RichardHowe.com – Voices from Lowell & Beyond

Speeches, songs, poems, prayers and much more

Speeches, songs, poems, prayers, concerts, dances, lights, pushes, shoves and much more! – (PIP #99)

– Louise Peloquin

      Celebrations have changed but the message is still Happy Birthday Lowell!

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 L’Etoile – Front page March 2, 1926

LOWELL CELEBRATES ITS CENTENNIAL IN SPLENDID STYLE

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WITH WIDESPREAD AND INDESCRIBABLE ENTHUSIASM A FEW THOUSAND PEOPLE CELEBRATED YESTERDAY THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF LOWELL – MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM WAS CRAMMED AT THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON CEREMONIES AND THE GRAND EVENING BALL

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FETE FOR THE SCHOOLCHILDREN

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Former Lowellian Frederick Roy Martin and Miss Amy Baker spoke to 6000 schoolchildren at the High School Auditorium and hall.

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Songs and Music

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     Approximately 6000 boys and girls from Lowell High School and public and parochial schools participated yesterday morning in the ceremonies marking the opening of Lowell’s centennial celebration. There were two large gatherings – one at Memorial Auditorium and the other at the High School Cyrus W. Irish Auditorium.

      At two locations, the same program included Frederick Roy Martin’s speech and Miss Amy Baker’s recitations. The High School band, directed by John J. Giblia, performed at the Auditorium while the High School orchestra, directed by Frederick O. Blunt, played at the High School.

     Principal Henry H. Harris served as master of ceremonies at the Auditorium and Moody Street School principal William H. Green was master of ceremonies at the High School. Among the guests of honor, we noted Mayor John J. Donovan, Superintendent of schools Hugh Molloy, Mr. George M. Harrigan, John A. Hunnewell, Charles L. Marren and Joseph A. Gagnon, Centennial Committee directors. They all attended the Auditorium ceremony then went to the High School. Other honored guests were Brother Francis S.M., director of St. Joseph High School, Brother Clarence, O.F.X. of St. Patrick school and members of the morning organization committee.

     Lowell High School graduate and Carney Medal recipient Frederick Roy Martin, was principal speaker. He was also major of the High School military battalion. Since that time, he has served as president of Associated Press and is now general manager of Appleton and Co.

     In his speech, Mr. Martin praised New England’s education system and the teachers who devote themselves daily for the good of the youth.

     Miss Amy Baker is a graduate of the Barnum School and of Lowell High School. She enjoys nationwide recognition for the quality of her recitations.

     At the end of the program, the children sang the national anthem.

     Besides these two events, special programs took place in all public and parochial schools. After the ceremonies, the students were dismissed for the day.

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AFTERNOON CEREMONY

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Governor Fuller, Mayor Donovan, president Stearns and Mr. Molloy retrace the past, the present and look to the future.

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     A Most Beautiful Program

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     Yesterday, Lowell and friends celebrated one century of development and progress. With its distinguished guests and participants from neighboring cities and villages, the afternoon program at Memorial Auditorium was most attractive. The building was packed and a crowd of people were not able to enter. It was not a celebration for self-congratulations. Far from it. Although congratulations were addressed, the speakers insisted on the importance of preparing the second centennial. During the celebration, Lowell looked back on its sons and daughters who created this flourishing manufacturing city and also remembered those who reached honorable positions and contributed to Lowell’s fame in the United States and in the world.

THE GOVERNOR GIVES A WARNING

     Governor Alvan T. Fuller reminded Lowell of its responsibilities by stating that nowadays “certain famished Praetorian Guards” insist on having special concessions just as Cesar did before the fall of the Rome.

     “From all sides and in violation of sacred principles, civil servants from villages, cities and States are begged and directed to grant favors and special concessions to individuals and groups.

     Conventional individuals will say that the people have good intentions. That is true. I believe that most people have good intentions. However, you will remember that a certain place is paved with good intentions. As Roosevelt said, ‘A good number of people have good intentions but their good intentions are weak.’ “

SPEAKER OF THE DAY HUGH J. MOLLOY

     Special guest speaker Hugh J. Molloy spoke at length about Lowell’s development. He explained how many ethnic groups contributed to bringing the city to its present state of prosperity and continuing success. He treated the subject in an academic manner and spoke elegantly. His mastery of the topic reflected extensive research into archives and quotations from famous historical figures. He paid hommage to individuals and groups who actively played a part in developing this country and this city.

     Master of ceremonies Frank P. Stearns, president of the Centennial Committee, enthusiastically pleaded in favor of adopting a civic vision. Mr. Stearns was especially at ease as master of ceremonies and he pleased the afternoon audience by presenting the Lowell-born participants.

HE DIRECTED HIS COMPOSITIONS

     Renown composer George W. Chadwick conducted two of his own compositions: “The Anniversary Overture”, performed by a group of 45 Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians  and “The Pilgrims”, a ballad sung by the choir accompanied by the orchestra. Mr. Chadwick received warm, well-deserved applause.

     Centennial poet Mr. Ralph H. Shaw, son of Benjamin F. Shaw, inventor of the Shaw machine to make socks, read his poetry with a great deal of emotion and passion.

     His Eminence Cardinal O’Connell, one of Lowell’s most distinguished sons, could not be present for the festivities but sent a moving message expressing his devotion for his hometown. In his message, he also denounced those who have ungratefully exploited Lowell.

     PART OF HIS EMINENCE’S MESSAGE

     Here are several paragraphs of Cardinal O’Connell’s message:

     “The memory of my hometown has always been dear to me. Nonetheless, I regret having seen Lowell badly recompensed by those who have extracted the most substantial advantages from its industries and prospects.

     If those who owe something to Lowell want to take advantage of the centennial celebration in order to give back, materially, a portion of the profits obtained from its hard-working industrialists, the city would only receive what it justly deserves.”

     The message was read by President Stearns who said that the Cardinal had given the centennial directors an interview of more than an hour expressing his deepest regrets for not attending the celebration.

     YESTERDAY THE MAYOR SPOKE OUT

     Mayor John J. Donovan was the first speaker. In his words, he contemplated the city’s rapid growth and expressed gratitude for its sons and daughters who have made Lowell the queen city it is today. He also cast a glimpse on the future and called attention to the cooperation required for success.

     Shortly after 2:00, the program began. City servants, members of the Legislature and guests of honor took their seats on the platform built for the occasion at the foot of the stage. The orchestra and the choir were placed at the top of the platform.

     THE PRAYER

     After an orchestra piece, Rev. Appleton Grannis, Saint Ann Church pastor, pronounced the prayer. Here it is in part:

     “God, our Father, we render you great hommage and heartfelt thanks for having inspired the hearts of your servants the founders of this city for establishing here the great industries which have so greatly helped alleviate our burdens and multiply our goods. We thank you for the faith, the courage and the boldness of the pioneers of a difficult enterprise…

     We thank you because our dependence upon your goodness and your favors has been so fully recognized in places of worship dedicated to your honor and your glory…

     We thank you for these devoted individuals who were promoters of our public school system knowing very well that democracy must be built on the knowledge that religion without education degenerates into superstition and also that education without religion is useless…

     We also remember those who serve their city and their State today by generously giving of their time and their talents.

     We also remember those who, responding to the call of their country, sacrificed their lives to right ancient wrongs…

     We ask for your blessing upon those to whom you have given the power to govern this city and State in order that their work may be done with honesty, integrity and with total regard for the well-being of all. In the years to come, we pray to discover individuals of character and ability among us who will accomplish their duty without fear and without bias, for your honor and your glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

THE ORCHESTRA PROGRAM

     The Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by A. Jacchia, played the prelude to the 3rd act of Wagner’s “Lohengrin”, the finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony and the finale of Herbert’s “American Fantasy”. The orchestra also accompanied the choir directed by Eusebius G. Hood, another Lowell son.

     The choral sang Handel’s “Hallelujah chorus”, Faust’s “Soldiers’ chorus” and George W. Chadwick’s “The Pilgrims.” The Masonic Choir sang Kreutzer’s “Shepherd’s Sunday Song” and Geibel’s “Home Sweet Home.”

     At the end of the last orchestra piece, the choir and the audience sang “The Star Spangled Banner.” Rev. John J. McGarry, D.L.C. gave the blessing.

SALUTATIONS FROM LAWRENCE

     One of the afternoon’s pleasant episodes was Lawrence Mayor Walter T. Rochefort reading a message expressing congratulations and wishes for a prosperous future from the people of Lawrence, further to a Lawrence City Council vote.

     We noticed the following on the platform during the ceremonies:

     Ralph H. Shaw, centennial poet; Hugh J. Molloy, speaker of the day; representative Edith Nourse Rogers; Mayor John J. Donovan; Rev. Appleton Grannis; Rev. John J. McGarry, D.L.C.; Honorable James B. Casey; Honorable Dennis J. Murphy; Honorable Perry D. Thompson; president Frank K. Stearns; George W. Chadwick; and governor Alvan T. Fuller and his suite.

A FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE IN THE CITY

     The whole city took on a festive atmosphere for the day. American Legion flags decorated the principal streets. Schools and many businesses closed their doors for the afternoon.

     Lowell High School regiment officers ushered those who came to the Auditorium and Boy Scouts distributed programs.

     Major Percy J. Wilson, master of ceremonies, was assisted by captains Donald R. McIntyre, James F. Conway, Joseph Reilly and George Walsh as well as commander Robert Ginivan from Legion Post 87.

     Here is the list of guests of honor:

GUESTS

     Governor Alvan T. Fuller and his staff.

     Mrs. John Jacob Rogers, representative.

     The State Legislation delegation: representatives Victor F. Jewett; Henri Achin, Jr.; Charles H. Slowey; Cornelius J. O’Neill; Daniel F. Moriarty; Patrick Nestor; senator Walter Perham; senator Wells; president and senator Cregg.

     Mayors of neighboring cities: Malcolm E. Nichols, Boston; Ralph H. Bauer, Lynn; Thomas M. Duffy, Woburn; Edwin R. Hathaway, New Bedford; Walter T. Rochefort, Lawrence; Winfield Temple, Marlboro.

     Selectmen of suburb villages: Ralph H. Adams, Chelmsford; R.W. Darris and Mrs. Darris, Chelmsford; B.R. Currier, Tyngsboro; John E. Ford, Dracut; Irving F. French, Tewksbury; William H. Kelley, Tewksbury; Frank L. Furbush, Westford; Burton D. Griffith, Westford; William R. Taylor, Westford; Thomas F. Sheridan, Billerica; George N. Rigby, Chelmsford.

     Organization heads: Francis J. Good, Massachusetts American Legion department; Charles A. Flanagan Massachusetts Spanish-American War department; H.N. Comey, Massachusetts G.A.R. department; Asa Stickney Lowell Sons of Veterans.

     Individuals: Col. J.F.J. Herbert, Worcester; William J. Blake, Veterans bureau regional director; Postmaster X.A. Delisle; Holder Abbott; Charles F. Ayer; Nellie G. Barry; Kirk Boott; Ralph Saw; George W. Chadwick; Rev. McGarry; Rev, Appleton Grannis; Fannie A. Thompson; Dr. Pillsbury; Miss Adelaide Baker; Amy Baker; Virginia Tanner; Alice Rowell; Mrs. Ralph Shaw; Dr. Huntress; Mrs. Edward Tierney; Mrs. Waterhouse; Adelbert Huntoon; Lucius Fairchild; Rev. Stephen G. Murray; Mrs. G.W. Chadwick; Mr. & Mrs. J.A.Nesmith.

     Former mayors: John F. Meehan, James E. O’Donnell, Perry D. Thomson, Frederick W. Farnham, Denis J. Murphy, James B. Casey, George H. Brown, and John J. Pickman.

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JOSTLING AT THE GALA BALL

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More than 12,000 people came and at least 5000 were disappointed. – Jostling rather than dancing. – Tickets perfectly useless.

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7 WOMEN FAINTED

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     Last night, in a furious scramble, unprecedented in the history of Lowell, 12,000 people were crushed against the doors and walls of the Auditorium while attempting to attend the grand ball commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the “town” of Lowell.

     Despite the efforts of the organizers, the Auditorium director, 32 police officers and 20 firefighters to maintain order, the thrust was so violent that seven women fainted and had to be reanimated by a doctor called in emergency. Many other people suffered bruises and nervous excitement.

     AN ENORMOUS CROWD GATHERS

     The crowd from every social category and ethnic group began to gather at the Auditorium doors as soon as 7 in the morning. When these opened, a frantic scramble ensued. Some people had tickets but most did not. The shove was so strong that police officers could not distinguish the ticket holders from the others.  Those who arrived at the door entered and the others remained outside whether they had tickets or not. Many people who had had tickets for more than a week did not even get to see inside.

     The organizers, seeing the immense crowd pressing against the main entrance, feared that serious accidents and even fatalities could occur as the doors opened. They gave the order to close the doors for the entire evening. The crowd entered at East Merrimack Street and several side doors. After the banquet at veterans hall for the guests invited by the executive committee, a door had been left open on the Immaculate Conception Church side of Brown Street in order to allow the caterers to clear off the tables. Some people found out, broke the lock of the door separating veterans hall and the Auditorium, penetrated inside and mingled with the crowd. When the police realized what had happened, they placed guards at the doors.

     CLOSING THE DOORS

     As soon as chief organizer Charles H. Holden judged that the hall was full to capacity, he ordered the doors closed. It was only 8:00 at that time. Believing their tickets would allow admission from 8:15 to 8:45, many were disappointed. After the doors were closed, a vast crowd remained for hours, shouting, gesticulating and begging the police officers to open them. As some exited, the police allowed others in, therefore keeping the hall full to capacity.

     The entire squad of  traffic agents, with their white belts crossed over their chests, stood guard. Conservator Colin H. MacKenzie estimated that during the evening, at least 7000 people passed through the Auditorium. 5000 were never able to enter and returned home out of desperation. Some patiently waited for several hours at the door, their feet humid in the muddy snow. Thousands lingered before leaving. Until after 10:00, the Square was full of disappointed people waiting for tramways to take them home.

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SEVEN WOMEN FAINT

     Dr. Harry B. Plunkett reanimated the seven women who fainted from suffocation in the crowd. Mr. McKenzie had them taken home by taxi. The authorities were so busy that they failed to take the women’s names and addresses. Only one gave her name: Mrs. Parker F. Murphy, wife of the Professional Trade Council secretary.

     At about 11:00, the crowd started to depart and, when the ball ended at 1 in the morning, the police allowed anyone to enter into the Auditorium because new arrivals were no longer dangerous.

     Because of the vast crowd, ball president Alvah H. Weaver had to cancel many special numbers included in the program. He pointed out that the committee had prepared a ball. However, since almost all of the distributed tickets had been useless, the event had turned into a popular dance.

EARLY DEMONSTRATIONS

     At the beginning of the ball Mr. Weaver ordered all of the dance demonstrations prepared for later in the evening to take place at beginning in order to allow for general dancing. The modern and traditional dance demonstrations scheduled at 10:30 and the light show and shower of confetti, planned for midnight, were held at 9:00.

     At the beginning of the evening, the Lowell centennial orchestra, composed of 35 musicians conducted by Charles P. Miner, gave an excellent concert and then splendidly performed the dance numbers. The 35 musicians had been chosen among the city’s best dance orchestras.

     The program continued with a demonstration of traditional dances performed by the Joyce Ballet of Boston. The dancers then presented quadrilles, waltzes and Virginia reels. The spectators applauded warmly. Charleston, tango and modern waltzes followed and then, the numbers 1826-1926 were projected on the walls. The effect was remarkable.

LIBERTY HALL

     After the special demonstrations, attendees sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and began to dance. In Liberty Hall, a special program of traditional dances took place with music by Joseph H. Hibbard’s orchestra.

     The Auditorium and Liberty Hall were so crowded during the entire evening that it was almost impossible for the public to dance. It was a scramble much more than a ball. It was even worse in Liberty Hall because this room can only accommodate 720 and the number of people who wanted to dance was double or triple that figure. At 1:00 the crowd, still dense, swarmed towards the Square where special tramways were waiting to transport passengers to the different city neighborhoods.

     The concert program for the beginning of the evening was:

• Sousa’s “Ancient and Honorable Artillery March.”
• Intermission
• Chaminade’s “Scarf Dance.”
• Selections from Tierney’s “Kid Boots.”
• Selections from Gounod’s “Faust.”
• Lampe’s Grand Fantasia”, “Scotland”, “Nussbaum”, “Tone Picture”, “Songs of the Sunny South.”
• Selections form Harms’s Musical comedy “Sunny.” a)”Who”, b) “Sunny”
• March Finale – “The National Game.”

THE BALL COMMITTEE

     The Centennial Ball Committee which prepared last night’s program was composed as follows:

President Alvah H. Weaver. vice-president James C. Reilly, Joseph A. Légaré, Hammond Barnes, Edward T. Bailey, Arthur Bernier, George Boucher, Roland J. Boudreau, Raymond P. Bourgeois, Butler D. Burrage, Donald F. Cameron, William Cantor, Joseph A.N. Chrétien, James F. Conway, Charles E. Delorme, Joseph A. Desrosiers, Royal K. Dexter Jr., Joseph M. Dinneen, Allan M. Dumas, Arthur L. Eno, John Rogers Flather, Charles G. Forrest, Dr. A.J. Gagnon, Dr. Raymond Gendreau, Frank Goldman, Francis J. Haggerty, Thomas B. Higgins, John J. Hogan, Frank J. Hubin, James F. Kane, Dr. Joseph P. Kearney, Charles  J. Keyes, Gardner M. McCartney, Dr. Francis R. Mahoney, J.C. Manseau, Warren Mansur, Frank P. McCartin, John J. McPadden, Hutchins H. Parker, Dr. Harry B. Plunkett, Arthur G. Pollard Jr., Richard F. Preston, William C. Purcell, George H. Runels, John F. Sawyer, Joseph A. Schiller, Stephen H. Scribner, Ames Stevens, Robert R. Thomas, John Kendrick Butler, Barrett Fiser and Carl B. Wengiman.

     Ball director: Julian B. Keyes, assistant director: Joseph P. Donahue. (1)

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1) Translations by Louise Peloquin.

Letters that tell her story by Marjorie Arons-Barron

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a beautifully written novel in epistolary style, presented as a series of fictional letters, mostly penned by one Sybil Van Antwerp over eighty+ years. Even as a child, she wrote letters,  finding it easier to write than to speak. Readers learn on the very first page that the correspondence is “her manner of living.” Interspersed are letters from the people to whom she was writing.

The Correspondent is a search for self, at different levels. Sybil had been adopted at 14 months, and her adoptive mother died when Sybil was 18 years old. Her thirst to identify her biological parents is one force underpinning the novel.

Her public persona is that of a brilliant attorney and clerk in a decades-long professional partnership with an acclaimed judge. Both of them are forces to be reckoned with. What the correspondence lays bare are the discrepancies between how she presents to the public and the truths she must, over time, come to acknowledge about her private self: her judgment in the sentencing of a particular defendant, the circumstances surrounding the death of one of her sons, her relationships with her other son and estranged daughter, the dissolution of her marriage, the strains on certain close friendships.  All these tensions confirm her observation that “the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle.”

Author Evans’s choice of language varies in Sybil’s correspondence, formal at many times, informal and sprinkled with expletives elsewhere, depending on the recipient. As Sybil becomes more honest with herself, the letters are allowed to show words that have been crossed out. The styles are reflective of and reinforce the nature of the personal relationships.

Those puzzle pieces come together in this silky-smooth delineation of a highly accomplished woman with dark secrets, deep regrets, and an innate capacity for resilience, engagement and love. Elegantly told, the narrative of her eight decades of life reveals itself like the 16-millimeter opening of a flower, combining fortitude and fragility. The moments of revelation endure to the very end of The Correspondent, validating Sybil’s assessment that reaching out in correspondence is “really one of the original forms of civility in the world.”

I confess that these days I’m dedicated to the form only in personal expressions of condolence and some thank-you notes.  When was the last time that you picked up a pen, a piece of fine writing paper and wrote a personal letter to a friend, an acquaintance, or anyone else you wanted to connect with? In a world suffused with tweets, emojis, instant messages and more social media than I can name, letter writing is a communication art worth preserving. Also, treat yourself to reading The Correspondent.

SOTUS: More Spin from the Bloviator-in-Chief by Marjorie Arons-Barron

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog.

Call me a masochist. I watched all of Trump’s State-of-the-Union speech. The President painted a picture of the nation as he wanted to see it. It was a swirling mix of fantasy, twisted rhetoric and outright lies. We’ve heard his shameless exaggerations about how many wars he has ended, how he has lowered drug prices by up to 600 percent (they’re paying us to buy them now?) and how crooked our elections (the 2020 one, not the 2024 one) are. Nothing new there.

Trump pronounced ours the Golden Age of America, but he displayed a tin ear for the struggles of so many Americans to pay their bills, afford health care and keep their electricity on. Admittedly, his sunny account of the American economy echoed Joe Biden’s last SOTUS: spin the numbers in ways that don’t match what two thirds of the American people are actually experiencing.

The President seemed to be looking through the wrong end of the telescope on his key issues: the price of food and electricity, which remain high; immigration, which has largely shut down illegals at the southern border but has had poorly trained ICE thugs violating civil rights, making warrantless arrests, locking up children and killing at least two U.S. citizens; and violent crime, which had already been declining for several years. His broad claims about economic growth, individual income and inflation don’t measure up against the facts.

On the eve of the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding, Trump made absolutely no effort to reach out rhetorically to heal the deep divisions in our country. A feature of the record-setting long address was Trump’s contemptible derision of the Democrats sitting stone-faced in front of him. The Democrats were in a no-win situation. Stay away and be ignored, or stay there and be abused. Except for Representatives Ilhan Omar (MN) and Talib Rashid (MI), who caved to his taunts by yelling back, and Al Green (TX) who, holding a sign, was ejected for refusing to sit down, Dems from House and Senate showed admirable restraint, reflecting respect for the institution if not for the Chief Executive. Their composure seemed to get under his skin, as he feverishly yelled at them, “These people are crazy.”  Behind him, like dutiful puppets, Vice President J.D. Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson strained their quads by standing repeatedly to applaud.

I was appalled by Trump’s failure to speak to Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s lethal aggression, the fourth anniversary of which occurred that very day. Any other President, Democrat or Republican, would have noted this country’s stated reverence for democracies around the world. His sustained embrace of tariffs, despite the opposition of two thirds of the American people, and his fanciful prediction that they would one day come to replace the income tax as a revenue source were mind-boggling. I also wondered, if we had totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear threat, just why are we poised to use our armada against them right now?

As performative art, Trump did well – for Trump. He mostly stuck to the speech on the teleprompter, a credit, no doubt, to his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. They made clever use of the gallery, especially in trying to regain the high ground on immigration, repeatedly sharing grizzly stories about the killings of innocent Americans by violent individuals in the country illegally.  They effectively used as props numerous “heroes,” including the gold winning U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. Two Medals of Honor were given to distinguished military people, one a WWII navy pilot for his courage during the Korean War and  the other, the lead helicopter pilot injured in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The strategy effectively forced Democrats to rise with the Republicans in rounds of applause.

After nearly two mind-numbing hours, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger’s 12-minute Democratic response to the speech was taut, cogent and on message. Each topic, from immigration to tariffs to the economy, was highlighted by the personal question, do you feel more secure? Are you better able to afford?

The Democrats have done well with the affordability issue during the off-season special elections. Eventually, they will need to spell out details about what they actually plan to do and what they offer as an alternative to the mirage the President was selling last night. So why did I stay up past my bedtime to watch a live speech that will probably be worth only one news cycle?

Lowell Politics: March 1, 2026

Happy Birthday to Lowell! Two hundred years ago today the legislation that created the town of Lowell took effect.

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Debate over a proposed lease for the Lowell Senior Center dominated Tuesday’s city council meeting (February 24, 2026). In the end, it failed on a tie vote with Councilors Dan Rourke, Kim Scott, Sokhary Chau, John Descoteaux and Vesna Nuon voting for the lease and Councilors Corey Robinson, Belinda Juran, Sidney Liang, Sean McDonough and Mayor Erik Gitschier voting against it. Councilor Rita Mercier recused herself from the debate because she is, according to the Secretary of State’s website, the president of Friends of Lowell Council on Aging Center Inc. and thus would have a conflict of interest. As Mercier stood to leave the room, she explained the reason for her recusal but added, “If I could vote for it I would,” so her inability to vote was decisive in the defeat of the measure since had she been able to vote, the measure would have passed.

This issue is complicated, both legally and politically, and it is cloaked in gray areas. When it arose two years ago, I looked closely at the relevant documents on record at the registry of deeds and wrote of my findings in my February 18, 2024, newsletter. Here’s a summary of what I wrote back then:

Located at the corner of Broadway and Fletcher in the Acre, the Senior Center opened in that location in the early 2000s. For a century and a half previously, the property was home to the Lowell Department of Public Works, but that operation relocated to outer Middlesex Street. At the same time, the city was in desperate need for a new home for its senior center which had for several decades been located across from City Hall in the Smith Baker Center. Readers will be familiar enough with that building to understand why the senior center needed a new home.

In the late 1990s, the city took advantage of a mixture of federal and state programs to create the Acre Urban Revitalization and Development Project to rehab the neighborhood. The Acre Market Basket was the first big development realized by this effort. Other projects included the Kathryn Stoklosa Middle School, the Western Canal Walkway, numerous streetscape improvements throughout the neighborhood, and the rehabilitation of nearly 500 units of housing and the construction of approximately 150 new units of housing with much of that piece done by the Coalition for a Better Acre.

In July 2000, John Cox succeeded Brian Martin as city manager and on May 8, 2001, the City Council, by a 9 to 0 vote, authorized Cox to execute a purchase and sales agreement with Nick Sarris and George Behrakis as trustees of City Barns Trust by which the city would convey to the Trust the land that housed the DPW which was known as the City Stables parcel (also known as the City Barns or 276 Broadway). In return, the Trust would rehabilitate the City Stables building and make it (with a certain amount of parking) available to the city for use as a Senior Center.

According to the P&S, the purchase price to be paid by the Trust to the city was $1,399,600, however, that was not to be paid as a lump sum at the closing. Instead, it would be paid by means of an annual credit for the City’s lease agreement with the Trust. The lease between the city and the Trust for the use of the building would be for 20 years and the annual lease payment would be approximately $250,000 per year. The agreement further stated that at the end of the 20-year lease, the Trust “shall gift and donate the leased premises to the City of Lowell.”

On October 5, 2001, the city conveyed the property to the Trust. The deed described the consideration paid by the trust for the property as “$750,000 paid by periodic payment credits with imputed interest pursuant to a written agreement between [the city] and [the Trust}, having an agreed value over twenty years of $1,389,000.”

The deed makes no mention of gifting the property to the city at the end of the 20-year lease. On Tuesday night, councilors and members of the public who opposed the lease cited their understanding that the property should have reverted to city ownership after 20 years as reasons for opposing the lease, reasoning that the city should not continue paying rent for a property it already should own. In response, the city solicitor highlighted the absence of such language in the deed as weakening that argument.

Massachusetts real estate law has something called the doctrine of merger. Under this rule, if a promise made in the purchase and sale agreement is not specifically restated in the deed, that promise generally becomes unenforceable after the closing with the express language of the deed being the final and exclusive statement of the rights and obligations of the parties.

From personal knowledge I can attest that the Lowell City Solicitor in 2001 was highly competent as were the other lawyers in the office at that time, so I’m quite certain that the omission of the 20-year reversionary term was intentional and not accidental. I have no personal information about why it was omitted but can make a pretty good guess. Had a 20-year reversionary clause been included in the deed, it would have prevented City Barns Trust from obtaining a mortgage to pay for the renovations and the project would have fallen through. (Notably, on May 6, 2002, City Barns Trust obtained a $15 million mortgage on this property from Atlantic Bank of New York.)

Why the 20-year clause would have been fatal to obtaining a bank loan requires an understanding of how a mortgage works. A mortgage as we know it is two separate legal transactions. In one, the borrower executes a promissory note in which they promise to repay the lender a certain amount of money with interest over time. The promissory note is governed by the law of contracts and does not get recorded at the registry of deeds.

The second part of a mortgage involves a document called a mortgage which is a deed that conveys an interest in real estate from the owner/borrower to the lender. The interest conveyed is the right to sell the property if the owner/borrower defaults on the terms of the note (i.e., “foreclose”) with the lender applying the proceeds of that sale to the indebtedness on the note.

Before a lender makes a loan, it must ensure that the real estate that’s to be encumbered by the mortgage is clear of any defects or restrictions that might lower its value should it have to be sold at foreclosure. In the case of the senior center, a parcel of land that by the terms of its deed reverted to city ownership after 20 years would not be worth very much to a prospective buyer at a foreclosure auction, so a bank would not accept such an encumbered deed as security for a loan.

That explains why the 20-year reversionary clause was likely omitted from the deed. You might then ask, why didn’t the parties clearly memorialize this agreement in some other document to avoid any ambiguity? The short answer is that no one wanted to be indicted for bank fraud since executing and accepting a deed that omitted the 20-year reversion to induce a bank to make a loan while entering a “side agreement” on the excluded provision would be a federal crime.

That said, back in 2001, everyone understood that the intent of the parties was that City Barns would convey the property back to city ownership as a gift at the end of the 20-year lease, however, that was not a legally binding promise.

Since then, I expect that many other promises, some legally binding, some not, have been made between the parties. Think about it. This happened early in John Cox’s term as city manager. He held that position from July 2000 until July 2006. He was succeeded by Bernie Lynch who remained city manager until March 2014. He was succeeded by Kevin Murphy who served until April 2018, and then Eileen Donoghue who served until April 2022, at which point current city manager Tom Golden took over. On Tuesday night, Golden said something like as soon as he took office he “started unravelling this issue.”

During the intervening 20 years, how many modifications and side agreements have been made by the city? An obvious one is the city’s failure to pay rent since 2022. The reason for that was that the lease expired and the city auditor could not legally authorize rental payments without a valid lease. Because the city continued to use the property, it would be obligated to pay rent for use and occupancy. It hasn’t done that and, rather than begin eviction proceedings, the property owner has allowed the situation to continue, likely on the city’s promise that the back rent would be forthcoming. (The proposed lease rejected Tuesday would have amortized that back rent over the life of the lease.)

Sure, the prior lease may have said “any modifications must be made in writing” but politics is still guided by that old rule that “if you don’t have to write it down, say it, and if you don’t have to say it, nod your head.” The lawyers only get involved after the fact and are left playing catch up to keep things legal or, perhaps more accurately, to frame what the principals have already agreed to or done in a way that is arguably legal. Even though a promise might be required to be in writing, if the parties agree to something verbally and then act in reliance of that promise, one party can’t then disclaim the promise because it’s not in writing. (Ask Gemini about “detrimental reliance.”)

The time horizon for most city councilors is the next election, not the end of a 20-year lease, so through the decades, whenever something was needed for the senior center, I suspect there were council demands to “make this happen” to whoever was city manager who was then forced to scramble to keep councilors happy.

Which is not to say the city would lose if it chose to litigate the 20-year reversionary promise. The city could ultimately win in court but even if it did it would be a messy, protracted affair that could jeopardize the continued use of the senior center, at least until the litigation was resolved years from now.

There’s also a “be careful what you wish for because it might come true” element to this. Should the issue be litigated and the city prevail, then what? The federal grants that are essentially being laundered through the lease to pay for the operation of the senior center could no longer be used and the burden would fall on the city budget which seems like it will already be painfully stretched by other demands.

Tuesday night, Councilor Vesna Nuon may have accurately summed up this predicament when he said, “we’re presented with two bad options.” In voting for the new lease, he apparently concluded that doing so was the least bad of the two choices.

Councilor Belinda Juran, who voted against the new lease, expressed her concern that the version of the lease placed before the council was incomplete and ambiguous. Because ambiguities left unresolved in 2001 are today haunting the current council, Juran said any new lease should not make the same mistake.

My sense was that Councilor Juran was not inexorably opposed to the proposal provided more clarity is forthcoming. Perhaps other councilors who voted against the lease are similarly situated. Consequently, I would not be surprised if a revised proposal comes back before the council in the coming months.

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Given the complexity of the senior center analysis, I’ll hold off on writing about several other items that arose at the council meeting until next week’s newsletter.

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In this week’s Seen & Heard column, I reviewed the best-selling book 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin; reviewed Week 3 of the Winter Olympics on TV; wrote about a new feature called “One Special Thing” in the Sunday Arts section of the Boston Globe; wrote about a New York Times article about the sudden closure of the airspace over El Paso, Texas; and commented on obituaries of Jesse Jackson and Robert Duvall.

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If you want to learn more about Lowell’s founding, check out my new book, Lowell: A Concise History by downloading a full PDF of the book for free at this link or by purchasing a print copy from Lulu Press at this link.