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This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “InterCHANGE,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Boomgaard: Get used to it
By Kevin Fischer
Thursday, May 1 2008, 06:18 PM
DISCLAIMER: I STAND BY MY ORIGINAL ASSESSMENT OF THE NAME, “BOOMGAARD” AS AN IDENTIFIER FOR THE 27TH STREET CORRIDOR. WHILE CERTAINLY MEMORABLE, IT WILL NOT EASILY CONVEY HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE, GENERATE EXCITEMENT, OR INVITE TOURISTS TO THOSE WHO HEAR IT.
There’s no question the initial response to the announcement of “Boomgaard District” as the name for the 27th Street Corridor has been about as popular as an army of ants at a 4th of July picnic.
Don’t like “Boomgaard,” you say?
Are you hoping the name will get dumped by a replacement?
You may just have to get used to “Boomgaard.”
A source very close to the project tells me organizers and planners have spent too much time, study, and research on finding and selecting the name that it’s going to stay, with virtually no chance of reconsideration.
My source insists the decision on “Boomgaard” was not made hastily or taken lightly. Numerous presentations, I am told, were made about the project with the “Boomgaard” nomenclature and well-received to boot.
The selection of a Dutch name is justified, even though the Irish were the first Franklin settlers, because the Dutch name for orchard, “Boomgaard” was deemed easier today, more memorable, unique, and would more readily point back to Franklin if done with a Google search instead of just plain old English, “orchard.” From the press release announcing “Boomgaard.”:
The word "Boomgaard" is Dutch for "orchard," and is significant to both the history and the vision of the South 27th Street Corridor development.
The "Boomgaard" name ties the agricultural economic history of the area to the future economic growth and development. Apple orchards once provided an income for local families in the areas that are now Franklin and Oak Creek. Many of the orchard owners sold their apples along the highway roadside of what is now South 27th Street. The region has a history of settlers living off of the land until the 1970s, when grocery stores became prevalent. In addition, the origin of "Boomgaard" also helps to underscore the Western European cultural influences of the area. In Oak Creek, Polish and German settlers began coming to the area in the 1830s and 1840s, and in Franklin, the earliest settlers were from Ireland in the 1830s, followed by the Dutch in the 1840s and Germans in the 1850s.
Looking to the area’s future, as a strong-sounding word that brings to mind thoughts of progress, momentum and positive energy, the "Boomgaard" name reflects the vision for the area as an attractive center of economic activity. The name also embodies the environmentally friendly vision for the Boomgaard District, which includes protecting sensitive natural features including woodlands, creek and river corridors and wetlands; establishing a system of greenways along streams, woodlands, open spaces, parks, and other natural features and providing walking and/or biking trail connections throughout the corridor.
In a nutshell, the early pioneers planted small apple trees in orchards that eventually grew tall, yielding fruit that fed families. Collaborators on the 27th Street Corridor see those tiny trees as being analogous to the booming growth along the border between Franklin and Oak Creek.
FranklinNOW blogger Greg Kowalski did a good job, being the first to inform citizens of the alternatives to “Boomgaard.” From Greg’s blog:
- Citygate
- Twin Corridor
- Metro South
- 27 South
The candidate names on the letter I was given were (with quotes being part of Zizzo's rationale in choosing these names):
- Root River Junction - it "echoes the joining of the two communities of Oak Creek and Franklin"
- Orchard Station - it "gives the feeling of a small village area, a feeling of nostalgia"
- Orchard Six - it "incorporates the history of the region with the six miles stretch of land that is the corridor"
- SouthCorr - it "has a unique ring to it; it sounds like a place people want to be, where things are happening. It's progressive, catchy, and memorable."
- SoCol - it is "a conjunction of South of College Avenue"
- 27 Stretch - "the area could easily refer to 27 Stretch as "the stretch."
- Lower Six - "it's brief, has character, and it's descriptive"
Those all sound pretty dull, actually, to me.
Boomgaard was chosen, according to a Zizzo Group memo I obtained dated 11/27/07 because, “This name came out of an exercise of foreign word searches. It’s a name that began to sound better and better the more we said it. A derivative of the Dutch word for “orchard," (Boomgaard) it conjures thoughts of gardens and flowers, again, giving a nod to the green space of the area. Although we agree that the name is strong without an additional descriptor, combining it with “District” gives it a progressive, metropolitan feel.” (Zizzo, by the way, will continue to do the marketing and public relations for this campaign).
A former Zizzo Group employee told planners that the first week after the announcement of the new name would be the toughest. Maybe he should have said two weeks.
I suspect the people behind the project are strong in their support of Boomgaard, firm in their belief it will grow on the public and at some point be accepted.
For the sake of our communities, I hope they’re right because from what I’m hearing, “Boomgaard” is it.
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