This essay by Henri Marchand was first heard in 2008 as a radio essay on the “Sunrise” program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Today we continue our tradition of reposting the essay each year at Christmas. The Perfect Tree By Henri Marchand We begin the holiday season engaged…

Last Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was the final one for outgoing councilors Corey Belanger, Wayne Jenness, and Paul Ratha Yem, all of whom gave farewell remarks. I’ll write about what they said in next Sunday’s newsletter. Otherwise, the most significant thing that arose at Tuesday’s meeting was a report…

This essay by Henri Marchand was first heard as a radio essay on the “Sunrise” program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Today we continue our tradition of reposting the essay each year at Christmas.     The Christmas Fruitcake: An Ageless Tradition By Henri Marchand I think there…

Living Madly: The Holidays Simplified By Emilie-Noelle Provost I didn’t put up my Christmas tree this year. It’s the first time in my life that I haven’t had a decorated tree in my house during the holiday season. Although I have always enjoyed our Christmas tree, I just couldn’t bring…

Home for the Holidays: Cowboy Christmas By Henri Marchand “The memories of childhood have no order, and no end,” wrote Dylan Thomas in Reminiscences of Childhood.  A popular holiday song claims that, “there’s no place like home for the holidays.”  These lines come to mind as my family prepares to…

“How to forgive” – (PIP #89) By Louise Peloquin      Tucked in the local news columns, L’Etoile occasionally slipped unusual pieces inviting readers to introspection.  L’Etoile – January 6, 1926  HOW TO FORGIVE       We believe we have made a marvelous moral effort when we have not caused our neighbor…

      Our longtime contributor Chath pierSath, writer and painter, is featured in the current issue of the prestigious “New England Review” with collaborator Seán Carlson. In the category of “Testimonies,” the duo has “Painting the Last Photograph: Art and Memory After Genocide.” Chath and Seán are organizing a…

Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting lasted just over an hour and was mostly undramatic. Councilors did cancel their meetings of December 23 and December 30, so this coming meeting on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, will be the final one of this council session and the final meeting for outgoing Councilors…

Lowell: Downtown & Around By Leo Racicot During my growing up years, downtown Lowell was the epicenter of social life for residents. A thriving, even at times bustling area, especially on weekends and at the holidays but actually most any day of the year, shoppers could be found teeming Merrimack…

Book Review: Poet in High Street Park Book by J.D. Scrimgeour Review by Richard Howe Salem is one of my favorite cities in Massachusetts. In the late 1990s, two evenings each week, I would drive there for classes at Salem State College (now University) in pursuit of my Master’s Degree…