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City of Worcester: 300 Years 9 financially. Esther Howland is one such entrepreneur who established an assembly line of women in her home to create decorative valentines. By 1874, the New England Valentine Company was grossing $100,000 annually. Further railroad expansion combined with growing industrialization helped to solidify Worcester's status as "Heart of the Commonwealth." Rail connections and the construction of the Blackstone Canal linked the city to the rest of the state and beyond, boosting industry and the local economy. Today, Worcester continues its transportation boom through the renovated Union Station and enhancements at the regional airport. Individuals, such as Isaiah Thomas, Stephen Salisbury, Daniel Waldo, Charles Hill Morgan, Abby Kelley Foster, John Jeppson, and Ichabod Washburn, to name a few, left an indelible mark on the architecture, manufacturing, education, and civil rights landscape in Worcester. Their discoveries, inventions, and contributions paved the path to more advanced technology now percolating in the city's institutions of higher education, medical and scientific facilities, and businesses, both large and small. Many modern-day devices can trace their roots to the imaginations of brilliant inventors in Worcester. For instance, Joshua Stoddard invented the steam calliope in 1855 and Charles Thurber designed the first typewriter in 1843. Loring and Aury Coes' monkey wrench, invented in 1840, is still a staple in many mechanics' toolboxes. NOURISHING BODY, MIND, AND SOUL In recent years Worcester has become known as somewhat of a "foodie" city, thanks to the explosion of eateries on Shrewsbury Street and the gastronomic development in the Canal District. But as far back as 1895, certain popular foods originated in the city and made their way to stores and kitchen shelves across the country. That year Henry Perky, a proponent of healthy eating, began manufacturing shredded wheat, eventually selling his company to what is now Nabisco Shredded Wheat. Hannah Kalajian developed a culinary hit with her Armenian-style rice pilaf and founded Near East Food Products in 1962. Frank A. Fiorillo scored with his packaged pizza mix. He opened a pizza stand in 1947 and by 1952 his creation was sold nationally as Appian Way. Worcester, 1829. source: Worcester Historical Museum Worcester Common, circa 1970, Daniel Farber, Photographer. source: Worcester Historical Museum Worcester City Directory, 1886. source: Worcester Historical Museum