Author Archive

Willie Mays: 1931-2024 By Dave Perry A longtime fan of the San Francisco Giants, Dave Perry’s essay, “Willie”, appeared on this site in 2010 and was published in History As It Happens: Citizen Bloggers in Lowell, Mass which is available from Loom Press.   Now, Dave has shared a new…

Living Madly: The Fleeting Season By Emilie-Noelle Provost For all the wonderful things I’ve experienced in my life so far, I’ve yet to encounter anything that comes close to replicating the excitement of the last day of school before summer vacation. I still remember the satisfying feeling brought on by…

  BUNKER HILL ROLL OF HONOR On the second floor of Lowell’s Pollard Memorial Library there hangs a framed proclamation titled “Bunker Hill Roll of Honor.” It identifies those who lived on the land that became the city of Lowell who participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June…

The Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775, when a British Army expedition marched from Boston to Concord in search of contraband munitions. Confronted by a local militia company on Lexington Green on the way to Concord, firing erupted. Although no one knows who fired the first shot, eight of…

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill which took place 30 miles south of here on June 17, 1775. We are fast approaching the semiquincentennial (or 250th anniversary) of this event so there will be more attention paid to it in the coming years. Before considering the…

Each year when June arrives in Lowell, three things will predictably happen: Anything left outside will be covered with a coat of yellowish-green pollen; school will end for the academic year; and city councilors will demand something be done about “the homeless.” That last item came up Tuesday night at…

Master of the Essential By David Daniel My father was forever busy, but what he busied himself with bears examination. Like there’d be a pressing need to fix a leaky faucet or replace a broken stair tread—always something wearing out in the small Cape Cod-style house where our family of…

Coffee shop musings: Contentment By Bob Hodge Neil Young “Comes a Time” album of that moment. On that turntable and console with the 8 track. It is an icy cold January morning 1979. I hop in my 69 Mustang and turn it over it shivers to a start—sweet. So many…

That Time of Year By Stephen O’Connor            I feel like some old engine          Done lost my drivin’ wheel.                                -David Wiffin Rob Rafferty always sat on Billy…

Protection for the challenged – (PIP #35) By Louise Peloquin       “Invalid” is no longer appropriate to designate the physically-challenged. However, fifty-seven years ago, it was not deemed offensive, insulting or derogatory. The June 4th peek into the past – “Voilà my solution” – dealt with work. This week’s provides…