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Melvin Franklin Jones (? – died 1973) By Jeff Harmon

On July 20th, 1936 the Tampa Daily Times did a story on a remarkable Tampan, just in the finishing stages of converting his old home to a 12-unit apartment building without any outside assistance. Each apartment had a living room, dinette, kitchen, bath—all separated by archways— and an alcove bedroom. While no mean feat in itself, Melvin F. Jones had amazingly accomplished the task without the use of his sight. Having been completely blind since 1931, Jones bragged to the reporter that day that there was not a single piece of wood put into the remodel which he did not saw and hammer himself. In 1918, he oversaw the construction of the original 3000 sq ft house that was to serve as his own home. At that time, he had been a successful construction supervisor in Indianapolis and Tampa. He had already lost the sight in one of his eyes in 1915 from a splinter. 16 years later, a nail broke his glasses and lodged a shard in his only good eye. A subsequent serious infection left him completely blind and unable to do his job. Initially, he struggled with what he could no longer do but soon after set out on a journey to discover what he could do. “I just rubbed the ‘t’ off the ‘can’t’ in my vocabulary,” he told a Tampa Morning Tribune reporter in 1938. Having never tried his hand at carpentry as a builder with his sight, he realized it would be the skill he would have to master. His first idea was to convert the house to apartments to provide some income. He eventually lost the building when his money ran out and he couldn’t qualify for a government loan. In 1937, he married the love of his life in Mabel, blind from an illness in her childhood. She shared with him an indomitable spirit that would see them through some very tough times. She was the first blind student at the Florida State College for Women, later Florida State University, earning an A.B. degree. After they were married, he started his new dream, to build them a home, a comfortable 5 room house, from a plan that he held in his memory. Mabel headed up a Braille class for the Works Progress Administration which provided money to purchase most of the materials for the house. He adopted a new moto: “It can be done, even by a blind man” which he put on a sign inviting visitors to see him work. By May of 1938, he had finished the walls and foundation. Jones preferred to work alone as a helper might move a tool that he had placed in a particular spot. However, keeping with his attitude of always finding the silver lining, he pointed out that he could work as well at night allowing him to avoid the daytime heat. In 1940, he was mentioned in Ripley’s Believe It or Not as the blind man who built two houses (Jones actually only built one house without his sight. The first house was a remodel.) Their plans received another obstacle when Melvin suffered a heart attack in 1942. Although he never completely sat still, he did have to take it easier. In 1945, they were finally able to move into the house though it was incomplete. Progress was slow but on January 6th, 1949, the work was finished and a ceremony was held. Curtis Hixon, the mayor, attended the corner stone laying event. Several other dignitaries of the community were present. Jones dedicated the house to the handicapped as an inspiration for others. “Their lives could be made bright again if they had a hobby, pastime or useful work that would fie them something to think about,” he said. Dependent on state aid since 1946, Mabel and Melvin deeded their home to the Elks Harry-Anna Crippled Children’s Hospital to be used after their deaths. The donation was made necessary in order to continue to receive government assistance. Eleanor Roosevelt told the couple’s story on her radio program “Woman of the Day” on February 9th, 1949, selecting Mabel for the honor and sending her a plaque. The couple never stopped trying to help others, using their house as a meeting spot. Melvin continued to use his mind coming up with new ideas. In 1958, he was granted a patent for a machine that made pots from concrete. He advertised to other handicapped persons to come to his house to learn a new skill. He urged others to help them to help themselves. For a couple that could barely navigate a world of darkness, they offered themselves as a beacon of hope for all to follow. In 1961, Melvin put a Blind TV sign in front of his house advertising a new program where he would furnish sets without a picture tube for a nominal cost. He had his wife enjoyed many radio programs but most of them had moved to the medium of the day, television. Sets were too expensive for many blind people, so Jones set about collecting broken sets that could still project sound. In 1973, Melvin Jones passed away leaving his wife of 37 years a widow. A story in the Sunday Edition of the Tampa Tribune, on May 5th, 1974 related how Mabel was doing without Melvin. Written by staff writer, Bob Brink and entitled “There is Little Light in Her Dark World”, the article mentioned how Mabel and Melvin were “fiercely independent though they were in the mundane matters of life, they depended on each other for love.” Thieves had broken into the shed and took tools that Melvin had used to build the house. “It hurt me because I loved him so.” “I wasn’t up to having somebody disturb it yet.” “We’ve had just as much joy as anybody, and maybe more. We were absolutely compatible, and we were just meant for each other. Our life together was heaven on earth.”

Ref July 20th, 1936 the Tampa Daily Times January 6th, 1949 Sunday Edition of the Tampa Tribune, on May 5th, 1974