Jargo wasn't his real name. His real name was more "mundane and run of the mill." His real name was William Clark. I think "Jargo" was a much more appropriate moniker for a man who was anything but "mundane and run of the mill."
I first met Jargo while attending a meeting of the Madison Rotary Club. When I introduced myself, he immediately recognized my family name and proceeded to tell me that he had known my grandfather well. He also informed me that my mom's older sister had worked for him in one of the Van H. Priest stores many years ago. Soon after our first encounter, I was asked to interview Jargo for a profile story before his 99th birthday. When I met him at his house, I pulled the recorder out and we simply started talking. I was fascinated with his stories of nearly a century of living. He spoke of times when his father was a law enforcement officer in Blountstown. His father was killed in the line of duty and Jargo had many stories of life in that North Florida panhandle town in the early 20th century. Jargo also told me about meeting the young and lovely Eunice Van Priest while he was working for his uncle's gas station here in Madison. To hear Jargo tell the story, Eunice was just as taken with Jargo as he was with her, since she found many reasons to bring her convertible into the station, not just to refill with gas.
Perhaps the most interesting story I heard from Jargo was the story of when he was working for his father-in-law's store chain Van H. Priest Stores. Jargo was in New York attending a toy show. It was near the end of the event when he shared a cab with a man who was carrying a set of playing cards. Jargo struck up a conversation with this man who told Jargo that he was a barber from Cincinnati and he had been trying to pitch a card game he had invented. The game had been very popular among family and customers of his barber shop. He had put his life's savings into having professional grade playing cards made in the hopes that a toy manufacturer would be interested, but no one expressed any interest. Jargo convinced the man to give it one more try with a friend Jargo had made at the Milton-Bradley game company. Jargo helped to arrange a meeting and as fate would have it, his friend at Milton-Bradley was duly impressed with the card game. The barber from Cincinnati was paid $50,000 and the promise of a royalty for every game sold. You have probably played this same card game many times. The game is known by its one-word name … Uno.
I think this story sums up the philosophy with which Jargo met life. He was a man who was always ready and willing to help someone whenever they needed help. Often that help could have a great, unexpected result. As Jargo told me that day, "You can't help anyone without it helping you in return." I think I will get some friends and play a game of Uno in his honor.
Jargo Clark sadly passed away on Saturday, Sept. 12. He was 102.