April 15, 2006
Vincent "Jake" Powers passed away on Thur. April 13, 2006. I don't know if his obit. (Worcester Telegram & Gazette Sunday April 16, 2006) will note his contributions to the subject of Worcester Irish Genealogy/History. I am sure it will credit him for his role in the establishment of the Urban Studies Dept. at Worcester State College, but I wonder if his "Irish in Worcester" type courses will be mentioned. I never got to take one, but I was pleased they were being offered: They were like a recruiting tool for this tiny club of people who had heard of the Blackstone Canal. The club has grown quite a bit in the last decade, Jake played a role in that. He was every reporter's go-to man for information, whenever there was a story about the canal. Is there Really a Canal Under Worcester? Who Built the Canal? Let's Open the Canal, Let's Recreate the Canal, A Children's Book on the Canal by Tom Rooney, etc. They went to Jake. His knowledge of the Worcester-Irish covered the "canal-Irish," through the Famine-Irish, and beyond. He passed-on that knowledge with his classes about Worcester's Irish past, and that has been good for anyone that has even a passing intrest in "Worcester Irish Genealogy/History."
Tomorrow morning my children will be looking for Easter Eggs, I will be looking for the T&G. John
