Author Archive

The Bridge Street bridge – (PIP #72) By Louise Peloquin Bridges, all kinds of bridges, must be built, used, fixed. L’Etoile – October 30, 1924 HEAVY TRAFFIC ON BRIDGE STREET BRIDGE      We can perceive the volume of traffic on the Bridge Street bridge knowing that last Sunday, between 8…

Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting mostly involved adopting the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget. Today, I’ll highlight some of the discussions that took place and otherwise share some thoughts on city finances. For those who want more granular information, City Manager Tom Golden’s overview of the budget and the detailed…

Of Karma, Cass and Mary’s Records By David Perry The lifeblood of the record store is used vinyl. Buy it in bulk. Trade for it. Every now and then, some kind soul donates it. Just walks in and gives it to you. The Great Vinyl Revival that began just shy…

Memorable Teachers By Leo Racicot See photos at end of story.  Mr. Trull was a terrifying man. For one thing, to our young freshmen minds, he looked like he was a hundred years old. This was confirmed for me when I came home and my mother asked me how my…

Fraternité: Jack, Zach, and Saint Jean Baptiste By Cameron DaCosta May 8, 2025. Four thousand miles away from Lowell, the eyes of the world turn to Vatican City. Within the hallowed walls of the Sistine Chapel, beneath the masterful handiwork of Michelangelo, Cardinal electors gather in seclusion to elect a…

“Onto the other side” –  (PIP #71) By Louise Peloquin Visitors traditionally gather at cemeteries during Memorial Day weekend to pay homage to loved ones passed “over unto the other side.” (1)      Last year, a “peek into the past” covered the 1917 procession which gathered thousands at St.-Joseph Cemetery.…

The Lowell City Council met Tuesday and covered several issues deserving of comment. Councilor Corey Belanger moved that the city “work with community partners to organize a regional fundraiser to benefit the Lowell Folk Festival Foundation.” Addressing the council on this motion, Art Sutcliffe, the Foundation chair, explained that the…

  As the weather warms and the outside turns vibrant green, my thoughts go to the many parks in the city of Lowell and their history. This is a republication of a story I wrote several years ago about Kittredge Park at the corner of Andover and Nesmith streets.  In…

Morning Mondo and A Question  By Jim Provencher  What’s the plan, Poppy, now that you’re getting up there, you going to ash or ground? My six-year-old grandson hits me with these questions out of nowhere, no holds barred morning mysteries, no filter, no curb, no screen. Ashes, I guess—why take…

Last Outpost Layover By Jim Provencher   Stalled at a kind of boundary line awaiting orders Another afternoon of pink grapefruit, soda & gin People die, places endure In a space of dead treelines and dry creekbeds Chipping away at dense blocks of gravity Noguchi-gouged granite, brutally knocking into the heart…