> FOUNDED IN 1669, WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, WAS ONCE THE
FURTHEST SETTLEMENT IN THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY.
MANUFACTURING BUGGY WHIPS, TODAY IT IS THE SECOND BIGGEST CITY IN
THE STATE BY 46 SQUARE MILES.
THE WHIP CITY WILL CELEBRATE 350th BIRTHDAY.
MUCH HAS GONE INTO THE CELEBRATION.
WE PREVIEW ALL THE THINGS THAT EXPECT TO BE HAPPENING IN
WESTFIELD IN THE NEW YEAR.
>> HARRY RORK MOVED FROM WESTFIELD NEW JERSEY TO
WESTFIELD MASSACHUSETTS TO BECOME THE DIRECTOR OF THE
CITY'S YMCA.
HE QUICKLY REALIZED IT WAS A SPECIAL PLACE.
HE AND HIS WIFE WOULD STAY AND CALL IT HOME.
>> I THOUGHT I WOULD BE AT THE Y FIVE OR SIX YEARS AND MOVE UP
THE CAREER TRACK.
MY WIFE ANN AND I FOUND A HOME.
WE LOVE THE PEOPLE, THE LIFESTYLE, THE COMMUNITIES THIS
COMMUNITY REPRESENTS.
WE ARE STAYING.
WE ARE NOT GOING TO FLORIDA OR ANY OTHER PLACE.
WE LOVE WESTFIELD.
>> THAT SENTIMENT IS ECHOED BY MANY WHO CALL WESTFIELD HOME.
THE WHIP CITY SO REMEMBERED BECAUSE OF WHIP MANUFACTURING
WILL CELEBRATE 350th BIRTHDAY.
PLANS HAVE BEEN IN THE WORKS OVER A YEAR AND A HALF.
INTERESTINGLY FOR A CITY FOUNDED IN 1669, THIS WILL ONLY BE
WESTFIELD'S FOURTH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.
>> THEY DID A FIRST ONE IN 1869, SECOND ONE IN 1919, THIRD IN
1969 A LOT OF PEOPLE REMEMBER AND THIS IS THE FOURTH ONE WITH
350th YEAR IN 2019.
>> ORIGINALLY CALLED STREAMFIELD BECAUSE OF THE NUMEROUS STREAMS
THAT RAN THROUGH THE SPRUCE SWAMPS, THE CITY WAS LATE R
NAMED WESTFIELD BECAUSE IT WAS THE MOST WESTERLY SETTLEMENT IN
THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONY AT THE TIME.
>> ESSENTIALLY WHAT IS DOWNTOWN WESTFIELD, CENTRAL WESTFIELD WAS
A SWAMP AND WAS NOT REALLY SETTLED UNTIL 100 TO 150 YEARS
AFTER THE ORIGINAL DESIGNATION OF A COMMUNITY.
>> IN THE 19th CENTURY, WESTFIELD TRANSFORMED FROM AN
AGRICULTURAL TOWN.
>> WESTFIELD HAD ITS GREATEST BOOM YEARS 100 YEARS AGO,
BETWEEN THE FIRST CELEBRATION IN 1869 AND THE SECOND CELEBRATION
IN 1919, WESTFIELD'S POPULATION QUADRUPLED.
BY THE TIME OF THE THIRD CELEBRATION IN 1969, WESTFIELD
HAD ONLY GROWN ABOUT 30% IN POPULATION.
WHERE IT PROBABLY STARTED AS REALLY A WHITE COMMUNITY WITH
LITTLE DIVERSITY GOING WAY BACK, WHAT YOU SEE NOW ARE THE PUERTO
RICAN COMMUNITY THAT HAS BEEN HERE A LONG TIME, WELL
ESTABLISHED, WELL RESPECTED, THE RUSSIANS, UKRAINE YANS, IN THE
PAST THE POLISH, THE IRISH.
THERE IS A TRUE MIX AND DIVERSITY AND THE CELEBRATION OF
THOSE CULTURES WITHIN OUR CITY.
>> WESTFIELD WAS A PROMINENT CENTER OF THE BUGGY WHIP.
IN FACT, IN 1889 THERE WERE 30 WHIP MANUFACTURERS IN THE CITY,
THE WHIP PRODUCING CAPITAL IN THE WORLD.
SADLY, ONLY ONE REMAINS TODAY.
OTHER FIRMS PRODUCE BICYCLES, PAPER PRODUCTS, TEXTILE
MACHINERY, ABRASIVES, WOOD PRODUCTS AND PRECISION TOOLS.
>> IF YOU LOOK AT PHOTOGRAPHS OF WESTFIELD, IT LOOKS LIKE A CITY.
THREE AND FOUR STORY BUILDINGS LINING THE STREETS, DOWNTOWN
RETAIL, FACTORIES BUSTLING.
THE DEPRESSION HIT, WORLD WAR II HIT AND WESTFIELD KIND OF
STAGNATED UNDER THOSE IMPACTS.
>> BY THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY, ITS MANUFACTURING
BASE WAS ERODED BY WAGE COMPETITION IN THE U.S.
SOUTHEAST.
THE CITY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE, IT IS TRYING TO REINVENT ITSELF.
GONE ARE THE BIG INDUSTRY, BUT SMALLER BUSINESSES ARE POPPING
UP IN THE CITY'S DOWNTOWN CORRIDOR.
A MUCH-NEEDED SECOND BRIDGE WAS ADDED TO ALLEVIATE TRAFFIC
CONGESTION AND PARK SQUARE PROJECT CREATED A GATHERING
SPACE FOR COMMUNITY EVENTS.
ALTHOUGH THE 350th CELEBRATION HAS ALREADY BEGUN, MORE EVENTS
ARE PLANNED AS PART OF THE CITY'S FIRST NIGHT CELEBRATION
CULMINATING WITH A WEEKEND PARTY IN MAY OF 2019.
>> WHEN WE ARE DONE WITH ALL OF THIS, IF WE CAN LOOK BACK AND
HAVE GAINED A HEIGHTENED SENSE OF AWARENESS AND EDUCATIONALLY
WHERE THIS CITY HAS COME FROM SINCE 1669 TO BUILD A LEVEL OF
LOVE AND APPRECIATION FOR WHAT IS HERE, THEN WE'VE DONE OUR
JOB.