By MITCH WORD

Not too many people are excited enough to tell someone when they have cockroaches in their home. Jon Willey, however, is different – he proudly displays a giant cockroach on the side of his business.

And he wouldn’t get rid of it for the world.

Willey is the owner of Jon’s Cool Junk, located at 1007 Lubbock Road. A second-generation salesman of collectibles, Willey has been in the business for nearly 35 years, including nine at his current location.

On Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Willey can be found either inside the building or outside on his sidewalk, watching the traffic go by – and waiting on just the right customer.

You can find just about anything inside his store – from Coke collectibles to toys and many things in-between. He’s got a price for everything, but the price isn’t set in stone.

“I price things to be able to negotiate down – that’s just the way this thing works,” he said.

This has been the best year of Willey’s business career, made possible by the explosion of television shows such as American Pickers, Storage Wars and Pawn Stars. However, Willey mostly credits God for the success both in his career and in his life – but we’ll get back to that.

The cockroach on the wall

On the north exterior wall of his business, Willey has a giant metal cockroach. And unless you’re not a Brownfield native, you know that the cockroach is a local icon.

“That cockroach was on the building of Charlie Skupin’s Pest Control for years and years, ever since I was a little kid,” Willey said. “After he retired, I bought that from Charlie for $20 and put it up on my wall.

“The amazing thing is that around many parts of the state, Brownfield is known for being the ‘place with that giant cockroach.’ I had someone driving through town come in and wanted to buy it, and he would have paid a very large price, but I just couldn’t sell it. It’s part of the history of Brownfield.”

A changed man

And as much as “Skoopie” (the cockroach) is a part of Brownfield, Willey considers himself a part of the town’s history, as well. He freely admits he has a checkered past.

“I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve done a lot of things over the years I’m not proud of,” he said. “But I found God about four years ago, and He changed my life.”

In fact, Willey wears a bracelet on his right wrist that tells the story of his new life succinctly: “Forgiven.”

“I not only found the Lord, but also a church family at Abundant Harvest Community Church,” he said. “The love in that church is just incredible.”

Willey immediately immersed himself in some of the church’s ministries. He has been a constant volunteer of the church’s Sunday night free meal program called Outreach Cafe, and works regularly with the youth ministry on Wednesday nights.

In addition, he proudly displays a sticker on his window that designates his business a “Safe Place,” a program implemented by Catholic Family Services of Lubbock.

“That means that if a youth has been abused or is in trouble, he can come here and I will call a counselor to help him with his problem,” Willey said. “It included a thorough background check of me, my business and everything, and that’s good. I think that taking care of kids is one of the most important things we can do.”

Jon Willey, owner of Jon's Cool Junk at 1007 Lubbock Road, poses with "Skoopie," a giant metal cockroach he purchased from retired pest control specialist Charlie Skupin several years ago. Willey said the bug has brought Brownfield recognition from throughout the state.