An Iceboater at Indy? The Mel Jones Story

1925 photo via Kristopher Strebe

An Iceboater at Indy? The Mel Jones Story

Until recently, few in the sailing or iceboating worlds knew that one of our own, Mel Jones, raced in the 1925 Indianapolis 500. As far as we know, he remains the only iceboater and A Scow sailor to have ever taken the starting flag at Indy.

That remarkable fact came to light thanks to Kristopher Strebe, a racing historian from Seattle and native of Janesville, Wisconsin. Kristopher has made it his mission to uncover the full biographical details of every driver who has competed in the Indianapolis 500.

A few days ago, Kristopher contacted me to ask if I had ever seen a photograph of Mel Jones. Fortunately, the Carl Bernard scrapbook provided what we needed, as Carl had pasted a large picture of Mel on one of its pages.

Kristopher also sent two black and white images from the 1925 Indy 500, one of a driver seated in car number 7 and another standing trackside. He had a hunch that the man in the photos might be Mel, the longtime sailmaker and a former Commodore of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.

When we compared the photographs, it became clear that the man in the 1925 image was Mel Jones. Lake Geneva Yacht Club members Ellen Bentsen and Susie Pegel, both of whom knew Mel personally, immediately recognized him. Additional details from the LGYC yearbook and sailing community archives began to align. Kristopher’s research, combined with local knowledge, confirmed what none of us had known before: Mel Jones took the start of the 1925 Indianapolis 500, driving in relief for car owner Harold John Skelly.

Mel Jones: Sailmaker, Iceboater, and Indy Driver

Melville C Jones was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1901. A sailor from a young age, he raced A Scows and iceboats out of the Lake Geneva Yacht Club and eventually became a respected sailmaker with Murphy and Nye, Joy Brothers, and later his own loft, Jones Brothers. He was a charter member of the Skeeter Iceboat Club, sailed a Skeeter named GREEN GHOST, and served as Commodore of the Northwest Ice Yachting Association in 1947.

But in 1925, his name briefly surfaced in another arena: automobile racing. That year, a 21-year-old named Harold John Skelly built and entered a car for the Indianapolis 500, powered by a Frontenac Ford engine. Skelly, also from Oak Park, was a student of engineering and had no prior racing experience. He qualified impressively at over 88 miles per hour, but on race day, the track physician ruled him ineligible to compete due to a heart condition.

Mel Jones took his place behind the wheel.

Official records confirm that Jones started the race in car number 7 and completed about 30 laps before the car retired with mechanical trouble. His participation was so under the radar that many accounts at the time overlooked the driver change entirely. Even decades later, his name remained disconnected from the event until Kristopher Strebe’s research brought it to light.

A Shared Skillset: From Iceboats to Indy

The story raised an intriguing question: how did a sailor and sailmaker end up racing at Indianapolis?

For those in the iceboating world, the answer makes perfect sense. Iceboats demand custom fabrication and mechanical intuition. Several iceboat builders including my father, Dave Rosten, Paul Krueger, and my late husband, Harry Whitehorse, have deep roots in motorsports. Metal parts for iceboats are rarely available off the shelf. Everything from the steering assembly to the runner plank hardware must be built by hand.

It is not hard to imagine Mel Jones moving comfortably between those two worlds.

Not to Be Confused with Milton Jones

It is worth noting that Melville C Jones is not the same person as Milton Jones, another early Indy driver who was fatally injured during practice for the 1932 Indianapolis 500. The two men have occasionally been confused in historical references, but they were entirely separate individuals. UPDATE: “Mel and Milton Jones were confused for so long because most documents and reports referred to them simply as M.C. Jones.” Kristopher Strebe. Mel Jones raced only in 1925 and lived a long life devoted to sailing, sailmaking, and the Lake Geneva community.

Who Built the Car?

One mystery remains. According to the 1983 Lake Geneva Yacht Club yearbook, Mel Jones was the “designer and builder of an Indianapolis 500 race car which finished first among the independent builders at the 1925 time trials.” Newspaper accounts from the time, however, credit Skelly as the car’s builder. It is possible both men were involved. Skelly had a technical education, and Mel certainly had the hands-on experience and design background to contribute meaningfully.

For now, the question of who actually built the car remains unanswered. But one thing is certain: Mel Jones drove in the 1925 Indianapolis 500, making him the only known iceboater to have ever done so.

I am indebted to the research of Kristopher Strebe. Tip of the Helmet to Susie Pegel and Ellen Bentsen for their input.

Skelly seated in the car. Mel Jones standing far right. Photo via Kristopher Strebe.

 

 

MISS MADISON Refresh

Left – Paul McMillan and Jerry Simon looking over MISS MADISON rigging. Right: MISS MADISON at 1930 Hearst, Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh, WI.

Via Peter Fauerbach on Facebook:

Paul McMillan is doing his thing for the Iceboat Foundation. This time he is restoring all rigging and upper deck structures on the MISS MADISON. A couple weeks ago we moved the booms, mast and gaff to his workshop. Yesterday we met and discussed the last major item before we can set up the MISS MADISON and rig her for the first time since 2016. We hope to show the boat before ice season a local regatta. Can’t say enough about Paul’s work.

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100 Years on the Ice — Happy Birthday, Burly Brellinthin

Burly removes the cover from his B Skeeter in preparation for the 2013 Northwest Regatta on Green Lake. Photo: Gretchen Dorian

Please join us in celebrating one of our southern neighbors, Skeeter Iceboat Club member Burley Brellinthin, who turns 100 years old today.

Burley has been a fixture in the iceboating community for decades. Here’s a photo from just a few years ago, with his Boecraft Skeeter ON THE ROCKS.

Happy Birthday, Burley. You’ve been showing us how it’s done for a long time.

Iceboaters Take on Chi Mac

The photo appears in a Mackinac State Historic Parks blog post that explores what islanders did in winter, including iceboating.

The 116th Chicago to Mackinac Race will soon be underway, and once again, several familiar names from the ice sailing world are taking on the soft water challenge.

Returning competitors include DN and Skeeter sailors Steve Orlebeke (aboard the J/125 CALLISTO), Ron Sherry and Skip Dieball (crewing on the TP52 USUAL SUSPECTS), and Dave Elsmo and Ben Witman (on the TP52 LEGACY). Joining them this year is Rick Hennig along with crew Todd Knopp and Richard Sawyer, racing on MEDICINE MAN. All are seasoned iceboaters who bring their tactics and toughness to the big lake.
UPDATE: DNer Gail Turlock will sail on VAGABOND.

Just last weekend, another Great Lake offered a sobering reminder of its power. During the Port Huron to Mackinac Race, a sailor fell overboard and was rescued in a dramatic operation. Read the harrowing account here.

Let us know if you’re racing this year so we can add you to the list of ice sailors taking on the Mac! If you’d like to follow along, here is the tracking link.

Mel Kishner Iceboat Painting


Now that’s a crowd! Here’s a striking iceboat print by Mel Kishner (1915 – 1991) that I haven’t seen before. Kishner was a prolific artist and served as the art director for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel from 1940 to 1978. It’s unclear whether he created this piece to illustrate an article about ice sailing for the newspaper or simply for his own enjoyment. Many of you know Kishner’s grandson, grandson Mark Walters. If anyone knows the whereabouts of the original, let us know. Tip of the Helmet: Damien Luyet

July 4th Goes Ice Boating

Ice Riders on the Chesapeake Bay by Charles Wysocki

Here’s our collection of July 4th ice sailing photos, another opportunity to remember that two of the founders, Ben Franklin and John Adams thought about iceboating. Ben even ordered a set of plans!  But one ride in the Netherlands was quite enough for John Adams. He wrote to a friend, that iceboating “as again endangered my Health and my Life.” Enjoy the holiday and Think Ice!
When Ben Franklin Ordered Iceboat Plans
Ben Franklin’s Iceboat Drawings

Photo: Gretchen Dorian

JD’s EAGLE, Class A Skeeter. Photo: Gretchen Dorian

Shown here from left to right doing their best to make the ordinary extraordinary are: Don Ermer, Don Sanford, Steve Arnold, Lady Liberty, Ty Reed and Ken Kreider. 

Patriotic Pete Johns