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“A little star dust caught” (PIP #4) By Louise Peloquin The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star dust caught. – Henry David Thoreau Let’s peek into Louis-A. Biron’s routine at L’Etoile. Anecdotes, gathered over…
Read More »Every day a star is born (PIP #5) By Louise Peloquin “A little star dust caught”, posted on October 17th, conjures up Louis Biron’s routine. He continues… **** Lives are full of repetitive acts. The most simple, like hugging a grandchild, reading a favorite author or having breakfast, give us the…
Read More »Some personal news today: I have decided not to run for reelection as Northern Middlesex Register of Deeds next year and will retire when my current term ends on January 1, 2025. It has been a privilege to represent you as Register of Deeds, and I sincerely thank everyone who…
Read More »What: Legends of Little Canada Walking Tour When: Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 10 am Where: Coalition for a Better Acre, 517 Moody Street, Lowell On Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 10 am. The Legends of Little Canada Walking Tour will begin at the Coalition for a Better Acre…
Read More »Review of Out of the Shadows of Angkor: Cambodian Poetry, Prose, and Performance Through the Ages Review by George Chigas Out of the Shadows of Angkor is a comprehensive collection that spans the entire literary history of Cambodian writing from the earliest inscriptions to the present. The text includes around…
Read More »Simple John: Remembering a strange, sadly-missed friend By Malcolm Sharps [Ed. Note: Although this story from Malcolm Sharps is set in England, it has strong echoes of the Urban Renewal experience of Charlie Gargiulo as related in his recently published memoir, Legends of Little Canada, which was recently reviewed on…
Read More »Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting ended in a concise 1 hour, 50 minutes, mostly because there were just two motions on the agenda. It’s true that two Councilors (Wayne Jenness and Kim Scott) were not at the meeting, but such absences have never caused those in attendance to curtail the…
Read More »Leo with Louis at L’Etoile (PIP#3) Louise Peloquin October always conjures up visions of Jack Kerouac. And so, it seems fitting to take a peek into the past at the link between Jack’s father and Louis Biron. It was at L’Impartial, the French newspaper Biron founded in 1898, that Leo…
Read More »PIP # 2 – “Judging us by our work” By Louise Peloquin The first Etoile peek into the past, posted on September 8th, jumped right into business nitty-gritty such as offering services, obtaining orders and paying bills. The New England Investment Company acquired L’Etoile in 1909 and went bankrupt after…
Read More »The following was distributed earlier today as my weekly Substack newsletter on Lowell politics. If you’d like to receive this weekly update by email in the future, sign up here. **** In the opening pages of his 2012 book, The Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a…
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