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How the new Gardner Junior High School arrived just in time
The arrival of the new consolidated school allowed the city to close many of its outdated and overcrowded school buildings
Mike Richard
Shortly after World War II, the phenomenon of the baby boom generation was born, literally.
Referring to “a noticeable increase in the birth rate,” the post-war population jump was first described as a “boom” by columnist Sylvia Porter in the May 4, 1951, edition of the New York Post. Such terminology was based on the 2,357,000 increase in the population of the U.S. in 1950.
In the early 1950s, the Gardner School Committee had the foresight to realize that such a population boom would also occur in the city. Soon, it was exploring the need for more up-to-date facilities preparing the students of the city for the second half of the 20th century.
Then and Now: Recalling the first Gardner High School to be built on Elm Street thegardnernews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegardnernews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The Gardner Scene: Willie ‘Cannonball’ Jackman and his appearances in Gardner
Famed Negro League pitcher with a blazing fastball was a popular player whenever his team barnstormed into town
Mike Richard
Special for The Gardner News
In commemoration of Black History Month, it may be an appropriate time to remember one of the most celebrated barnstorming baseball players to appear in the area.
During the 1920s and 1930s, sandlot baseball was highly popular in Gardner, with summer games topping the bill at Wilder Field and some 2,000 fans cramming into the friendly confines of the grandstand on weekends.
There were some big names and talented teams of renown who visited Gardner during that era, including a team known by the politically incorrect name by today’s standards – the Philadelphia Colored Giants.
The Gardner Scene: A look back 100 years ago to 1921
From a five-legged calf to the Human Fly, the year had many memorial moments
Mike Richard
One hundred years ago, they called them “the Roaring Twenties.”
They were days of Prohibition and gangsters, flappers dancing the Charleston, silent movies featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and song hits from Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor.
The town of Gardner was going through the paces to eventually become the city of Gardner in two more years.
Last week, we took a look back 50 years ago to the year 1971. This week, we will go back a full century as we look at many of the unique tidbits and highlights from the local scene for the year 1921.