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Hearing Things Differently By Sheila Eppolito My parents met at a party near St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, in Brighton. My mother was a nurse there, and my father was invited by his brother, who was a resident. The story goes that amidst all the singing, boozing, smoking and dancing going on,…
Read More »This post by Paul Marion first ran on August 14, 2010, and is repeated here for this year’s Music Week on the blog: All Hail Lyle Lovett By Paul Marion (Aug 14, 2010) At one point in his performance at Boarding House Park as part of The Lowell Summer Music…
Read More »A kid’s soundtrack Louise Peloquin Many a Franco-American baby-boomer grew up hearing French in Lowell. “Le souper est prêt!” filled streets from Little Canada to the Highlands summoning “les enfants” to warm kitchens where a “pâté chinois” (cottage pie) or another hearty dish was waiting to be devoured. For a…
Read More »“On Air: My 50-Year Love Affair with Radio” by Jordan Rich Review by Richard Howe Between podcasts on my phone, music on my Amazon Echo, and a lingering satellite radio subscription that came with my car, I hardly ever listen to “the radio” anymore. By that, I mean through-the-air AM…
Read More »A Musical Surprise at the Beach: August 19, 1967 By Mike McCormack The year I turned fourteen, the first album by the Los Angeles based group The Doors captivated my friends Jack, Alex and me. We sat for hours in my cellar listening to the record from start to finish…
Read More »Welcome to Music Week on richardhowe.com. We occasionally bundle blog posts of a common theme together and today starts such an effort. For the next two weeks our contributors will share stories of music, in the broadest sense of that word. Pandemic Music By David Perry Pandemic, insurrection, loss, isolation.…
Read More »Boarding School Blues By Louise Peloquin Chapter 10: Math Manoeuvres Blanche had always felt uncomfortable in math class. In grammar school, when she began having a hard time deciphering numbers on the board, her teacher expressed concern. Papa immediately guessed that his daughter needed glasses. After a diagnosis of myopia,…
Read More »Less than 24 hours after Major Anderson had surrendered Fort Sumter, Massachusetts Adjutant General William Schouler sent Colonel Edward Jones, the commander of the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the following instructions: “Col. Jones: Sir, I am directed by His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, to order you to muster your regiment…
Read More »Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration as 16th president of the United States on March 4, 1861, came and went without a shot being fired and the dire predictions of imminent hostilities from earlier in the year appeared to many to have been an overreaction. In Massachusetts, business owners criticized Governor Andrew, who…
Read More »City Walk: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Market Basket By George Chigas A funny thing happened during my city walk a week ago Sunday. It started off like any another day during Covid. After several chilly days of rain, the temps had warmed up and the…
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