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A Letter to “Bon Bon”
From Steve O’Connor: I met John Lavin while attending University College Dublin in 1979-80. We’ve stayed in touch since then. Recently, he began to send me sections of an epistolary work in progress. I was bowled over by the beauty and sincerity of the writing. John’s from an Irish family…
Read More »Daniel Chester French and Lowell
Best known for creating the Abraham Lincoln sculpture at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) had a number of Lowell connections. One link was familial: his grandfather, William M. Richardson, was born in Pelham, New Hampshire, in 1774. At age 23, Richardson graduated from Harvard and began…
Read More »Cartoons by Nicholas Whitmore
From this week’s headlines . . .
Read More »From the Archives: Meeting President Bush (41)
Last week’s funeral service for Congressman John Lewis with eulogies offered by three past Presidents was on my mind as I scrolled through the archives for this week’s look-back post. And so I selected this piece about another former President whose stature has only improved with recent events. Me and…
Read More »New Post on Apples, Art and Spirit Blog
Linda Hoffman has two new posts on her Apples, Art, and Spirit blog. In “The Sermon of the Blue Heron” Linda deftly captures this time of year – halfway between spring and fall, with early flowers a distant memory and fruit trees only just reaching harvest time. (Or as I mentioned…
Read More »Woke Columbus
WOKE COLUMBUS By Stephen O’Connor It’s 1492. Christopher Columbus is leaning on the taffrail of the Santa Maria, writing in his log. He raises his head, brows knit, looking toward the horizon as he polishes the lens of his telescope with a lace handkerchief. Finally, he tucks the handkerchief into…
Read More »Time to Find the Best Donuts
Time to Find the Best Donuts By Chris Geggis Figuring out the best donut shop, that is not one of the multitudes of Dunkin’ Donuts in the Lowell region started out innocently enough. I had a meeting in our office building at Connector Park in the Spaghettiville conference room. I…
Read More »The Lost Towns of the Quabbin
The infrastructure that supports urban living has long been of interest to me. We turn a faucet and clean, safe water flows out, as regularly as the sun rises each morning. Making that happen was a great achievement of government, one of many that we often take for granted. But…
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