Jones Home and Auto celebrates 75 years

June 5, 2025

By David Tuma

The Belton Journal

Jones Home & Auto in downtown Belton is celebrating its 75th year in business.

A lot has changed over the years. B.K. Blair is the current owner. B.K. has spent most of his life in what is today an auto repair company. His father started at Jones after retiring from the military.

They are a Firestone dealership,  which opened in Belton in 1950 and was purchased by the Jones family in 1951. In fact, B.K. still has the original operations manual for running a Firestone dealership.

Jones Home & Auto is technically an Affiliated Retailer. This gives them the ability to sell all Bridgestone and Firestone products and likewise gives them access to financing through Bridgestone Firestone.

“Being an Affiliated Retailer gives up more options. Bridgestone and Firestone are very good about who they partner with. If they partner with a company, it is a no-brainer,” said Blair.

B.K. worked with and for Tom and Dottie Jones. Bob Jones also worked in the business, doing the books.

Jones Home & Auto was more than just a tire store. They started carrying bicycles, toys, and some appliances. As they expanded, they purchased a few adjacent buildings. Then, as the years passed, they started selling TVs, small appliances, rifles, and knives.

Expansion continued as they added recliners, mattresses, washing machines, dryers, Toro and Snapper lawn mowers, and equipment. They even had a TV repair shop at one point.

“When I was in high school. I was working for them, installing those giant TV satellites, those huge 12-foot monster, when I was a sophomore at Belton High School,” said B.K. who started working at Jones in 1985. “We used to rent laser discs and we even had some Winchester saddle rifles.”

B.K. purchased the business in 2003 and the Jones family financed the deal.



Roy Hutto, who is a minority owner in the business, is still around, working on autos and trucks.

“I had to have somebody I could trust with a vested interest in the business. I think back to the time I started here,” said B.K. “There were some colorful characters through the years. You learn a lot about life from those folks. From Bob and Tom, we learned a lot about how to treat people in business while partnering with Bridgestone Firestone. We aren’t the smartest people on the planet, but we work hard. Roy’s father had a wrecking yard, and he took auto repair classes. That is where he developed his auto repair roots.”

In the old days, the Firestone representative would come in and work at the front office when Tom took time off.

“Years ago, you maintained a vehicle and a tuneup was needed every 20,000-30,000 miles. Today, some of those oil changes can last up to 6,000 miles and a tuneup at 100,000 miles,” said B.K. “Equipment upgrades and training are a constant process today. It provides a starting point and grants access to live vehicle data.

“When we first started to use computers, it was tough. Today, we scan the vehicle, and it gives us a code. You will keep 95 percent of your customers if you are fair and honest. One bad thing can break that trust.”

B.K. can be found working on vehicles in the bays almost every day. From the looks of the number of vehicles filling the work bays and the parking lot, B.K. and his employees have carried on with the Jones tradition of taking care of whoever walks in the door.