Why's it called that? Bridge over Lake Quinsigamond carries legacy of Kenneth F. Burns

Latest in a series of stories on the people whose names are attached to Worcester schools, streets and parks.

The Route 9 bridge that links Worcester and Shrewsbury was named in honor of Kenneth F. Burns not long after his death in 1977.

The name of the bridge carried on after the ambitious rebuilding of the span a decade ago.

While the honor might have generated an appreciative smile from Burns, the longtime Shrewsbury police chief, it was the water below that plays a major part in his legacy.

He spent many hours on the surface of Lake Quinsigamond.

Burns was a champion sculler in the 1930s, dominating the New England circuit. In 1937, he successfully lobbied for the creation of a rowing team at Shrewsbury High School. He successfully pitched Ivy League schools to donate equipment.

He later coached the Shrewsbury High crew team to a string of national and New England championships. He also coached at WPI and St. John's.

He is credited with making Lake Quinsigamond a key site for regattas and other competitions. It was Burns who worked behind the scenes to bring the Olympics crew trials to the lake before the 1932 and 1952 Olympics.

In 1952, Burns traveled to Helsinki to serve as a judge at the Olympics rowing regatta.

His law enforcement career spanned 42 years; it followed a stint as a furniture salesman at the former Denholm and McKay in Worcester. His ties to the Shrewsbury Police Department began with a part-time job as an officer at the White City Amusement Park.

"I had two weeks' vacation coming from Denholm's and used that time by working for the Police Department to try it out," Burns once explained to a reporter. "I liked the work and stayed."

Burns was appointed Shrewsbury police chief on Jan. 21, 1947, a post he held until he turned 65 in 1970. He reached the mandatory retirement age.

He died in August 1982 at age 77. Soon the bridge would carry the name Kenneth F. Burns Memorial Bridge.

Meantime, to the north, another bridge over Lake Quinsigamond, the one that carries Interstate 290 over the water, honors Ernest A. Johnson, a state representative from Worcester in the 1950s. The bridge name, Ernest A. Johnson Memorial Bridge, was adopted in 1962, during the planning stages of what was then known as the Worcester Expressway. The tunnel at the north end of Main Street in Worcester also recognizes the Republican lawmaker.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Why's it called that? Bridge over Lake Quinsigamond carries legacy of Kenneth F. Burns