image description — John Jacobbe, standing, helps run the poker tournament held in honor of his son, Caleb.

Caleb Jacobbe's Memory Honored with Annual Poker Tourney

By Stephen Dravis11:28AM / Monday, February 26, 2018Print Story | Email Story

A photo of Caleb Jacobbe, 8, next to the bracelet awarded to the winner of the annual poker tournament held in his honor.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Caleb Jacobbe was remembered Saturday by the people he loved with the game he loved.

"He loved cards," John Jacobbe said as the 10th annual Caleb Jacobbe Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament progressed at the Elks Club. "He started playing cribbage when he was 5. We played backgammon and cribbage and poker in his hospital room.

"The family held a hold 'em tournament with him two days before he passed."

Caleb, 8, died in May 2006 after a long battle with cancer.

"We told him we would do this for him in his memory when it looked like the time was coming," his father said.

John and Tammy, Caleb's parents, kept their promise a couple of years later and have brought the tournament back each year since.

On Saturday, a record 61 players participated in the event, which also features a raffle and 50/50 to help raise money for the Caleb Jacobbe Foundation.

John said the tournament, the foundation's only fund-raiser, generally brings in a couple of thousand dollars, which the family has used for donations to the Jimmy Fund, Boston Children's Hospital, where Caleb received treatment, and local families in need.

"A lot of people stepped up and helped us when we were in need," he said. "When we hear of a story, we write a check.

"Our lives will never be the same [without Caleb], and we try to give to families who are in the same kind of situation."

The family first ran the tournament in early February to roughly coincide with Caleb's Feb. 4 birthday. The first couple of years, it was timed to coincide with the off week between the NFL conference championship games and Super Bowl.

These days, in a nod to John's role as head girls basketball coach at Mount Greylock, the tournament is held on "seeding day" for the Western Massachusetts basketball sectionals when there's a lull in the local sports scene.

One thing that hasn't changed since the tournament's early days: the way others have rallied to Caleb's cause.

"The Elks have been great hosting us, and local businesses have been outstanding in donating prizes," John said, adding that volunteer Dennis Dunn has been key in helping to organize the tournament and attract more players.

"This is a great community when you're in a crisis."

Tags: benefit, tournament,

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Northern Berkshire United Way: Founding in the Depression Era

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:45PM / Sunday, February 01, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrated its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. This first part looks at its founding in the 1930s.

Northern Berkshire United Way has scrap books dating to its founding, recording the organization's business and the work of the agencies it has funded.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — It was in the depths of the Great Depression when a group of local leaders came together to collectively raise funds to support social service agencies.

The idea wasn't new; community chests had been established by the hundreds across the country in the years following World War I. Even President Franklin Roosevelt had promoted the concept, calling on communities to pool their resources during the hard times.

North Adams had been discussing a charity fund at least since Pittsfield had established one a decade earlier.

It was late 1935 when the North Adams Chamber of Commerce finally moved forward, with some of the city's most notable businessmen leading the way.

The North Adams Community Chest wouldn't be formally organized until January 1936. Over the next 90 years, it would raise millions of dollars to support families, public health, child care, social services as the Northern Berkshire United Way.

Herbert B. Clark, inheriting the presidency of North Adams Hospital from his late father, would be the impetus to transform talk into action. One of his first actions was to inform the board of directors that the hospital would not run its annual appeal — and that it was all in with the new community chest.

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