Head Of The Charles Regatta 2017 HOCR Program | Page 33

our thanks/
THE MAN BEHIND THE UNIFORM. OUR THANKS
TO JACK BAKEY FOR 50+ YEARS OF SERVICE
TO THE REGATTA WITH MORE TO COME.
LIB DIAMOND
T
here are two kinds of people
in this world. The kind who sit
through a meeting with the De-
partment of Conservation and Recre-
ation with an untreated broken arm, and
the kind who don’t. Jack Bakey, broken
bones and all, is the former. Bakey is
a legend in the lower basin, the upper
basin, and all other patrolled regions of
the Boston area. He is a Somerville na-
tive, a retired major for the Metropolitan
District Commission’s Police Depart-
ment (MDC), and a five decade HOCR
veteran. But Jack didn’t spend those
years in a rowing shell, he spent them in
a uniform keeping our rowers, specta-
tors and volunteers safe and this is his
story, told in three acts.
Act One: Roll Call
On the afternoon of October 16,
1965 Jack Bakey found himself respond-
ing to an “unknown event” on the river
as an officer in the former MDC Police
Department. By the time Bakey ar-
rived, the scene was largely dissipating
with the 228 competitors making their
departure in a peaceful and orderly
fashion. Like all good origin stories, this
one has humble beginnings and starts
with a standard roll call. At the time,
Bakey had no idea of the critical role the
Regatta would play in his professional
and personal life.
As all good things take time to
grow, Bakey wouldn’t return to the
Regatta until the early 70’s when the
event had increased by nearly 10x in just
a handful of years. As a Sargeant, he
responded to numerous parking com-
plaints about the now 2,000+ competi-
tors amassed on the Charles River. As a
OPPOSITE PAGE
Jack Bakey with
former Race Director
Mary Farrel.
PHOTO: HOCR ARCHIVES
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION
FIFTY-THIRD HEAD OF THE CHARLES REGATTA
33