In my June 22, 2025, Substack newsletter, I wrote short origin stories of city of Lowell parks that were two or more acres in size and promised to get to the smaller parks in the coming weeks. Today’s installment covers many of the parks smaller than two acres in size.…

Jack Kerouac and Annie Powell: both on the road past Al’s Lunch By Kurt Phaneuf and Bernie Zelitch Al’s Lunch, a picturesque diner in the heart of Lowell’s Little Canada, was too fleeting to make the public record. Nevertheless, it lives through a famous home-grown writer and an under-appreciated immigrant…

Living Madly: The Chairs of Summer By Emilie-Noelle Provost Over the past five years, Rob and I have spent several weekends at the Eagle Mountain House in Jackson, New Hampshire. We began staying at the hotel because it’s close to many of the places we like to go hiking. One of the…

Meeting Julia Child by Leo Racicot I had become good friends with the well-loved American writer, M.F.K. Fisher (Mary Frances) when, on one of my many, cherished visits to her bungalow home in Glen Ellen, her friend, Julia Child, phoned her for a chat.  After she hung up, I saw…

Tour de Montmartre in 2025 Tour de France  By Louise Peloquin Tour de France fans have been following the thrilling étapes, or stages, of the road race since the July 5th blast-off. On July 27th, the last étape will celebrate 50 years of arrival at l’Avenue des Champs Élysées with an unprecedented passage. For the cyclists, it will be…

The Lowell City Council met on Tuesday night, but first I’ll mention an event at UMass Lowell on Monday at which the University welcomed its newest partner, Weston & Sampson, to the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC). Weston & Sampson is an employee-owned, environmental and infrastructure consulting firm with over…

Writers’ Block  by Leo Racicot For nine years, I was lucky to live on what’s known as The Writers’ Block; two streets, Francis Avenue and Irving, a stone’s throw away from Harvard College, Cambridge. In exchange for my room, I worked for two former members of The Roosevelt Era, caring…

‘Tis of Thee By Jessica Wilson (Re-posted from Jessica Wilson’s own blog, A Year of Firsts.) There was a very specific moment in my life when I formed my idea of what America means – what she is. I was a junior in college, and because I was almost done…