Katharine S. Ficks hired a soulmate when she employed Nelson C. Smith to skipper her twin-engine powerboat in the summer of 1984. “Those twin engines were 275 horsepower each, really fast; I could get to the other side of Nantucket in an hour,” said Captain Smith to me recently.
Mrs. Ficks was a summer resident in Edgartown who loved to fish, and spent every day she could on the water with her lady friends. She never missed watching the yearly 12-meter yacht races from her 31-ft. Bertram, named the General III. Captain Smith, a charter fisherman, sword fisherman, and sea scalloper, was recovering from a stroke when Mrs. Ficks’ skipper died suddenly of a heart attack. A friend, Brandy Harrison, told Captain that Mrs. Ficks was looking to hire a captain for her boat. “You’re just what she’s looking for,” he said, “a guy who can catch fish.” Well, Captain Smith was that guy, all right, as he was known for his ability to “read the water,” and rarely returned to port without a big catch. It seems Mrs. Ficks had employed various captains, and some of them didn’t give a darn about fishing; they’d just take her for a ride and let her put her lines in the water. They didn’t take her fishing seriously. Captain Nelson was very serious about his fishing, and the first thing he did was see that the fishing gear was maintained in A-one condition or replaced. His new boss loved that, as she was very finicky and fastidious. Captain Smith said that there was one fishing trip where he didn’t live up to his reputation as a fish whisperer: “One time I took out a nephew of hers and he hooked about 10 blues, and each time they just shook their heads and threw their hooks!”
“I skippered the General III every summer for 23 years,” said Captain Smith, “from 1984 until the day Mrs. Ficks died in January of 2007. Around the year 2000, she hired on Peter Hermann as first mate of the General III. Katharine would fly in on a chartered jet around mid-June, and stay in her house on Atwood Circle until the end of September. In the beginning, there were summers Mrs. Ficks drove down to the Vineyard in her Cadillac, but usually her car was driven to the Vineyard by the chauffeur, Mr. Ashley. Katharine was the type of person who loved everybody, even the most down-and-out vagrants in Edgartown. She just felt sorry for people, and would stop and slip them a $10 bill so they could go off and buy a couple drinks or something to eat. She was just a kind, generous, good lady, and lived to the age of 96. During the winter, I had a job running the Chappy ferry for Jerry Grant. Jerry was a great guy to work for, and I ran the Chappy ferry during the off-season for 10 years.”
Mrs. Ficks was married to Gerald J. Ficks until his death in 1973. They had one son, Jerry, and two grandsons. The family owned the Ficks Reed Furniture Co., which was founded in 1885. They manufactured the finest quality designs, utilizing wicker, rattan, bamboo, leather, and select hardwoods. Each piece was custom-made by skilled artisans with attention to detail, comfort, and craftsmanship. World-class designers, including Dorothy Draper and Paul T. Frankl, designed for Ficks Reed, whose pieces furnished many prestigious homes and hotels. After 125 years, the company closed in 2011. Reed furniture is becoming increasingly collectible.
Katharine S. and Gerald J. Ficks will long be remembered in Cincinnati for their good works and philanthropy. The couple established the Katharine S. and Gerald J. Ficks Fellowship in Perinatal Research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, and Katharine is listed as a trustee emerita of both Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Knolls of Oxford Advisory Board, and a Luminary Society member of the Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Captain Nelson Smith will keep furnishing us with more “Back in the Day” memories.
