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The Night That Sputnik Soared Over Lowell

The Night That Sputnik Soared Over Lowell

By Rocky Provencher

There was a time that Lowell was a well-known industrial center. It was built from farm land, a city planned with forethought, with mills, housing for the workers, roads, churches, and railroads. Each mill was a manufacturing marvel, a beacon of planning and industry. The canals, the mills, the railroad infrastructure, the housing, all built to spin, weave, and dye cotton and wool, as well as for housing the workers. World famous dignitaries and statesmen would visit and exclaim its wonders! The buildings, the machines, the workers, the good life and provenance of modern industry. They mentioned the good health and beauty of the industrious spinners and weavers, and examined their accommodations and their writings. What a glorious city! What a thorough plan!

The dignitaries and statesmen were not around when the dirt and the grime settled in and around the machines, nor when the cotton dust became thick, coating the ceilings and walls. Grease and oil stained the floorboards. They didn’t hear the coughing, nor see the missing fingers, the tired faces the slumped shoulders. But still the mills expanded and the town extended and the population increased. And the profits! Over time, less dignitaries and statesmen came to visit. My mother’s family migrated from the mills of Scotland, Ireland and England. My father’s family left the woods of Canada. All came looking for opportunity and a different life, which they found here.

This was Lowell. This is Lowell. This is the place of my birth, and in this city was my home.

My father was the youngest of 7 and was taken out of school to work with his father as a peddler of fruits and vegetables. They had a horse and cart and went clopping down the streets selling their wares. My father liked to read, and was curious about many things. He had a sharp mind and was good with his hands. Science held his interest, and he read all he could about all aspects of science: Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy, Geology. He became a machinist. And as I grew, I saw him tinkering constantly with new projects and new ideas! I remember a time when I was 8 or 9, he worked on making small radios, at first with crystals and magnets, then batteries and later, tubes and transistors. Always finding ways to improve them. He would occasionally make me a small radio and give me an earplug, and show me how to change frequencies using a wire touching a crystal, or a magnet moving inside a coil of wire. I was fascinated at the far-away stations I could find. AM stations with music and news. Also short wave broadcasts of beeping signals.

We also listened to the Voice of America broadcasts, as well as the English language version of Russian propaganda from beyond the Iron Curtain. After all, this was the period of time in our nation known as the Cold War.

The Cold War. Just the sound of it was enough to send a chill down one’s spine. In

school, we would practice sliding under our desks at a command from our teacher. The possibility of a preemptive strike with atomic bombs by Communist Russia was a threat that hung over the heads of our nation. Every Friday evening at exactly 6 PM, all the air raid sirens in the city would blare a warning for a full 10 seconds. A test of our air raid systems in case of an attack. We were in competition with the Russians to build a bigger and better atomic bomb, a faster plane, a stronger defense system.

But then we moved to a new aspect of the Cold War. Thoughts were now focused on Outer Space! If only one could launch a satellite to circle the earth and peer down from space as it passes over each country. This satellite could carry cameras, and if it could be made big enough, it could carry weapons. Destruction which could rain down and raise havoc on the nations below! No need to dispatch airplanes which now take hours to reach their targets. The satellites could accomplish that task in minutes. A warship circling the earth! There would be no warning! The times were as dark and evil as the men who plotted and planned.

My father was worried, for he thought that whatever country could launch a satellite to circle the world could control space, and threaten an attack with a very short notice. But he was not part of the decision process. He was just another man, a citizen, an American, a resident of earth. He felt helpless. My mother could care less. She was more concerned about paying the bills and feeding our family. She felt that since there was nothing we could do, it was all a waste of time to worry about it. And I, an 11 year old boy, could only listen and wonder. After all, they were my parents. They knew about the world and it’s doings.

It was early in October of 1957 when we heard the news. the Russians had launched a satellite into orbit over the earth! The satellite was named “Sputnik I” and it continuously circled the earth in approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes! It’s orbit would allow it to pass over all the continents of the earth! Sputnik was broadcasting a signal that could be heard in the short wave spectrum. My father was able to listen to it using one of his radios! He called me over and handed me the earphones. I was in awe and a little afraid of what I would hear. That’s when I heard those beeps that I’ll never forget! I asked him what the beeps meant, but at that time, he didn’t know. We later found out that it was just sounds used to measure speed of the satellite in various frequencies.

He said that Sputnik would pass over the Lowell area in 2 nights, and if the sky is clear, we should be able to see it! It would be the only opportunity we would have to view this! I was excited and knew that he was too! When the day came, we were ready. There was a small porch off the side of the house that offered a clear view of the northeast sky. The night was clear and a little chilly. We were ready and went out to the porch as the time drew near to accustom our eyes to the night sky.

And then, right on time, we saw what looked like a bright star high overhead, moving towards us in the night sky! It moved steadily across the star-filled sky as we stood, looking up at it. Sputnik! We watched, fascinated, as it streaked towards us! Then it moved silently over our heads, and then off and away, out of sight! And as it disappeared, my father said: “This is not good, my son! Not good at all!”

I didn’t know what to make of it, but I knew that I witnessed a momentous, yet ominous event! A foreign representative came to view Lowell, this time from high above!

And I’ll never forget that October night with the Russian Sputnik streaking overhead.

[Thanks to  the wonders of YouTube, here’s the sound of Sputnik beeping away]

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Rocky Provencher was born and raised in Lowell. He attended city schools from the Lowell Day Nursery through Lowell Technological Institute (now UMass Lowell). He spent his career working in Lowell’s mills and was a long time Lowell Folk Festival volunteer.

The Erudite Sports Enthusiasts

The Erudite Sports Enthusiasts

By Stephen O’Connor

Professor Ernest Harrington, PhD, Trinity College, welcomed the members of the “The Erudite Sports Enthusiasts” to his home in Cambridge where, as I shall relate, a most startling development ensued. The Enthusiasts consist of Professor Margaret Alvarez, Amherst College Doctor of Comparative Literature, Retired, Giles Featheringay, Professor Emeritus, and former Chair of Modern Languages at Harvard, and myself, Sir Horace Grumpole, Purveyor of Antiquities, and Principal Librarian at the British Museum, Retired.

We had gathered to view the much-anticipated match between our New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills football clubs. Ernest, as ever, was a generous host. His home was redolent with the aroma of chicken wings, which he air fries in his own special rub. The undisputed opinion of the Erudite Sports Enthusiasts is that it is superior to any commercial brand.

With plates of these delectable morsels of poultry pinions, we adjourned to the viewing room, where a buxom woman was projecting the national anthem with vigor. Though I am more accustomed to “God Save the Queen,” or King, I nevertheless maintained a respectful silence out of consideration for my colleagues while I awaited the kickoff. The Buffalo Bills had won the toss and elected to receive the football.

Imagine our consternation when a robust and slippery Buffalonian accelerated through the throng of apparently surprised Patriots and was not tackled until he had attained midfield. He rose and made a series of leaps, sawing the air with his fists in a wild demonstration of his satisfaction with the field position he had achieved. Giles made a sort of moaning sound and said, “Oh, let me entreat thee, cease!” But worse was yet to come. The following plays saw the visiting team push toward our goal line with impunity and garner two more first downs.

Harrington put down his chicken wing and observed, “The Buffalo squad is perpetrating a precipitous advance into our territory.”

“Pity ‘tis, ‘tis true and true ‘tis, ‘tis pity,” Professor Alvarez opined.

“Oh dear!” I said as I opened a can of Old Peculiar. “The defensive schemes of our home town team appear flawed, with the result that they are neither stout against the run nor aggressive on play action. Let us pray that Coach Vrabel can correct the situation.”

“’Tis a correction devoutly to be wished, Sir Horace,” Giles concurred sullenly.

By half-time, the New England Patriots were on the losing end of the match by ten points, which Professor Alvarez nervously reminded us was not an insurmountable lead, at which point Harrington regaled us with a stirring speech from Henry V. You will recall the king’s bold proclamation to his outnumbered troops before the Battle of Agincourt.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,

For he who sheds his blood with me this day shall be my brother, etc.

When the game resumed, the Patriots were able to drive down the field, though their advance was hotly contested. They seemed to have been imbued with a renewed vigor and were able to cut the lead to three points. It was at this juncture that Ernest Harrington chose to utter a most unfortunate remark. “You know, in my youth,” he said, “I was a strapping lad. Oh yes, quite strong and very quick on my feet. I believe that with a little training, I could have been a valuable addition to the receiving corps of the New England franchise.”

We were momentarily silent, since he was our host, but finally Professor Alvarez, who has ever been blunt in expressing her opinions, replied, “Don’t be ridiculous, Ernest. If you were once hit hard by a linebacker, you would be struck insensible and carried to the nearest hospital from which you would emerge on a walker.”

“Well!” cried Harrington. “I shall take umbrage at that slight!”

“Take it as you wish. We’re the same age, Harrington, but I believe I could knock you over. There never was a man who did not overestimate the physical abilities of his youth.”

“God’s teeth!” I cried. “The Patriots have intercepted Josh Allen! The tide of the battle is turning.”

Harrington rose and flung his greasy bib on the coffee table. “I must ask you to leave, Professor Alvarez!”

Giles Featheringay, no doubt recalling the Beatitudes, attempted to play the peacemaker. “Come now, we must not allow a silly dispute to break up the camaraderie of the Erudite Sports Enthusiasts!”

“What’s so silly about it?” Harrington inquired. His visage was flushed and ruddy.

“The idea of you, at any age, playing professional football is ludicrous,” Alvarez nearly shouted. “I shall watch the final quarter at The Druid.”

“Stand not upon the order of your leaving, but go!” roared Harrington, raising a horizontal arm to point toward the door. “I shan’t tolerate this egregious questioning of my manhood in my own abode.”

“What you evidently do not understand, Professor Harrington,” Professor Alvarez retorted, taking a step toward the affronted party, “is that manhood has nothing whatsoever to do with one’s ability to perform extraordinary athletic feats. There are other far more relevant qualities.” She paused. “I will say that the generosity that you extend every weekend to this group, for example, is a more relevant and attractive one, among others.”

Harrington sniffed temperamentally, “Well…” he said, wagging his large head, “it’s no bother, really.”

“You fool!” Professor Alvarez expostulated. “Will you never understand that I’m in love with you?”

“Touchdown!” Giles shouted as the Colonials fired their muskets, (a chilling sight for an Englishman). Giles was the only one who still appeared to have any interest in the match.

“Love?” Harrington coughed, appearing discombobulated. However, with a certain not unmanly aplomb, he took Professor Alvarez by the arm and guided her apologetically and with tender and cajoling mutterings back to the sofa. There were whispered confidences, and, heedless of the presence of the now superfluous members, they began to snog. For those unfamiliar with British slang, that means to kiss and caress amorously.

“They really are enthusiasts!” Giles commented, and since the New Englanders seemed to have the game in hand, this Old Englander thought it judicious to leave those two unforeseen and rather abrupt lovers in the grip of the most astonishing attestations of enamored affections. As Professor Alvarez tore off Professor Harrington’s ascot, I signaled Giles with a nod toward the door, and we picked up our coats and softly took our leave.

“Well, Sir Horace,” Giles remarked as we descended the front steps, “Professor Alvarez has proven the old Latin adage: Si vis amari, ama.”

“If you wish to be loved, love. Indeed. And the entire episode illustrates that the Swan of Avon did not write in jest:
And when Love speaks, the voice of all the gods
Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.”

Giles nodded, and gazing skyward toward the cloudy regions of air from which flecks of snow were beginning to fall, replied, “Quite. And love has spoken.”

Seen & Heard: Vol. 3 

Welcome to this week’s edition of Seen and Heard, in which I catalog the most interesting things I’ve seen, heard and read over the previous seven days:

Film: Saturday Night (2024) – This movie depicts the 90 minutes leading up to the debut of the TV show Saturday Night LIve on October 11, 1975. It’s chaotic, funny, and dramatic, although not entirely true to life according to reports. However, by casting actors who resembled their real life counterparts and capturing the look and feel of the mid-1970s – no computers, cell phones, short hair, or natural fabrics – it gives anyone who watched the show back then a “you are there” experience. If I watched Saturday Night Live during that first season when I was a senior in high school, I don’t recall. But by the second season which debuted in the fall of 1976, Saturday Night Live had become a cultural phenomenon and everyone seemed to be watching. By then, I was a dormitory-living freshman at Providence College and it seemed that no matter what people did on Saturday nights, they found a TV at 11:30 PM to catch the show, which was radical for TV at the time and therefore very entertaining to a young audience. The movie Saturday Night, which received a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is streaming on Netflix. 

Book: Bread of Angels: A Memoir, by Patti Smith – Patti Smith, a singer-songwriter and poet, sometimes referred to as the “Godmother of Punk,” bridged the gap between the beat poetry generation of the 1960s and the punk movement of the 1970s. I confess that she was not on my radar until I read her 2010 memoir, Just Kids, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Smith has now written another memoir, Bread of Angels, a concisely written account of her life from her birth in 1946 up to the present. Along the way, she provides insightful sketches of pillars of post World War II American culture like William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Mapplethorpe, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. I was also amazed by the poverty she experienced growing up. Her father, a World War II veteran who seemed like a steady, straightforward man, worked in blue collar jobs but the family was relegated to dilapidated housing for years along with the families of other veterans until they could afford better housing. This sketch belies the prevailing assumption that returning veterans were rapidly boosted into the middle class by the GI Bill and other benefits. I’ve long known that those benefits were not equitably distributed on racial grounds, but this book suggests that unevenness was more widespread. 

Newspaper: “Skyscraper: Chara adds 33 to rafters with Bruins’ other legends,” Boston Globe, by Kevin Paul Dupont – On Thursday evening, January 15, 2026, the Boston Bruins “retired” number 33 which  was worn by Zdeno Chara from 2006 to 2020, including the Stanley Cup winning 2011 season. A native of Czechoslovakia and at 6 ‘9”, the tallest person to ever play in the National Hockey League, Chara was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2025. Although Chara accomplished great things for the Bruins, my affection for him began here in Lowell, where he played for the Lowell Lock Monsters in their inaugural 1998 season. He only played 23 games with the Lock Monsters before being elevated to the NHL’s New York Islanders. In addition to the Bruins and Islanders, he also played for the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals. 

Podcast: “How private equity kills companies and communities” on Decoder with Nilay Patel – Many of the podcasts I listen to go on break at Christmas and replay a past episode or two. That was the case this week with Decoder, a show hosted by Nilay Patel, the editor-in-chief of The Verge, an online newspaper that focuses on business and technology. In this episode, Patel interviewed Megan Greenwell about her book, Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. Greenwell argues that private equity firms prioritize extracting wealth over building sustainable businesses. While private equity firms contend they make the acquired companies more efficient, Greenwell demonstrates that PE firms load companies with debt and aggressively cut costs which leaves the acquired companies hollowed out while the PE firms profit from management fees and the sale of assets. Private equity has become ubiquitous in the American economy, scooping up established businesses in healthcare, local media, real estate, retail, and petcare. Private equity often operates below the radar so most people aren’t even aware of its involvement until after a long established store or hospital goes bankrupt and disappears. 

Television: Houston Texans v. New England Patriots on ABC/ESPN – How could this not be included? Although I write about sports frequently in Seen and Heard, I’m not a superfan. I’ll rarely stay up past 9pm to watch a game, and don’t bet or belong to fantasy leagues. Still, I enjoy watching a well-played game, no matter what the sport, and that includes the National Football League. I also lived through several decades of inept Patriots teams and truly did appreciate the amazing achievements earlier this century. Now, after an interlude of mediocrity or worse, the team is good, exciting to watch, and, with the news that the star quarterback of their next opponent broke his ankle and is out for the season, it seems that fate which so often bent towards the Patriots through their dominant time, again favors them. All that said, Sunday’s game was an ugly one. The ball must have been super slippery given all the turnovers committed by the two quarterbacks, but a win is a win. On to Denver!

YouTube: “CFP National Championship Highlights” on ESPN College Football Channel – I have access to all kinds of video content on my (relatively) big screen TV, but I constantly find myself scrolling through YouTube for things to watch. Because I’m on an “early to bed, early to rise” schedule, I rarely stay up to watch evening games on TV, so I’ve found watching highlight videos on YouTube the next day allows me to experience the game action with just a 24 hour delay. That’s how I consumed Monday night’s college football championship game between Miami and Indiana. Last week I wrote that I’d be cheering for Indiana and my loyalty was rewarded with the Hoosiers winning 27 to 21 in a very exciting game. The win marks an unbelievable turnaround for Indiana which is historically one of the worst programs in college football. That all changed in 2023 when the school hired Curt Cignetti as coach. I observed last week that I’d never seen Cignetti smile, but he finally did last night, broadly and joyously, after his team’s victory. The game’s iconic play took place with 9 minutes to go. Up 17 to 14, Indiana had the ball on the Miami 12 yard line. It was fourth down with about six yards to go for a first down. Cignetti sent the field goal team onto the field but then called a time out and replaced them with his offense. The play was a quarterback draw, a rarely used running play, and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza not only made the first down as he was clobbered by Miami defenders, but then spun off those hits and dove into the end zone for a touchdown. There was plenty of time left and Miami was driving down field for what would have been the winning touchdown when Indiana intercepted a pass with 46 seconds left to seal the victory and the national championship.

“It was a very good year”

“It was a very good year” – (PIP #93)

By Louise Peloquin

     The beginning of a new year always brings forecasts, predictions and plans. L’Etoile tried to cover them diligently, but always with a special local focus. 1926, Lowell’s centennial, was expected to be a very good year.

L’Etoile – January 5, 1926

Prospects for progress in 1926

__________

The happy predictions for 1926 were abundantly accomplished. – A continuation of this progress is expected.

__________

     New York, 5. – Following one of the most prosperous years in our history, the new year arrives with indications of continuing prosperity, at least during its first half. Finance and industry leaders were almost unanimous in their business forecasts for this period but many were cautiously restrained as to predictions for the entire year.

     Rarely were positive forecasts more largely materialized than in 1925. Throughout the entire year, tangible proof of improvement was visible in commerce and industry, as demonstrated by the record number of railway shipments, unprecedented business during the holidays and substantial profits in railway and industrial corporate income, transmitted to shareholders in the form of higher dividends. This progress not only contributed to restoring European political and economic stability but also indicated that the present Congressional session would pass very few restrictive laws affecting financial enterprises or railways.

     As a business barometer, the Stockmarket functioned with unquestionable precision. 1925 business prosperity was predicted in the Fall of 1924 and the continuing strength of stock and bond transactions indicated  that the time had not yet come to expect a reversal in the trend. At the foundation of business, the easy flow of money stimulated the Stockmarket during most of 1925. 1926 begins with even more solid conditions.

     The traditional reduction of business activities during the holidays did not highlight anything interesting last week. It was generally admitted, however, that the lull in production and distribution would be short-lived, allowing many manufacturing enterprises to complete their inventories and replace machines while waiting for a rebound in larger scale operations.

     With operations at almost full capacity in numerous sectors, many industries closed the most extraordinary year in their history, according to Dun’s Trade Review.

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     This is the first article of L’Etoile’s extensive Lowell centennial coverage.  During the next few weeks, our “Peeks Into the Past” will take us through the celebration preparation process, from setting a budget to organizing a parade.

L’Etoile – January 4, 1926

THE CENTENNIAL OF THIS CITY

_____

Lowell will celebrate in March and in June the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the municipality of Lowell. – The committee is working on the preparations.

_____

     The New Year will bring Lowellians the 100th anniversary of the municipality of Lowell. The exact date of the legislative act incorporating Lowell as a town, separate from Chelmsford, was March 1, 1826. Without delay, the citizens of what was formerly called East Chelmsford were informed of Justice Joseph Looke’s March 2, 1826 mandate requesting that Kirk Booth summon an assembly of voters to proceed to establishing a municipal government. The assembly took place in the old stone house on Pawtucket Street, now known as the Ayer Home for Children.

     Samuel Adams Coburn, first muncipal clerk, owned the tavern which had gained a grand reputation everywhere in the East. The first “selectmen” chosen according to the incorporation act were Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Batchelder and Oliver M. Whipple.

    The town continued to exist for 10 years and, in 1836, it became a city. Approximately three thousand people lived in the different parts of the municipality at the time of its incorporation and some agglomerations were concentrated around Pawtucket Falls, Merrimack Manufacturing Company, Saint Anne’s Church and lower Belvedere.

     The town counted almost 18,000 inhabitants when it became a city in 1836, indicating its remarkable development in this decade – the quintupling of its original population.

     Consequently, on March 1, the people of Lowell will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the town with a grand formal program at Memorial Auditorium. Later, probably at the end of June, a week of festivities will include a large civic parade, musical programs and seven days known as “Old Home Week.”

     Lowell, as we well know, owes its name to Francis Cabot Lowell who was, according to general opinion, the author of cotton manufacturing in America because he invented and financed a practically-powered loom for Americans. He was also interested in the social and business aspects of textile mill management.

     Many people were saddened to see that “Wamesit”, the original indigenous name of the agglomeration at Pawtucket Falls, was not chosen. However, from a historical perspective, “Lowell” seems to be appropriate for a large manufacturing city.

     According to present plans, the centennial celebration will be the grandest fête Lowell has ever witnessed. A large executive committee, composed of more than 40 citizens, oversees the different departments and will be assisted by a group of 100 or more. At the beginning of last Fall, the first planning phase was entrusted to a bureau of seven executive committee directors presided by Frank K. Stearns.

     This committee has held weekly assemblies for some time and, thanks to its work, in a few days, a general assembly of the entire executive committee will address all of the questions be studied and discussed. Up until now, we know that the large public commemorative exercises of March 1 will include speeches by national, State, and city civil servants, along with a musical program. Later, when the warmer temperatures make events more attractive, a week of celebrations will take place with festivities including balls, parades, concerts, etc.

     The committee of directors does not yet know whether to opt for organizing a large public parade of historic dimensions or an industrial exhibition. This question will be included in a report for the next assembly. The bureau has always had a great many ideas and plans on which the executive committee will be invited to take action as soon as possible. It now seems that, from now to the celebration, the Lowellians preparing the event will be very busy. (1)

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1) Translations by Louise Peloquin.