Author Archive

Spinners, Scalping and Scott Brown

In a post on his “Talking Politics” blog on the Boston Phoenix website, David Bernstein suggests that the Scott Brown campaign may be violating the state’s anti-scalping law with an August 30 fund raiser at Lowell’s own Lelacheur Park. That night’s Spinners’ game features “Scott Brown bobblehead” night and Brown’s…

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June 25, 1950: Korean War begins

Sixty years ago today (June 25, 1950) the Korean War began. Nearly half a million Americans served in Korea during the war’s three years with 36,000 killed in action, 92,000 wounded, 8,000 missing in action and 7,000 taken prisoner. The Korean War featured the first and only combat (thus far)…

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Woodman’s of Essex

I recently found myself near the mouth of the Merrimack River with some free time, so I headed south and picked up Route 133 East, bound for the town of Essex. For years I’ve heard about Woodman’s, a restaurant specializing in fried clams that is featured in the book “1000…

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General McChrystal’s Fate

The infamous Rolling Stone profile of General Stanley McChrystal is now online. The reports that burst into the public eye yesterday are all true and perhaps a bit understated. The upper echelons of the military are exceedingly political. The image of the non-ideological warrior is a myth; it’s just that…

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Stray Dogs

Sunday morning I did a quick post about the two stray dogs that wandered into my life. They’re gone now, but they left quite an impression. Here’s what happened. Early Sunday we were just getting home from walking our own dog when we spotted two strays down the street sniffing…

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Sunrise in Lowell

While driving to the Y at 5 this morning, I was met with this view as I passed through the intersection of Wilder and Pine Streets in the Highlands. I pulled over and snapped this picture with my cell phone. Even though the car was stationary, the picture is a…

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Charles Cowley – Week 2

In 1868, Lowell resident Charles Cowley wrote the “Illustrated History of Lowell”, a book filled with fascinating facts about our city. Here’s my second weekly compilation of “tweeting” from Cowley’s book: June 13 – In 1669 Wannalancet fearing a Mohawk attack built a fort on a hill in Belvidere called…

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