[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 91 (Monday, June 4, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO CHARLES T. JONES

 Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate the 
100th birthday of Charles T. Jones, or better known to the people who 
love him as Captain Charlie, a proud West Virginian, military veteran, 
legendary businessman, servant of the community, and a dear friend. 
Throughout his century of life, Charlie has often been referred to as a 
coal miner, farmer, riverboat captain, and a Renaissance man.
  While he grew up on the banks of the Kanawha River in West Virginia, 
Charlie attended school in New Jersey, where he spent many afternoons 
rowing on Lake Carnegie. This is where he met Albert Einstein, who 
would observe his rowing each afternoon. He would later earn a degree 
in business from Babson Institute in Massachusetts.
  Charlie served his country in the U.S. Navy during World War II with 
the Navy Seabees in Guadalcanal and on a mine sweeper as an engineering 
officer off the coasts of Japan and the Philippines. The sense of 
service and duty he demonstrated while in the military is still 
something he carries with him to this day.
  After the war's end, Charlie went to work for his family's coking 
coal business, Star Coal and Coke Company, which later became Amherst 
Coal Company, in 1946. The company was started by his grandfather in 
1893. Due to the downturn in production and demand of coking coal, out 
of necessity, the company ventured into river transportation. In 1951, 
the family bought the Hatfield-Campbell Creek Coal Company, a business 
that operated steamboats, barges, and river terminals along the Kanawha 
and Ohio Rivers. He took over the river operations of the company and 
renamed them ``Amherst Barge Co.'' Along the way, the company became 
Madison Coal and Supply Co. and is now known as Amherst Madison and 
still specializes in marine services, like towing, construction, 
shipping, and equipment repairs. Amherst and its affiliated companies 
have proudly employed thousands of West Virginians over the past 70 
years.
  Charlie is one of the most hard-working, humble, and giving people 
West Virginia has ever known. He is a longtime supporter of many 
business and charitable and community organizations throughout the 
Kanawha Valley. Over the years, he has served or currently serves on 
numerous boards and committees including Yeager Airport Authority 
Board, board of trustees for the University of Charleston, chairman 
emeritus of the Inland Waterways User Board, trustee emeritus of the WV 
Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, director emeritus of the Mariner's 
Museum, past chairman of the WV Mining and Reclamation Association, 
former director of the Charleston Area Medical Center Foundation, One 
Valley Bancorp, and the Western Pocahontas Corporation, Ohio Valley 
Improvement Association or DINAMO, and so many more.
  His lifelong contributions have not been overlooked. Just last year, 
Charlie was honored as a Distinguished West Virginian by the Governor, 
entered into the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels by the people of 
the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and inducted into West Virginia 
University College of Business and Economics' Business Hall of Fame, 
and recognized as a West Virginia ``Who's Who'' by the State Journal. 
Additionally, he has received previous honors such as the Charleston 
YMCA's Spirit of the Valley Award, induction into the Coal Mining Hall 
of Fame, Charleston Gazette-Mail's West Virginian of the Year, Seamen's 
Church Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, and the National Rivers 
Hall of Fame Achievement Award, to name only a few.
  He credits his longevity to good genes, good luck, and a great wife 
and very supportive family, associates, and friends. Charlie and his 
wife, Mary Ellen, have been married for more than 45 years. He has four 
children: Laura Jones Pray, C. Tandy Jones, Jennifer Jones, and the 
late O. Nelson Jones. He is a member of the Oak Hill Baptist Church and 
the St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Charleston.
  I know I speak for all West Virginians when I wish Charles T. 
``Captain Charlie'' Jones a Happy 100th birthday and wish for many 
more.

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