Chair City of the World

From the Introduction - 

This is the story of more than a century in the life of the Timpany, McConnell, Riley, and LaRoche families against the background of the rise and fall of the chairmaking industry in Gardner, Massachusetts. It is a family and social history of people moving from one country to another, showing who we were and who we became. It is a local history as well, providing a rich picture of Gardner's everyday life and special moments in time. Gardner, Massachusetts, is located in Worcester County, not far from the New Hampshire border. In 1785, just before the town of Gardner was incorporated, there were sixty families living within what would become its boundaries.