Honoring a Pawtuxet patriot

By ETHAN HARTLEY
Posted 7/2/19

By ETHAN HARTLEY Even if you're not particularly interested in history, if you live in Pawtuxet Village, you definitely know about the Pawtuxet Rangers. Ronald Barnes is a big reason for that, and on Thursday he was honored with the Warwick Rotary Club's

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Honoring a Pawtuxet patriot

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Even if you’re not particularly interested in history, if you live in Pawtuxet Village, you definitely know about the Pawtuxet Rangers. Ronald Barnes is a big reason for that, and on Thursday he was honored with the Warwick Rotary Club’s Hayden Bentley Award, which is presented to individuals or businesses who provide “service above self” for their local communities.

For 32 years Barnes has been a member of the Rangers, a historic militia with roots dating back to 1774, when they were chartered to protect Pawtuxet Village in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Since 2004, Barnes has assumed leadership of the group as its commander.

“I've marched a lot of parades, put a lot of miles on my boots, slept in a lot of tents and encampments, and I wouldn't trade it for anything,” he said following his recognition at the Radisson Hotel.

The average person in Warwick, and across Rhode Island even, knows the Rangers for their participation in parades and their role in celebrating Gaspee Days, which commemorates the burning of the H.M.S. Gaspee, one of the major catalysts that ultimately led to the Revolution. Following the Revolution, the Rangers became an artillery company during the War of 1812 and remained as such until about 1850, when the armory was taken over and turned into a Masonic Lodge.

The rich history of the regiment has continued unimpeded to the modern day, and was recently recognized on a national level when the Travel Channel did a segment on the Rangers’ signature alcoholic beverage, “Fish House Punch,” for its show, “Booze Traveler.” Barnes showed the segment to the Rotary, which put Warwick, the Rangers and Pawtuxet Village in the spotlight.

For Barnes, participating in the Rangers is fulfilling for a number of reasons – not the least of which is the fact that he’s a proud history nerd, and preserving history and ensuring it is passed down to the next generation is a mission he finds to be particularly important.

“I often go and speak at schools and bring a lot of show and tell stuff, and I find that children are learning less and less about history. We are where we are – good or bad or indifferent – because of history,” he said. “It's important to perpetuate that history. One of the first acts of aggression happened right outside on our coast here – the burning of the Gaspee. That's something we should be proud of and continue on and let people know that.”

But more than this, Barnes understands that the Rangers play an integral part in what binds Pawtuxet Village together.

“People joke about a close-knit village and community, but Pawtuxet lives and breathes that. All the groups, between the PVA [Pawtuxet Village Association] and the Friends of Pawtuxet and the Gaspee Days Committee, our village lives that and really is that every day,” he said. “If you wanted to find an example of how community should look and operate and function, Pawtuxet would probably be it.”

The Rangers’ contributions to the community go beyond merely symbolic reminders of the area’s history as well. Its members contribute to preserving and the upkeep of a local historic cemetery in the village, and Barnes partnered recently with Cranston’s Historic Cemetery Commission to restore a wholly neglected cemetery along Park Avenue – which turned out to have several notable historic figures, including one of the forefathers of the U.S. Navy, Johnathan Pitcher.

More recently, Barnes spearheaded a fundraising effort to maintain their historic armory on Remington Street – which was built in 1843 and celebrated its 175th anniversary last year – that raised $25,000. Along with those renovations, the armory now houses a museum that provides information on the village, the history of the Rangers and artifacts from the Harmony Masonic Lodge, which occupied the building from 1850 to 1907.

“We believe part of our job also is to be good stewards of the community,” Barnes said.

Additionally, Barnes admits that he is hopeful somebody will take the torch from him when he eventually steps down as Commander, though he didn’t indicate on Thursday that he’s looking to do that any time soon.

He did look ahead to the future, however, and talked about the time capsule the Rangers placed inside the armory during the 175th anniversary celebration. They placed it in the same spot that originally held a much older time capsule, within the cornerstone of the armory. Unfortunately, when they excavated the spot, that time capsule had been removed.

So now it is up to two of the Rangers’ youngest members to remember the time capsule and open it up during the 225th anniversary.

“So, we hope we left a legacy with that,” Barnes said. “Hopefully, down the road after I'm long gone, people can keep this going.”

If you’re interested in joining the ranks of the Rangers, don’t worry, you don’t need any combat experience or know how to load a smooth-bore musket. You simply need to pay $25 in annual dues, or $30 a year if you wish to be an associate member, which allows you to stay out of uniform and not participate in the parades (if that’s not your cup of punch, so to speak). And despite being a historic Rhode Island group, no, you don’t need to “know a guy” to get in.

Barnes noted that you should, however, have a keen interest in something that relates to the Rangers.

“It might be an interest in history. It might be an interest in music through the fife and drum corps. It might be an interest in camping out and cooking over a fire. It could be community service,” he said. “We've taken on a huge roll in community service. It's one of the big things we believe in.”

To learn more about the Rangers, visit their armory at 59 Remington Street in Pawtuxet or visit their website at PawtuxetRangers.com.

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