Paul Giorgio: Worcester is a Thriving City

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Paul Giorgio, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Diane Williamson wrote a Sunday column this week because Globe reporter David Scharfenberg referred to Worcester as “struggling” in a story he recently penned...I have 2 questions to pose. The first is why do Boston Globe reporters always use pejorative terms in describing Worcester? The second question is: Why do we even respond? Doesn’t that just feed into what they are trying to accomplish? Every time the Globe writes something bad, Rick Rushton & Diane Williams, apparently a tag team for the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, get their feathers all ruffled. Dianne Williamson does it because it’s an easy column for her to write. She calls up the usual suspects and before you know it you have about a 1000 words and an easy week. Rick Rushton does it because he is the self-appointed guardian of Worcester’s reputation.

We may be the second largest city in both Massachusetts and New England, but that doesn’t make us a second class city. See, I think Boston is really afraid of Worcester. That is why they attack us. That is why they keep the state money out of our city. We have improved Worcester on our own.

Worcester is not struggling

Worcester is not struggling-we are vibrant. Worcester is not struggling-we are thriving. Boston does have some advantages that we don’t. That is a reality. They are the state capital and on the ocean. They have over 600,000 people-we have almost 200,000. But they also have a murder rate that is higher than ours and a cost of living that is higher than ours. Just try to rent an apartment or buy a house in Boston-you can’t afford it.

Worcester is affordable-Boston is not.

Take a walk or drive down Shrewsbury Street and then tell me if you think Worcester is struggling. Go to the Canal District or Highland Street on a Friday night and then tell me if Worcester is struggling.

Visit the Worcester Technical High School and tell me if Boston has anything like that. Boston is struggling with dropout rates while Worcester is looking at college acceptance rates. The President of the United States came to Worcester to see how we educate-He went to Boston to see how they fundraise.

The only thing Worcester is struggling with is trying to get our fair share from the state.

Imagine how Worcester would flourish if we had more trains connecting us to the rest of the state. Instead of adding trains to Worcester, the state upgraded its line to Providence.

More airline flights

Imagine how Worcester would flourish if MassPort spent more money marketing the Worcester airport to airlines. How about MassPort using the Washington DC model? In DC, short flights fly out of Reagan National while long haul and overseas flights fly out of Dulles. How about that plan here?

All fights fewer than 1000 miles could go out of Worcester-all others out of Boston. If we did that, the Worcester airport would flourish and it would create thousands of jobs.

Where would you want to raise a family, Worcester or Boston? More importantly, where can you afford to buy a home and raise a family, Worcester or Boston?

We all know one thing: the toughest critics of Worcester are its citizens, the homegrown ones ,not the ones that have moved here.

Worcester offers a thriving dining community. Hanover Theatre is one of the top theaters in the world and the DCU Center continually ranks in the top 10 arenas in the country.

Let’s get a National League Baseball team

Boston does have professional sports. Worcester doesn’t. So let’s get a National Baseball League franchise to locate here. It is not as farfetched as its sounds. There is an unfulfilled demand in New England for another team. Right now Boston has some of the highest ticket prices in the country. A second baseball team for the state makes sense. Locating it in the Worcester area makes more senses. We are at the center of the highway system in New England.

Finally, one thing that Boston has that Worcester doesn’t have is higher prices on everything, from food to homes from the theater to the movies. Prices are higher in Boston.

So Boston, stop being so jealous of Worcester.

Paul Giorgio is a longtime Democratic Party Activist who has worked on numerous campaigns. He was a Lead Advance Person for President Clinton & Vice President Gore. He was Deputy Director of Special Events for President Clinton’s first Inauguration. He has been elected a delegate to numerous Democratic National Conventions and recently served as one of President Obama’s representatives on the Platform Committee. In 2013 he was chosen as a Presidential Elector. He is the President of Pagio, Inc., publishers of Pulse Magazine, Vitality Magazine and Worcester Medicine.

Related Slideshow: Great Inventions That Come from Worcester

Prev Next

The Rickshaw

The first Rickshaw was created in Worcester not Asia.

Despite their immense popularity in Asia, the first Rickshaw was a Worcester invention. In 1846, Albert Tolman built what was described as a “man-drawn lorry” for a missionary on his way to South America. From there, the Rickshaw made its way to Asia.

Prev Next

The Typewriter

The first practical typewriter was invented by Charles Thurber of Worcester.

Patented in 1843, this bulky version had all the essential characteristics of today’s modern machine. Thurber was the first to place the paper on a roller and give it the ability to do accurate letter and word spacing. Thurber created the machine so that people with visual impairments could feel the raised keys and it could help the “nervous” with poor handwriting skills.

Prev Next

Pizza Pie Mix

The first Pizza Pie Mix was marketed in Worcester.

In 1947, Frank A. Firoillo had the first pizza stand in Worcester. In 1952, he became the first person to market a pizza pie mix.

Prev Next

Pressurized Space Suits

The first Pressurized Space Suits and Anti-G Suits were developed in Worcester.

As if that wasn’t enough firsts, the David Clark Company also created the space suit worn by astronaut Ed White in the first U.S. space walk in June of 1965. The company manufactured all of NASA’s Gemini space suits. Another company invention was the famous “Anti-G” suit that prevents pilots from blacking out when pulling out of high-speed dives . Pilots who wore the suits included Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong.

Prev Next

The Bicycle

The first bicycle made in America was built in Worcester.

The idea for the first bicycle originated in England so it was appropriate that it was made by an Englishman, W.H. Pierce. It was constructed in 1878 at Stowe’s shop on Cypress Street in Worcester. In April 9th of the following year, the Worcester Bicycle Club was formed. Bicycles continued to gain in popularity with 175 sold in Worcester during 1888.

Prev Next

Valentine's Day Card

Worcester’s  Esther Howland was the first person to mass-produce valentines in the U.S.

Esther Howland, a graduate of Mount Holyoke, was an artist and businesswoman who generated the Valentine’s Day greeting cards mass appeal in this country. In 1847, elaborate Valentine’s were only imported from Europe and were not available to the average American. Howland was a Worcester native, whose father owned the largest book and stationary store in Worcester so armed with supplies, she made up a dozen samples at home. Her brother took them out on his next sales trip and returned with $5,000 in orders. By 1874 she was using the name “The New England Valentine Company.” Her business eventually grossed $100,000 per year and she became known as ‘the Mother of the American Valentine”.

Prev Next

Monkey Wrench

The first monkey wrench was invented in Worcester.

In 1840, Worcester knife manufacturer Loring Coes, of the Coes Knife Company, invented the first monkey wrench which was patented in 1841. For the next eighty-seven years, the Coes family filed numerous patents and manufactured extensive wrenches at their Worcester plant.

Prev Next

Insane Asylum

And last but not least...Worcester State Hospital was the first publicly financed Insane Asylum in the state.

Worcester Insane Hospital opened on January 12, 1833. During the first year, 164 patients were received. It continued to operate until on July 22, 1991 Worcester State Hospital, as it was known then, was mostly destroyed by fire and ending up closing later that year.