We will lose the services of the best steward of "America's Best Urban Waterway" as Ralph White plans to retire in January 2013. He is the manager of the James River Park System and has been since 1980. He is a man who cares.
The 67-year-old naturalist and historian said he is working through some health issues but wants to "stick around until January 2013 to make it a clean 32 years." He began his career in the James River Park in January 1980.
On the cover of his 1997 "James River in Richmond" guidebook, author John Bryan dubbed the our treasured river to be "America's Best Urban Waterway." It got that reputation in part because of men like Ralph White and the perception of the once-polluted river has continued to improve and thrive in part because of the legacy of stewardship and care he has nurtured.
White has always been a bit of a folk hero to the many river-goers in Richmond. He is an admitted free spirit and has always put an emphasis on "re-creation" -- the mindset that the James River Park should be a place where people discover nature, explore and unwind and that the city should be more relaxed on enforcing some of the rules in the parks.
This has not always made White popular with City of Richmond officials, but he has endured many conflicts. He was once suspended over an issue with opening some of the areas of the park in the early morning hours -- at a time before the city said they could be opened -- for the sake of paddlers trying to get on the water early. He has voiced his opinions about policies or practices within City Hall and gotten reprimanded. He has always survived, perhaps in part because he had the backing of the citizens, but mostly because he is stubborn and believes that what he is doing is good for the James River Park.
If you have ever had the occasion to speak with White, he is a great historian and naturalist. He is in tune with the wildlife and vegetation one might find in the parks. He leads hundreds of guided tours a year, including the great blue heron rookery in late winter, the Richmond Slave Trail in the summer and tours with children year-round, like the Frog's Eye nature tour.
White has always been hard-working, dedicating more than 60 hours a week to his job. He is a very fit and athletic man, and it is rare for him to be out of his standard park manager uniform: dark socks pulled to the knee, khaki long-sleeve shirt, glasses, beard.
For a man who has passed the standard retirement age, it has always impressed me to see him out working as hard as he can and sweating every day as he patrolled from parcel to parcel in the parks, emptying trash and recycling cans, checking on the properties, answering questions for park visitors, addressing maintenance issues, etc. His dedication is inspiring to many of us who love the James River Park.
He is a very well-read man, often quoting great philosophers and environmentalists. One of his favorites is Newton Ancarrow, a scientist turned master boat builder, turned environmentalist who died in 1991. Ancarrow fought with city officials for years in efforts to force Richmond to stop polluting the James. Ancarrow's efforts eventually worked, and the James River is better for it. His old boat landing is now a part of the JRPS, named Ancarrow's Landing in his honor. There is some of the same staunch stubbornness in White.
During Tuesday night's Friends of the James River Park meeting, several members teased that we may need to rename part of the park in White's honor. I have written about this before and believe that Richmond will need to rename one of the properties, and I suggest that the improperly named "Main Area" of the JRPS -- the area of the park on the south bank of the river from the Boulevard Bridge to the Southside rocks on Belle Isle -- should someday carry Ralph White's name.
I joked with him that Richmond may need a committee of committees to replace him, which made him laugh. He is a humble man, but not humble enough to acknowledge that it will take a great effort to find someone to take his place. The city will lose its best public servant when he retires and Richmond should begin taking applications for his successor immediately.
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