Tercentennial. (Happy 300th to Worcester.)

Today's a big day out in The Heart of the Commonwealth. Worcester, Massachusetts, is turning the Big 3-0-0. 

The municipality, named after Worcester, England, was first established as a town in on June 14, 1722, and later became a city on leap day, February 29, 1848. During the past three centuries, Worcester has evolved from modest but instrumental revolutionary beginnings to a diverse and modern city, the second most populous in New England, rich in innovation, history and culture. (Source: City of Worcester)

I vaguely knew how old Worcester is. But I did not know that it went from town to city status on February 29th. Which happens to be my wedding anniversary. Guess you can take the girl out of Worcester; you just can't take the Worcester out of the girl.

Anyway, turning 300 is a momentous occasion for "the second most populous [city] in New England," and I'm delighted to celebrate with it. From the afar of Boston, of course, where - despite Worcester's diversity, modernity, innovation history, and culture - I fled once I reached the age of reason.

Worcester is such a funny place. Despite its being the second largest city, not just in Massachusetts, but in New England, plenty of folks from outside of the Northeast draw a blank on it. I don't expect everyone to be a geography nerd - I could probably reel off 10 cities in Michigan, for crying out loud - but I'm guessing that most outsiders, if asked to name a city in Massachusetts other than Boston, wouldn't come up with Worcester first. If at all. Salem. New Bedford. Lowell. Springfield. I bet they'd all place ahead of poor old Worcester. 

If asked to name cities in New England, I don't imagine Worcester would be top of mind, either. Boston (of course). Providence. Hartford. Portland. 

Worcester? Never heard of it.

And yet, my native city is rich in innovation, history, and culture. Not to mention triple deckers and diners. Here, thanks mostly to Worcester Mass Firsts, are just a few of the historic, innovative, cultural thangs that Worcester is known for:

The first pressurized space suit was created in Worcester. Fitting, given Worcester's connection to the space program, which came thanks to Dr. Robert Goddard, who launched the first liquid fuel rocket in 1926, kicking off the space program. (My father was Dr. Goddard's paper boy.)

Worcester was always an industrial sort of town, so it's no surprise that the first envelope folding machine was born there. So were the monkey wrench, the steam calliope, and the modern typewriter. The cotton gin (Eli Whitney) and the modern sewing machine (Elias Howe) were invented by guys who grew up just outside of Worcester. So almost us.

A little less industrially: the first mass-produced Valentine were produced, appropriately enough, in the Heart of the Commonwealth. Regrettably, the first commercial pizza mix came from Worcester, too.

The first Bible printed in America was printed in Worcester. So was the first dictionary. The publisher, Isaiah Thomas, was also the first person to give a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. And in the first organized protest against the new U.S. Government, Daniel Shays led a march, protesting taxes, to the Worcester Courthouse. 

While on the political front (distaff edition), the first women's rights conventions were held in Worcester. And the first female cabinet member - Frances Perkins - may have been born in Boston, but she grew up in Worcester and graduated from Classical High. Perkins was Secretary of Labor under FDR, and was a driving force behind Social Security.

To your health, you can thank Worcester for the birth control pill and the first Federally-licensed AIDS test. Worcester was also the home of the first publicly-funded insane asylum. (No comment.)

The first perfect game was pitched in Worcester in 1880. The imaginatively-named team "The Worcesters" beat the imaginatively-named "The Clevelands." Also in baseball news: Ted Williams' first home run hit in New England came during an exhibition game at Holy Cross in 1939. And I'm pretty sure that my father was there to witness it.

On the cultural front, the first radio station in America to play the Beatles was WORC. And the Smiley Face was created in Worcester as a promo for State Mutual Insurance. (I had one of the originals, which had a lot of cachet when they were introduced when I was in high school.)

And wait - there's more! - the windchill factor, which makes us feel even colder than we already are, was developed at Clark University. 

Worcester, which lost much of whatever mojo it had when heavy industry left the building, is having a moment. It's got a thriving bio-tech sector, a foodie restaurant scene, and a minor league baseball team, the Woo Sox (the Red Sox AAA team), that are fun to watch. They play in the spiffy new Polar Park, which is a great place to watch a game. Among other things, the field sells Worcester food: Coney Island hot dogs, Polar sodas, Wachusett potato chips, and Table Talk pies. I went to a game a few weeks ago and was in heaven. Or would have been if the Woo Sox had won. 

Happy Worcester Tercentennial to all my homies. (You don't look at day over 299.)