Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411280001
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: KEN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
His steps are still quick, but tedious, hindered by the pain of two bad knees that carry him up several flights of stairs a day.
But Jones said he doesn't think about the staircases, or the even pain they induce. He has mouths to feed.
About 30 of them.
"I thank God I'm able to do it," said Jones, a 73-year-old driver for the Meals on Wheels program. "It don't bother me much going up and down the steps if I'm helping somebody."
Sponsored by the New River Valley Agency on Aging, the Meals on Wheels program delivers hot lunches to homebound elderly residents throughout the area.
Jones, who has been a paid driver for more than 30 years, gave up hauling corporate executives through the streets of New York City 10 years ago to come with his wife to her home of Christiansburg.
Jones said he couldn't find anything to suit his schedule, until he heard the Meals on Wheels program was looking for paid drivers to work a morning shift.
"The hours were good and I get to be around people," Jones said. "That's what I like."
Jones is tall and slim, with a pair of amber sunglasses and Reebok walking shoes that aid him in the 40 to 60 miles he drives and walks in delivering meals.
He is renowned for his easygoing nature, generous advice and friendly conversation, all of which he loves to share with his elderly clientele.
"How you doin' baby?" he asks Eva Whittaker in his unique accent, a cross between Southern charm and New York City matter-of-factness.
Whittaker, like most of Jones' customers, is in poor health, and the response is often negative when she is asked about her condition.
"Well you've got to feel better," Jones said, "because it's going to be a beautiful day."
It's an optimism Jones has kept all his life.
Born and raised in Petersburg, Va., he spent his childhood afternoons in the gymnasiums of Virginia State College pursuing a dream of playing professional sports.
By the time he was a young man, he was playing in the Negro Leagues - a group of semipro baseball teams organized for black players who were not allowed to play in the white-only teams of Major League Baseball.
Jones excelled, playing as a right fielder, pitcher and third baseman against some of the most legendary teams in the league: the Newark Eagles, the Birmingham Barons and the Homestead Grays.
If his skin had been white, Jones knows he would have had a good shot at the majors.
"I was fine," he said, drawing out the word for emphasis.
But the color barrier would not be broken until 1947 with Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Jones said he is too thankful for his blessings to think about what could have been.
He was drafted during World War II, and spent the war in the quartermaster's office of Camp Kilmer, N.J., where he played semipro football.
But by the end of the war, his love of sports began to be replaced by other interests.
"Yeah, I got my head into girls and forgot all about games," he said.
Jones married his wife, Annie, in 1963, and lived in New York for the next 20 years before coming back to Virginia.
He's been delivering meals ever since.
"I think I'm doing some good helping somebody," he said. "Plus it keeps me moving and keeps me in shape."
Jones works from 9:30 a.m. until noon Monday and Friday.
Tuesday through Thursday, Jones drives several of his elderly customers to and from the Christiansburg Senior Center for lunch and other activities, while also making his normal deliveries.
In his 30 years of driving in the New River Valley and New York City, Jones has never come close to having an accident, and has earned plenty of admiration.
"Willie's just as good as they come," said Irene Teel from her wheelchair. "We just love him. He's one of my favorite people."
His other customers agree, sharing their hugs or smiles with him every time he walks through their doors.
"That's what it's all about," Jones said. "I've made a lot of friends. I don't want to live in a world with no enemies."
Memo: ***CORRECTION***