It's Done with Ropes

From The News, May-June 1946, p. 17.

The News was a bi-monthly publication of the Cincinnati Transit Company, aka "the bus company." My Dad, John Thomas Jones, worked in the "car barn" where his father was the foreman. This picture was taken one year after Dad served in England during World War II. Eventually he would become a mechanic, and later, an electrician. The picture in the magazine had more detail that the one I was able to reproduce, but you get the idea. I love it when someone comes up with a simple solution to a problem they face -- as this one was. Dad would have been 25 at the time of this picture.

An Unexpected Find Thanks to Google Books

In the evening when I am half-watching TV, I often search for the names of family members on google books. (Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE google books)? Last night I was searching on my grandfather, Charles F. Jones. Up came a reference to The News published by the Cincinnati Transit Company where both my grandfather and father were employed. Thanks to our wonderful Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton Co., I was able to "Ask A Librarian" to find this article on microfilm and email me a digital image free! So here is today's piece of gold.

In truth, The News labeled the picture incorrectly. From left to right it should read Pfc. Charles F. Jones, Jr., Sgt. Robt. L. Jones, and Cpl. John T. Jones.The article refers to two of the sons meeting in England, and I have a picture of that. It also references a separate article in The News and a picture in the Enquirer -- so I guess I have more hunting to do.

John and Bob in England

Update: Here is the same picture as it appeared in The News, periodical published by the Cincinnati Street Railway, July/Aug.1945, p.7.

How Mom and Dad Met

Virginia Ryan and Johnny Jones courting

Setting the Scene: World War II has ended, the "boys" are home, and there is a pent-up demand for finding a husband and starting a family.  My mother used to say that during her prime dating years, the only guys available were married or classified IV-F (men deemed physically, mentally or morally unfit to serve).

So how to find a husband -- Being a "good, Catholic girl" it seemed logical to try to meet men at the Newman Center.  The Newman Center was designed to serve the needs of Catholic students attending non-Catholic Universities. The University of Cincinnati had a vibrant chapter headed by Bob Kroner. Coincidentally, Bob grew up in the East End and was a friend of my father.

One of the popular activities of the time was to take a riverboat ride to Coney Island on the Island Queen.  The boat had a great ballroom and it only cost 25 cents to ride from Cincinnati to Coney, a few miles upriver.

Credit: The Island Queen, Cincinnati's Excursion Steamer, by John and Robert White

The U.C. Newman Club decided to sponsor a dance on the Island Queen. Bob Kroner was President of the Newman Club. He and Dad were great friends and neighbors and Dad tagged along with Bob on a regular basis. Never mind that Dad was neither a U.C. student nor Catholic. Given my family history, it seems only appropriate that my parents would meet on a boat, on the Ohio River, that literally passed by the Jones home on its way upriver to Coney.  Perfect!!!

Well, they must have made an impression on each other because within a couple of years they were married and well on their way to becoming parents of what would become a very large family. Serendipitous? Fate? You tell me.

Dad's Military Records

After a long wait, I finally got copies of Dad's military records.  Most of the records for World War II veterans were destroyed by a fire. I wrote for them once and got a form letter telling me of this. Other vets told me I needed to ask for his DD-214. It is a document produced at the time of a veteran's separation from service that summarized their service. It took four months, but the records finally arrived.You can click on these images to enlarge.

This document interests me because it verifies certain things I thought I knew.

1. Dad did not complete high school.  It says the last grade completed was 10th Grade.  It also identifies his high school as West Night High School.  The last year of attendance was 1937.  Interestingly, it appears as if he stopped attending in the same year as the 1937 Flood.  Also, we have to remember that these were the years of the Great Depression.  Perhaps he worked during the day and attended school at night.  Tim and I went to the library and looked at the yearbook for West Night High School for 1937.  Dad was not a senior and we could not find him listed, although it is clear that the program was academic in nature.  I remember Dad attended "trade school".  I don't have any specifics on that.
2. Pre-draft, Dad's job was truly that of a laborer.  He assisted in trolley maintenance but also "scrubbed out street cars."  Tom still has a $5.00 bill he kept his entire life that he found while cleaning a street car.
3. He did have training in Colorado.  Dad used to say that when the conditions were right that he could pick up the WLW-T Clear Channel radio station from Cincinnati in Colorado.

Dad received a ribbon with a Bronze Star, a Good Conduct Ribbon and a Distinguished Unit Citation. Although his job was to load bombs on planes and some aircraft maintenance, his unit was responsible for some of the most important battles in Europe.  When he was discharged, he had the rank of "Corporal."  I love seeing his thumb print and that all-too-familiar signature. Below is a document recording his ranks and pay rates.

Sadly, they also sent a copy of the application for Dad's military headstone following his death in 1978.

I was glad to receive a copy of his Honorable Discharge papers.  Dad had a copy of this and I've published it before.  To keep the file complete, I post it again here -- with pride.  He was part of the Greatest Generation.

If you are interested in reading more about the 44th Bomb Group and the Flying Eight Balls, go to this link in the Jones Family Matters blog http://jonesfamilymatters.blogspot.com/2011/11/flying-8-balls-44th-bomb-group.html  Should you want your own copies of these records, just click on the print friendly button and print them out.

Note:  After a comment (see comments) received from John Darby, I decided to do a little research on the Lowry Base in Colorado where Dad was trained.  Here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowry_Air_Force_Base  There is a lot of additional information on this base which is now used only for administrative functions.  It has an interesting history.

Episcopalian? Presbyterian? Catholic? Man of God

At the Jones Family Christmas, I asked my siblings what religion our Dad had practiced as a child.  A few facts were beyond dispute:

• My Dad was raised as a Protestant in a family that was divided -- girls were raised Catholic and boys were raised Protestant.  There was a reason for that and you can read about it here.
• My Dad's father, Pop, was Episcopalian.  Both he and his son Charles were buried from the Christ Cathedral, downtown.
• Dad's brother, Bob, converted to Catholicism, not telling his father, after marrying a Catholic.  He was buried from Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church.
• My father spent his entire adult life attending Catholic Church with his family.  He was a member of the Holy Name Society and a very active parent in the parish.  He was a "Boy Scout Committee Man." He attended church every Sunday and worked multiple jobs so we could attend Catholic Schools.
• He never "converted."  Fr. Allison came to the hospital as Dad was dying and gave him communion. Dad asked if this meant he was "a convert."  Fr. Allison replied that he didn't think he ever needed to be converted.  Good answer.
• My Dad would get teary-eyed every time he heard the song "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" -- a favorite of his mother.
• We all recalled being told that he was raised Presbyterian.  But how did this make sense?

My brother, Dan, said that he remembered Dad taking him down to a church on Eastern Ave. and that he was surprised how many of the church members immediately recognized him.  I started trying to identify Presbyterian Churches that had once been located on Eastern Ave. and came up with this one.

The former Sixth Presbyterian Church, 2106 Eastern (Riverside) Ave.

When I showed Dan this picture, it was exactly as he remembered it.  It went through several transitions and is now abandoned and listed for sale.

The debate about Dad's religious affiliation continued until my brother, Tim, found this among Dad's keepsakes. It's amazing that one pin can hold so many answers.  Not only is it clearly a "Presbyterian" pin, but we think it was a reward for Sunday School attendance.  A careful look shows an S.S. above the crown which we think may stand for "Sunday School."  Under the crown are the words "Second Year."  There is an additional attachment indicating three years of attendance.

My sister, Karen, had this picture of our Dad.  I am embarrassed to admit that I did not know it was him. Now that's a picture a mother would love.

In Tim's little container there was an additional pin.  This one seemed to symbolize Dad's "good citizenship" in school. Both of these artifacts must have been important to our Dad because he kept them his entire life.  I think they are indicative of the life he lived -- a religious man of good character and citizenship.  We are lucky to have had him as our father.