AUBURN, Mass.

So where I am from might seem trivial
boring
plain,
but after writing this it seems sort of nice. It was for class--no I don't do these things on my free time.

Strawberry Fields May not be Forever....but the roots still Grow. AUBURN, Mass
By Chelsea Whitton

Mapped in-between the Berkshire Mountains and the Atlantic is an idyllic New England town that hasn’t been lost in the rolling hills of Central Massachusetts or forgotten in the changing of New England seasons. Auburn, Massachusetts is a town all roads can lead to, especially the well-traveled Mass Pike. Auburn is swiftly becoming a mini-metropolis and a cut threw growing suburbia – yet it is a community of rustic tradition, inherited culture and nostalgia reminiscent of small town politics and growth.

Some of that nostalgia is presented between locals and recognition all the way to NASA in Washington D.C. The center of town is home to a 40 foot model rocket behind the fire station. Of course recognition of this eye-attracting 40 foot rocket with black and white checkered fuselage coincides the town and school’s mascot—the Auburn Rockets. But what visitors andtown residents don’t have as common knowledge is the story behind the rocket model, which happens to give Auburn a spot in astronomical fame.

In March of 1926 Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid propelled rocket at a speed of 60 mph. (NASA.) Though it was far away from the engineering of our time, he was a pioneer. In Robert Goddard’s autobiography he writes, “I imagined how wonderful it would be to make some device which had even the possibility of ascending to Mars.” And with a simple boyhood dream of engineering a craft in which could reach out of earth atmospheres his work has changed the NASA program as current science recognizes it. The secondary schools in town on March 16 hand out pamphlets on Goddard’s achievements every year perhaps as a reminder that small town doesn’t equal menial success.

Auburn is home to six schools two elementary, Bryn Mawr and Mary D. Stone School. Resident children are determined in which school to attend by Route 20. The students on one side of Route 20 go to one school and the other half the other school. This continues through grades 3-5 in Pakachoag School and the Julia Bancroft School. In Auburn both sides of Route 20 and the teens of Auburn unite in which any elder resident will famously remember—Auburn Middle School. Where there are six teams separating three grades and hold days of walking the halls of the 1970s styled building. After grade 8 is completed the students move onto the newly renovated Auburn High School. The renovation was complete in August of 2006 where Auburn was greeted with a state-of the art facility.

Auburn's school system may just be part of what hold the town together and creates a strong sense of community. The high school sports teams are often high scoring and placing in the Southern Worcester County League bringing many fans. High school sports are not where the recreation ends though.

Where a strawberry farm once took sprout now is a place where golfers take the greens. The town of Ward which was territorial what is now known as Auburn was created in 1778. The town was becoming easily confused with its western counterpart Ware, and the decision to rename the town Auburn was enacted in 1837.The Pakachoag Golf Course is a local nine-hole course that was once a strawberry field, on top of a Pakachoag Hill, where the Pakachoag Indian Tribe part of the Nipmunc, once inhibited. The course overlooks the southern side of Worcester and a touch of sustainability that may be needed as Auburn continues to build both housing developments and businesses is evident.

In the 1970s town builders planning for a mall filled in a pond that was three times the size of what it is now. There was the need for a mall in the prospering town, and to make space for it the natural habitat was filled in giving way for the building of a mall. Now after destroying part of the environment there are laws in Massachusetts prohibiting the filling in of natural bodies of water. The mall still stands to this day, where the Macy’s sign can be seen from all hills of the town.
Though Auburn may present a town with a sound education system, sports and music program, it can be inferred that diversity is lacking. According to a U.S. 2000 census statistic, 99.7 percent of Auburn’s population is of Caucasian decent. The town is home to over 15,000 residents, where on average the family income is $60,000, about $20,000 greater than the average household income in the U.S. (US census 2000.)

Though diversity may not be Auburn’s strongest deciding factor, its charm, older developments, churches, the red town museum and commitment to school and community hold its history to be true, credible, and add to the humble appeal of this Central Massachusetts town.