Topic starter
07/12/2012 9:24 pm
Capt. Charles "Whitey" Jones passed away on Wednesday the 5th.
Capt. Whitey goes back to the very beginning of the modern excursion/dinner cruise operations here in the Cincinnati harbor.
Capt. Whitey closed out his career with BB Riverboats after starting years ago with Capt. Frank Johnston on the Johnston Party Boats. He was a superb boat handler and usually drew the hard assignments. I worked the last Tall Stacks with him and it was a delight. He was a fountain of knowledge on the river of today and as an S & D member on the river of yesterday
07/12/2012 11:09 pm
*RE: Capt. C. 'Whitey' Jones*
Thanks, Bill, for passing the word. Will there be an 'obit' here in the ENQUIRER? Illness and death doubly hard this time of year, and I've had my plate full with critically ill neighbors needing help. But isn't that what we're here for?
R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati
10/12/2012 1:07 am
Very sorry to hear of "Whitey" Jones' passing. I corresponded with him several times, but only met him once. The occasion was when I visited BB Riverboats a couple of years ago to see his model of the Belle of Cincinnati displayed in their Wharfboat. The visit was very cordial and his model is an outstanding example of the model builders art. My sincere sympathy to his family.
12/12/2012 2:36 am
Oh, how sad....
Though I knew Whitey, casually, since the Greene Line Wharfboat days, it was only a couple of years ago that I had quality time with him on the BELLE OF CINCINNATI where he was piloting and I was "carrying the license". It was a terrible windy day, and Whitey's skill in handling the boat was matched only by the likes of the celebrated Mississippi River Pilot, Captain Ken Murphy. Whitey and Murph were cut from the same rare bolt of cloth. What an excellent boat-handler and gentleman Whitey Jones was, and I am saddened at the news of his passing.
The one thing I enjoyed most that Cap'n Whitey said to me after the long day was over was: "At least I finally found someone who remembers the same things I do about the Cincinnati harbor." Meaning, of course, we were of the same generation of Cincinnati rivermen who recalled the river, there, from away-back-when.
My deepest sympathy to Captain Jones' family, friends, crewmates, and all who loved him.