Author Archive

Earthquake

Two nights ago – Tuesday, October 16 – many in Lowell felt the tremors from a 4.5 earthquake the struck in southern Maine. Little damage was done and some, like me, didn’t even feel it. Others described it as having someone working on the roof or having a helicopter flying…

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2008 Election Results

With the election just three weeks away, I started thinking about the last presidential election and discovered that I had not added those results to our “elections” page. I’ll put them there now, but here they are in case you’re interested: 2008 Election Results In Massachusetts in 2008, the presidential…

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Freeman Ballard Shedd

In the years before the Civil War, Eli Hoyt was joined by another teenager as employees at Staniel’s drug store. His name was Freeman Ballard Shedd. Shedd was born in Lowell in 1844 and, after working in the drug store for a couple of years, enlisted in the Union Army…

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Patent Medicine in Lowell: Charles I Hood

Recent news about the “compounding pharmacy” that provided tainted drugs that have now led to dozens of cases of meningitis got me thinking about the US Pharmaceutical Industry which had its roots in Lowell, a national leader in medicine production in nineteenth century America. One of the largest manufacturers was…

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“Fallen Heroes” ceremony

The Centralville Social Club held its annual “Fallen Heroes” ceremony yesterday to honor all service members from Massachusetts who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After remarks by Master of Ceremonies Joe Dussault, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, State Representative Tom Golden, City Councilor Rita Mercier and Lowell Police…

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