Author Archive

Lowell’s Christmas 1924 – (PIP #50) By Louise Peloquin      You who have been reading the peeks into the past (“PIP’s”) posted here since September 8, 2023 have become part of L’Etoile’s readership. On its December 24, 1924 front page, the Star of Prince Street (1), extends holiday wishes to you. ***** *****      PIP…

Christmas With The Kanes By David Daniel The exchanging of cards at the holidays remains a quaint, if vanishing, tradition. For a time, it gave ground to the “holiday letter”—pages of cheery mimeographed minutiae. But even those have waned, the impetus to show lives in perfect balance largely siphoned off…

The Lowell City Council met last Tuesday night. I’ll get to that shortly, but first I want to revisit the pre-Thanksgiving news that the retail establishments in Mill No. 5 will close early in 2025, and that the space they occupy will be transferred to the Lowell Community Charter Public…

Living Madly: A Cup of Kindness By Emilie-Noelle Provost You’ve probably seen the homemade signs hanging in stores and restaurants, the ones imploring customers to treat their workers kindly. As public-facing employees, waitstaff, store clerks, and baristas have borne the lion’s share of abuse dished out by belligerent consumers over…

Charlie Gargiulo’s Lowell memoir, Legends of Little Canada, was recently reviewed in Beat Scene magazine, a UK print publication the covers the Beat Generation (Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, et al). Here’s the review, reposted with permission of Beat Scene: Reading this new book one gets the feeling it has been…

Please welcome our newest contributor, Rich Grady: The Measure of Love By Rich Grady My wife, Lauren, and I grew up in the same town – Braintree, MA – with many of the same friends. We were planning to make the rounds of family and friends in other parts of…

For those of us longing for a Lowell City Council meeting that shared a strategic vision for the city rather than debating which pothole to fill next, Christmas came early this year when Mayor Dan Rourke, at last Tuesday’s council meeting, briefed the council and everyone else on a strategic…

This past Saturday I visited Western Avenue Studios, which is the largest collection of artists in a single place east of the Mississippi River. The quality of the art on display and for sale was amazing. There was something for every taste and price range. Western Ave will be open…

Paul in Paris By Louise Peloquin Beatles fans, this is for you and is dedicated to the late Malcolm Sharps of Liverpool.   The 2023 edition of The Lowell Review devoted an entire section to the Beatles. Charlie Gargiulo’s “Legends of Little Canada” also evokes their magic. (1) The memories shared…

In last Sunday’s newsletter, I mentioned a Lowell Sun report that the city of Lowell had imposed a $300 per day fine on the Eliot Church for failing to clear trash from its property. As I predicted, the matter came up at Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting. Councilors self-righteously criticized…