursday and Friday, GW Jones Bank, with its three branches in Edwardsburg, Cassopolis and Marcellus locations, celebrated its 140th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, the branches hosted customer appreciation days that involved giving away T-shirts, treats and light refreshments.

“This is a huge milestone,” said Assistant Cassopolis Branch Manager Kelly First.

Current GW Jones President and CEO Cordell Jones would agree.

“One-hundred and forty years,” Jones said. “We are just a young thing, aren’t we?”

G.W. Jones Exchange Bank was established in 1877 by George Washington Jones, Cordell Jones’ great grandfather, in Marcellus. George Washington Jones helped found Marcellus in the mid-1800s, and after he began to see growth in the area, he began the bank. Since the 1800s the bank has remained in the Jones family, and added a Cassopolis location in 1989 and an Edwardsburg location in 1998.

The family aspect of GW Jones Bank is very important to the way it runs and is critical to the bank’s success, as the reigns to the bank are passed down from generation to generation, Jones said.

Jones can recall going into the bank as a child to help with janitorial work long before he ever was president of the bank.

“We would go back and forth between school and the bank. Being 78 years old, I’ve probably worked there for 60 years or more,” Jones said. “We are fortunate to have inherited this from our family. We can’t take as much credit [for 140 years of success] as they can.”

His longevity with the bank has helped him to appreciate the history of the establishment and its place in the community.

For Jones, it is that standing influence and involvement in the community that has made the bank successful for 140 years.

The bank makes an effort to contribute to the community not only through customer service, but through donations, scholarships and service events when possible, Jones said.

“It’s an honor to still be in service of the community,” he said. “We care about our local customers. We try to be of good service to our customers.”

According to First, the idea of creating a caring, customer friendly environment is something that each branch strives for.

“We are a small-town bank,” First said. “But we know our customers. We know our communities and we like to get involved.”

Jones said his biggest take-away from the many years he has worked for GW Jones is the way the business is ever changing thanks to technology.

“It’s amazing how we do things now, versus how we used to do them,” Jones said. “It’s a whole new world. It will certainly make it more difficult for small banks to survive.”

For the future, Jones hopes to keep up with the changing industry, so that GW Jones Bank can stay competitive in the market. He also hopes to retire one day, and that his grandchildren will take over the family business.

“We are going to keep going for as long as we can and keep being a service to the community,” Jones said. “We are going to make it our 150th anniversary no problem.”