A Visit with Barney Rourke

“A man without a country, let’s put it that way”, said Barney Rourke during a very interesting visit with him and his wife Viola at their homestead on St. Regis Road near the “S” curve. This is a question he always wondered about and still wishes he had asked his mom: “Where was I born?” Ostonnonke or Korahneha, he never knew. Barney was born on September 4, 1924 and joined a family of two brothers, Joe and Andrew.

During his earlier years, Barney began to work at lumber camps as many men from Ahkwesahsne did in those days. He gained lumbering experience about 2-3 times during his teen years. Another major part of his life was when he was drafted into the armed services with the US Marines. He claims he was drafted and didn’t volunteer. The men were asked to go to Syracuse and a Commander said place your right foot in as a step when they were all lined up. Once the men obeyed the officer they were told, “you are now a member of the United States Marines,” Barney said. “I was Shanghaied (tricked), I’ll never forget that day.”

From that day on, he said he has never volunteered for anything. As part of his young life as a Marine in 1945, he was stationed at the Hawaiian Islands, Okinawa, and China. After all these years Barney and his squad leader have stayed in touch. From the 1st platoon his commanding officer Loren Abdalla has sent Barney pictures and write-ups about the possibility of Mr. Abdalla receiving a Congressional Medal of Honour. He is also a Native American from Sioux, North Dakota.

There has yet to be a decision on if he will be honored by this medal, but if he is, Barney will definitely be invited. He came home from a life as a Marine in 1947 and began his work as an ironworker. He proceeded to get his ironworking experience in Buffalo. He traveled to many cities and states after that.

Around this time, Barney found the love of his life, Viola, and married her on June 12,1948 and together they raised a family. He continued to travel to work on steel and came home on weekends to be with his family. Mr. and Mrs. Rourke have 7 children together...Larry, Evelyn (deceased), Sandra, Marsha, Hubert, Steven, and Eileen. Barney and Viola have been blessed with 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren with two more on the way. What a wonderful 63 years of marriage and accomplishments!

Well, Barney felt it was time to relax, so he retired from ironworking after 40 years while working in New York City. Now he was ready for a more leisurely life after putting in his time. He enjoyed golfing regularly with his buddies and spent much time then and now as he watches his favorite sports teams, the Yankees and Rangers. When anyone goes to the Rourke home, Barney would be found in his favorite room in front of his screen TV watching a game as if he was right on the field or the ice.

Barney’s other sports experiences involved playing basketball in grade school; the team was so talented that Mr. Correnti their coach took his team and challenged the Bombay high school team as well as Malone. Presently, there are two survivors of this team, Barney and Jimmy Bero. Baseball is another sport that Barney Rourke helped to put on the map. He was the general manager for the local teams in Akwesasne for about 20 years. Once the championship was won, Barney’s mission was complete and he left the team.

Barney was proud to mention that one of his players went on to the major leagues – his name was Jim “Ace” Deshaies from Massena. This all took place in the 80’s. Viola also had a hand in the game of baseball, she and other women would gather and put on a feed for the winning team. If Barney’s, The Northern Valley League team would win, there was a very big feed.

This time with all of you has been so much fun and very informative. Thank you for the interview and allowing our readers to get to know you better.

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