Back to Bourbon Street: Paul Jones prepares to make another trip to New Orleans for 101st birthday

On September 15, 2023, the Corbin Redhounds football team celebrated its 100th year of existence with an evening full of festivities at the newly remodeled Campbell Field/Denes Stadium. Prior to kickoff of that night’s historic game between the Hounds and the visiting Frederick Douglass Broncos, Paul Jones was escorted to the 50-yard-line to serve as an honorary captain for the ceremonial coin toss. This was fitting for a number of reasons, chief among them being the fact that, of the estimated 7,500 fans that were in attendance, he was the only one to actually be on the earth when the football Hounds first took the field back in 1923.

“It was quite an honor,” Jones said of being recognized at the centennial game. “I was in awe of everything, and very appreciative of the fact that they did that for me.”

Jones, who will turn 101-years-old on October 31, has just about seen and heard it all. He got to play a role in the history of athletics in Corbin as a young man, he served his country as a Navy pilot during World War II, and he was the third generation to own and operate a successful furniture business in downtown Corbin. Some of his fondest memories, however, have been made in the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, LA.

“I was first attracted to New Orleans when I was in the Navy,” said Jones. “They had a Naval air station there, and I got to fly a plane to it. I stayed there, and liked it. My wife and I later started traveling there each year for my birthday. We got in the habit of going down and staying for 3-4 days right in the center of the French Quarter, in a room with a balcony overlooking the street.”

“It’s kind of like a zoo,” Jones said of some of the typical sights he sees when he makes his yearly trek each Halloween. “It’s a different world. You just see a little bit of everything.”

Jones’ wife of 55 years, Shirley, passed away about three-and-a-half years ago. The two used to fly to New Orleans together each year in Jones’ own plane, but he started making the trip via car after he stopped flying at age 82. Now, all these years later, he is still driving to his favorite vacation destination each year, but he now takes a close friend, Randy Dixon, with him when he goes.

Jones among those recognized with recent ‘Honor Flight’

The last time that Jones was in the air was in early September, when he and many fellow veterans from all over the country were flown from Louisville to Washington D.C. as part of a special ‘Honor Flight.’

Jones said that the event included vets from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He was one of only five who were present from WWII, and was the only one of those who didn’t have to depend on a wheelchair to get around.

“I felt lucky there,” Jones said.

In addition to getting to visit many of the sites in Washington, including several veterans’ memorials, Jones and company were treated to a reception at the Louisville airport that he said “blew him away.”

“They treated us royally,” Jones said. “There were thousands of people. We all shook hands for over 30 minutes.”

Best memories of military service include being trained by all-time baseball great Ted Williams

Jones explained that he was attending school in Missouri when the events of Pearl Harbor unfolded in December of 1941. He said that a friend of his decided to enlist in the Navy shortly thereafter, and later convinced him to do the same.

Jones became a pilot in the Navy, and served in active duty between 1943-45. It was during that time that he received flight training from none other than Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams while stationed in Pensacola, FL.

“He was the greatest baseball player, in my humble opinion, that there’s ever been,” Jones said of Williams. “I was in awe of him, and he was just as good as a pilot as he was as a baseball player.”

Jones, who considers playing baseball while growing up in Corbin to be the highlight of his youth, got the unique opportunity to actually catch a ball thrown by “Teddy Ballgame,” although as he explained, it didn’t quite go as he might have hoped…

“He had an arm like a cannon,” Jones said, recounting a time when several of the Navy men stationed in Pensacola were playing a game on a field there. “I was at second base and he fielded a grounder at third. I called for the ball, and when he threw it all I saw was a blur. I threw my glove up, and it darn near tore my arm off. The next morning, I couldn’t close my hand because it was so swollen.”

Considering the injured hand was the same one that he used to control the throttle while flying, Jones went to Williams in hopes of receiving a little sympathy. As he found out, sympathy was in short supply on that particular day.

“He told me, ‘You ought to learn how to catch the damn ball,’” Jones said of Williams’ response.

Recently, Jones was surprised with a personalized bat when he visited the Louisville Slugger Museum. A guest column that appeared in an early-August edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal documented the visit and the surprise gift, and also discussed much of his past accomplishments, including his military service and interactions with the great Ted Williams.

Jones thanks the people of Corbin for their many years of support

When Jones returned to Corbin in the mid-forties, he soon found himself taking over the family business, Hall-Watson Furniture Company, when his father’s health began to fail him.

“I ran it for over 40 years,” Jones said of his business career. “The community was always really good to us. We enjoyed good business, and were very successful at it. I don’t know of anything that I did special other than just try to run a good, honest business, but we did have third generation families who would come in a trade with us.”

“I’ve had a great life,” Jones said. “It has been very eventful, and Corbin has been a really good place for me to live and grow up in.”

As for the secret to his longevity, Jones said frankly, “Stay busy. Don’t sit down. You will rust out quicker than you’ll wear out. I thoroughly believe that.”

Staying true to that mantra, Jones will just be days away from his latest trip to his most-beloved vacation destination of New Orleans when this story hits shelves.