Benjamin Lindsay is not frequently associated with Gaspee Day events, but Laurie O’Rourke is known to Pawtuxet Village residents.
On Tuesday, June 10, at Trinity Episcopal Church, O’Rourke will become the first recipient of the Benjamin Lindsay Award.
O’Rourke on Monday said she was surprised when she learned of the award and that she had been selected to receive it.
Lindsay, the captain of the Hannah, played a pivotal role in the burning of the HMS Gaspee on June 9, 1772. The Gaspee was in pursuit of the Hannah, which was sailing up Narragansett Bay. The Hannah, the smaller of the two boats, was believed to be carrying cargo that the British wanted to confiscate.
With a shallower draft than the Gaspee, the Hannah tacked across the Namquid Shoals on an ebbing tide. The Gaspee ran aground. Lindsay sailed on to Providence where he spread the word that the Gaspee was stuck and a party was rallied to do away with the ship.
Mark Russell, who has served in every possible role on the Gaspee Days Committee, wanted to do something to recognize all that O’Rourke, who until recently operated O’Rourke’s Bar & Grill, has done for the committee and the village. He suggested she be awarded the Abraham Whipple Award. A Providence native, Whipple served as a commander in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War. The committee liked the idea of honoring O’Rourke, but felt the Whipple award should be reserved for Gaspee Committee members.
“We have come to realize that there are a lot of non-committee members that do so much for the committee and the Pawtuxet community. With that in mind we have created the Benjamin Lindsay Award,” Russell said in an email.
O’Rourke confesses she had little time after her husband, Michael, died in 2009 and she assumed full operation of the business. But that didn’t stop her from doing a lot for the village.
She credits Michael with spearheading the Gaspee block party, which raises a big chunk of what it costs to run Gaspee celebrations and in particular the parade. She said Michael believed strongly in the community and did what he could for Pawtuxet.
“It was his vision to do what he did,” she said. She noted that the Pawtuxet Stroll and the scarecrow event are two of the activities supported by the business, which recently sold to John and Shannon Brito.
Now living in Narragansett, O’Rourke won’t be a stranger to Pawtuxet. She’ll be here for the Ecumenical Service, recently renamed the Gaspee Community Service & Concert, at Trinity Episcopal Church at 6 p.m., and to join in the food and celebration following the service.
In part, the plaque she will receive reads the award “recognizes an individual who has shown exceptional dedication through the generous donation of time, energy and resources to support the mission of the Gaspee Days Committee.”