Jon Blais (August 30, 1971 – May 27, 2007), also known as Blazeman , was an American triathlete noted for his fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is the namesake of the Blazeman Foundation.
47-498: Born and raised in Seekonk, Massachusetts , Blais moved to San Diego, California , because of its reputation as a triathlon mecca and to work with learning disabled and at risk students. On May 2, 2005, at age 33, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease or motor neurone disease, a progressive disease in which the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement degenerate and die off. He
94-600: A peace treaty negotiated on March 22, 1621. The alliance ensured that the Pokanokets remained neutral during the Pequot War in 1636. According to English sources, Massasoit prevented the failure of Plymouth Colony and the starvation that the Pilgrims faced during its earliest years. Some tension continued between Massasoit and the colonists when they refused to give up Squanto , whom Massasoit believed to have betrayed him. This
141-510: A movie multiplex, many different chain stores and restaurants, Seekonk Speedway , a 1/3 mile oval track located along Route 6, as well as Seekonk Grand Prix, with multiple amusement rides and miniature golf. Although there has been a great deal of building in Seekonk since the Wampanoags first lived here, one can still see many of the "black" Canada geese which give the town its name. According to
188-542: A number of religious schools in the surrounding communities (the closest school in-state being Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro). Massasoit Massasoit Sachem ( / ˌ m æ s ə ˈ s ɔɪ ( ɪ ) t / MASS -ə- SOYT , - SOY -it ) or Ousamequin ( c. 1581 – 1661) was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem . Although Massasoit
235-658: A peace treaty with the new immigrants for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most important factor was that the Wampanoags were fearful of being overtaken by the Narragansett Indians who lived nearby. Ossamequin believed an alliance with the English would help to secure the safety of his people. In 1641, the local Native Americans had granted a large part of modern-day Seekonk to purchasers from Hingham, including Edward Gilman Sr., Joseph Peck, John Leavitt and others. In 1653 Ossamequin and his son Wamsetto, also known as Alexander to
282-623: Is Shawn E. Cadime. The Seekonk Fire Department provides all fire and paramedic services to the town. The Department responded to 3,157 calls for emergency services in fiscal year 2017. There are 38 career firefighters, consisting of 4 groups of 9 firefighters. 2 Monday–Friday daytime Captains and Chief of the Department, Sandra J. Lowery. The Fire Department operates the following stations and apparatus. Seekonk has its own public school system, with four active schools. The town has two elementary schools: Mildred H. Aitken Elementary School (serving
329-643: Is also served by a regional transit authority, the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA). The town's nearest airport is T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island, near Providence 13 miles (21 km) away. Logan International Airport is the nearest international airport, 50 miles (80 km) away in Boston. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,425 people, 4,843 households, and 3,874 families residing in
376-603: Is governed by an Open Town Meeting led by a Board of Selectmen . The town has a central police station on Route 44, and a central post office at the corner of Routes 44 and 114A. The Seekonk Public Library is located near the center of town along Route 152. The town also has a branch of the YMCA . Seekonk's current board of selectmen are: Justin Sullivan (Chairman), Christopher Zorra (Vice Chairman), Adam Petronio (Clerk), David J. Andrade, and Michael P. Healy. The current Town Administrator
423-454: Is now Southeastern Massachusetts. In the winter months the Natives lived inland, including several locations in Seekonk. At one time there were three Native American villages in the area we now call Seekonk. There have been many spellings of the name Seekonk. Some of the various spellings include Seconch, Sink Hunk, Secquncke, Seaconke, and Squannakonk. The symbol of the goose in flight is used on
470-687: The Satucket River in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts . The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . Massasoit had five children: son Wamsutta , who was born between 1621 and 1625; son Pometecomet, Metacomet , or Metacom; son Sonkanuchoo; and daughters Amie and Sarah. Soon after his death, Wamsutta and Metacomet went to Plymouth and asked the Pilgrims to give them English names. The court named them Alexander and Philip. Wamsutta,
517-625: The Seekonk River the following spring. Governor Winslow advised Williams to move his settlement to the other side of the river because his current location was within the bounds of Plymouth Colony. Williams did so and founded Providence Plantations , which later became part of the Colony of Rhode Island . The half century of peace that Massasoit so assiduously maintained collapsed soon after his death. Wamsutta broke away from his father's diplomacy and began an alliance with Connecticut Colony . Massasoit
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#1733085267621564-476: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 18.4 square miles (48 km ), of which 18.3 square miles (47 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ) is water. The total area is 0.54% water. It is bordered by Rehoboth to the east, Barrington , Rhode Island and Swansea to the south, East Providence and Pawtucket , Rhode Island to the west, and Attleboro to
611-603: The University of Maryland , where the organization will be supporting the university's Brain and Tissue Bank in setting up a program for ALS patients to donate their tissue postmortem for research. Seekonk, Massachusetts Seekonk is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts , United States, on the Massachusetts border with Rhode Island. It was incorporated in 1812 from the western half of Rehoboth . The population
658-575: The Wampanoag Tribe. The name Wampanoag means People of the Morning Light. This name refers to the geographical area of the tribe. Living in the East they would be the first people to greet the sun each morning. The area now known as Seekonk and Rehoboth provided agricultural and water resources with abundant food supplies. During the warm summer months the Natives spent time near the rivers and oceans in what
705-469: The Wessagusset and Plymouth colonies, and he warned the Pilgrims in time. The alliance came under other tension in later years, as the colonists expanded into new lands in order to support their growing colony. Massasoit sold a tract of land 14 miles square to Myles Standish and others of Duxbury in 1649 to alleviate tension and maintain the peace. The sale took place atop Sachem Rock , an outcropping on
752-437: The "Multi-Sport Movement To End Lou Gehrig's Disease," the organization was founded in 2007 by friends and family of Jon Blais. As a popular money-raising cause and "reason to race" for professional and amateur triathletes, the organization is the subject of frequent press coverage in local news outlets around the world and in media devoted to running, swimming, bicycling, and triathlon competition. The organization operates under
799-769: The "Warriors," and its school colors are Columbia blue, navy blue, and white though traditionally the school colors are Columbia blue and white. The school uses the "spear" logo made famous by Florida State University and, formerly, the Washington Redskins . Seekonk is the southernmost member of the Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School district, which is centered in Franklin . High school students may also choose to attend Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton , or any of
846-536: The 4th Bristol District. Seekonk is patrolled by Troop D (Southeast District), 4th Barracks (located in Middleborough) of the Massachusetts State Police. On the national level, the town is part of Massachusetts Congressional District 4, which is represented by Jake Auchincloss . The state's Senior (Class I) Senator is Elizabeth Warren , and the state's Junior (Class II) Senator, is Ed Markey . Seekonk
893-483: The English, signed a deed granting the land that is now Seekonk and the surrounding communities to Thomas Willitt, Myles Standish and Josiah Winslow. The Wampanoags were paid 35 pounds sterling by the English settlers, for instance, for the sale to Willitt, Standish and Winslow. Three of the earliest English men to settle in the area now known as Seekonk and Providence were William Blackstone , Roger Williams and Samuel Newman . These men and their followers proved it
940-653: The Pokanokets and chief sachem of the Greater Wampanoag Confederacy. He believed that Wamsutta had been murdered at the hands of the Colonists, and this was one of the factors that led to King Philip's War , one of the bloodiest wars in Colonial American history. A statue of Massasoit by sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin stands near Plymouth Rock , with others outside the Utah State Capitol building, on
987-765: The Pokanokets, and Massasoit sought an alliance with the colonies of New England against the neighboring Narragansetts who controlled an area west of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Samoset was a minor Abenaki sachem ( sagamore ) who hailed from the Muscongus Bay area of Maine , and he learned to speak English from fishermen who plied those waters. Massasoit sent him to approach the colonists to find out whether their intentions were peaceful. Massasoit forged critical political and personal ties with colonial leaders William Bradford , Edward Winslow , Stephen Hopkins , John Carver , and Myles Standish , ties which grew out of
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#17330852676211034-554: The Seekonk line, next to Pawtucket Country Club. The Town lies within two watershed areas, the Ten Mile River Watershed and the Narragansett Bay Watershed. The town can be accessed through one interstate, I-195 , as well as Route 6 , Route 44 , Route 152 and Route 114A . Seekonk has its own exit on I-195, Massachusetts Exit 1, Route 114A, which provides easy access to Route 6 to the south and Route 44 to
1081-530: The Town Seal. The chief of the Wampanoags at the time the colonists settled in Southeastern Massachusetts was known as Massasoit Ossamequin and had been seriously affected by a plague just prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth . A large number of Wampanoag Indians had been killed by this illness. Most historians believe this plague to have been yellow fever . Massasoit decided to make
1128-419: The age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 16.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.12. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under
1175-460: The age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 56,364, and the median income for a family was $ 62,361. Males had a median income of $ 42,404 versus $ 29,782 for females. The per capita income for
1222-507: The cause, 18-year-old "Blaze Kid" Jennifer Hansen had raised almost $ 30,000 for the organization before reaching eligibility for her first Ironman event in 2011. The San Francisco athlete said the disease hit home with her in 2009 when a beloved basketball coach was diagnosed with ALS. Research funding from the foundation has been awarded to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center ($ 11,300 in 2011), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine ($ 400,000 committed through 2012 ), and
1269-560: The eldest, became sachem of the Pokanokets on the death of his father. He died within a year, and his brother Metacom succeeded him in 1662. Amie married Tispaquin and was the only one of Massasoit's five children to survive King Philip's War in 1676. Roger Williams fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony to avoid arrest and deportation for religious reasons and stayed the winter of 1635–36 with Massasoit, who gave him land along
1316-486: The finish line and is the first person diagnosed with ALS to start and finish this race. He died on May 27, 2007. Various international triathletes have later honored Blais and showed their support for the fight against ALS by doing a "Blazeman roll" across the Ironman finish line. The Blazeman Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises money internationally to foster awareness of and research on ALS. Branding itself as
1363-465: The land that is now Rehoboth , East Providence , Pawtucket and Seekonk was claimed by both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In 1812, the border disputes were settled by the courts and the present town of Seekonk was incorporated. Two industrial villages developed to supplement the agricultural economy, with such businesses as the Rumford Chemical Works, but what had been the industrial area of
1410-427: The leadership of Jon Blais' parents, Bob and Mary Ann Blais, his sister, Jennifer Murphy, and friends. Supporters include leading Ironman competitors, such as Chrissie Wellington , Leanda Cave , Andy Potts , Mirinda Carfrae , Matt Reed , Bryan Rhodes, and Scott Tinley . In 2011 these star triathletes were featured in a music video to raise money for the foundation. Exemplifying the passion amateur athletes have for
1457-510: The north and central parts of town), and George R. Martin Elementary School (serving the south). North Elementary School closed during the summer of 2006 after 95 years of service due to budget cuts. Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School, named for a popular town educator, is located along Route 152 and serves the town's 6th through 8th grade population. Seekonk High School is located near the center of town. Seekonk athletics teams are nicknamed
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1504-693: The north. Much of the population is concentrated in two areas; one, the Lebanon Mills and Perrins Crossing neighborhoods in the north, and the other, the southern neighborhoods of Luthers Corners and South Seekonk, mostly located between Interstate 195 and Route 44. Seekonk is just five miles (8 km) east of Providence , Rhode Island , and is 48 miles (77 km) southwest of Boston . The town has three golf courses Ledgemont Country Club (private), Pawtucket Country Club (private) and Firefly Golf Course (public). Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket lies just over
1551-636: The north. Route 152, while not connected to any other state route in town, is a major route running between East Providence and Attleboro . From the south end of town, access can be had by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) stop on Commerce Way. From the north end of town, easy access can be had to Interstate 95 and the South Attleboro stop of the MBTA's commuter line between Providence and Boston. That end of town
1598-466: The opening of the Providence and Taunton street railway in 1891, Seekonk became an increasingly residential suburb of Providence. Very few farms still exist in Seekonk. Developers have turned the farms into housing divisions and Seekonk is used largely as a suburban home community for people who work in the Rhode Island and Boston areas. It is now well known for its retail area along Route 6, which includes
1645-511: The state level, Seekonk is part of the Fourth Bristol state representative district, including Rehoboth and parts of Norton and Swansea, and the Bristol and Norton state senatorial district, including part of the city of Attleboro and all or parts of the towns of Dover, Foxborough, Mansfield, Medfield, Norton, Rehoboth, Sharon and Walpole. Seekonk's state representative is Steve Howitt representing
1692-636: The time of the pilgrims' arrival in Plymouth, the realm of the Wampanoag, also known as the Pokanokets , included parts of Rhode Island and much of southeastern Massachusetts . Massasoit lived in Sowams, a village at Pokanoket in Warren, Rhode Island . He held the allegiance of lesser Pokanoket sachems. In 1621, he sent Squanto to live among the colonists at Plymouth. Outbreaks of an unidentified disease had devastated
1739-532: The town in the late-18th and early-19th century was lost when East Providence was incorporated in 1862, taking half of the town's territory, two-thirds of its valuation and more than two-thirds of its population. The town remained basically agricultural into the 20th century, although the Kent Manufacturing Company did make tennis racquets and croquet sets on the upper reaches of the Tenmile River. With
1786-458: The town was $ 24,058. 2.4% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line . 3.0% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. In the year 2000 the population was 13,425, with 6,517 males (48.5%) and 6,908 females (51.5%). Popular ancestries of the population include Portuguese (22.0%), Irish (21.4%), English (16.7%), French (14.4%), Italian (11.9%) and French Canadian (6.4%). On
1833-510: The town. The population density was 733.0 inhabitants per square mile (283.0/km ). There were 4,947 housing units at an average density of 270.1 per square mile (104.3/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 96.57% White , 0.52% African American , 0.28% Native American , 0.95% Asian , 0.00% Pacific Islander , 0.51% from other races , and 1.18% from two or more races. 0.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,843 households, out of which 35.7% had children under
1880-496: The war, and the chief was killed by a mixed group of English and Indian fighters led by Benjamin Church . He was beheaded and his head stayed on public display on a pole in Plymouth for 25 years. For the next 200 years, the area now known as Seekonk was primarily a farming community. Accounts of Town Meetings during these years communicate just how contentious deciding what was best for this area could be. Boundary disputes were common and
1927-429: Was 15,531 at the 2020 census. In 1862, under a U.S. Supreme Court decision resolving a longstanding border dispute between Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a portion of Tiverton, Rhode Island was awarded to Massachusetts to become part of Fall River, while two-thirds of Seekonk (now eastern Pawtucket and East Providence) was awarded to Rhode Island. The earliest known inhabitants of Seekonk were Native Americans from
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1974-448: Was 80 years old. While he lived, his people and the settlers lived in relative peace. He was followed in power by his son Wamsetto, also known as Alexander. This chief died shortly after his father and was replaced by his brother Metacomet , also known as King Philip. In 1675, King Philip's War began and both sides saw this as an opportunity to claim the land for their people and their way of life. Metacomet and his people ultimately lost
2021-461: Was humane and honest, kept his word, and endeavored to imbue his people with a love for peace. He kept the Pilgrims advised of any warlike designs toward them by other tribes. It is unclear when Massasoit died. Some accounts claim that it was as early as 1660; others contend that he died as late as 1662. He was anywhere from 80 to 90 at the time. Wamsutta died suddenly within a year of his succession, and Massasoit's second son Metacom became sachem of
2068-512: Was only his title, English colonists mistook it as his name and it stuck. Massasoit's people had been seriously weakened by a series of epidemics and were vulnerable to attacks by the Narragansetts , and he formed an alliance with the colonists at Plymouth Colony for defense against them. It was through his assistance that the Plymouth Colony avoided starvation during the early years. At
2115-479: Was permitted to enter the 2005 Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, a lifelong dream. As Blais put it, "Finishing the race is huge for me. No one is beating ALS. No one has done anything but walk away and die." His resolve to finish the race was unwavering as he stated, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing." With a total time of 16:28:56, more than half an hour before the cutoff, he "log-rolled" across
2162-476: Was possible to provide a living away from the coastal areas. This allowed groups of individuals to separate themselves from Puritan control. In turn this led to a greater diversity of culture and religious and philosophical freedom. It was only by forming alliances with the Native Americans in both the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes that these early settlements were able to flourish. Massasoit lived until he
2209-492: Was resolved in March 1623 when Massasoit was gravely ill and Edward Winslow nursed him back to health. After his recovery, Winslow reports that Massasoit said, "the English are my friends and love me... whilst I live I will never forget this kindness they have showed me." In return for their kindness, Massasoit warned them of a plot against them. He had learned that a group of influential Massachusett warriors intended to destroy both
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