Thanks to the 270+ people who joined me on tours of the Lowell Cemetery over the past ten days. On Friday, September 27, there were 60 people on the tour; on Saturday, September 28, there were 100; on Friday, October 4 in the pouring rain, 10 hardy individuals showed up with umbrellas; and on Saturday, October 5, we lost track at 100. I think the beautiful, natural setting and the fascinating stories about Lowell’s history combine to make this such a popular event (that it is free and has a “just show up and join us” non-registration policy helps as well).

We haven’t set the dates for the spring tours yet but they will be sometime in May, with two Friday afternoon/Saturday morning combinations. The spring tours originate at the Lawrence Street Gate so with the exception of the Ayer Lion (shown below) they will be entirely different than the just completed fall tours. Once the snow melts, check out this site and the Lowell Cemetery website for the exact dates.

If you want to learn about another great cemetery in the city, be sure to join Dave McKeon next Saturday for his annual tour of St. Patrick’s Cemetery on Gorham Street (see Lowell Irish blog for more info). The event begins with coffee and donuts at 9 am with a Hibernian Dedication Ceremony at 9:30 am and the actual walking tour commences at 10 am. In past years, we’ve regretfully scheduled a Lowell Cemetery tour and the same day as the one of St Patrick’s. Not this year. I hope to see you at St. Patrick’s Cemetery next Saturday.