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Sunday in the Park with Ringo
It was a good morning for a walk in the park, national historical park, that is, so Rosemary and I took Ringo the dog for a mighty hike down along the lower reach of the Western Canal at the bottom of Suffolk Street and then through the mill yard at…
Read More »‘Devil’s Music’ Ascends at Merrimack Rep Theatre
This is a shout out to everyone at Merrimack Repertory Theatre who brought audiences an outstanding production of The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, featuring Miche Braden in the lead role. A hot three-piece band made up of Jim Hankins on bass, Aaron Graves on piano, and…
Read More »Rodgers & Hammerstein Songs on Stage at UMass Lowell: March 21-22
The Greater Lowell Music Theatre is back this spring at UMass Lowell’s Durgin Concert Hall with its first production of the year on March 21 and 22. Tickets are available online now. There will be two summer productions this year: Fiddler on the Roof, starring Eddie Mekka (familiar to TV audiences…
Read More »Les Bernal of Lawrence Warns About Sports Betting in New York Times
Les Bernal of Lawrence is a familiar name in certain political circles of the Merrimack Valley. These days he is the national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, a nonprofit organization opposed to casinos and state lotteries. In today’s New York Times, he takes on the topic of sports betting. Here is his…
Read More »Create a Poster for Lowell Nat’l Hist. Park
In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration used the job-creating vehicle of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to employ artists in a marketing campaign called “See America,” which promoted the beauties and treasures of the national parks of America. This year, the Creative Action Network, made up of designers…
Read More »Farewell, Pete Seeger
Overnight, I heard the BBC report that Peter Seeger had died, a man whose life became absorbed in the music of our nation both as a singer of traditional songs and a composer of new works. I was lucky enough to hear him sing when I was a high school…
Read More »Farewell, Richard F. ‘Dick’ Burgess (1947-2013)
In the 1980s I played some serious softball with the Burgess Construction team in the Dracut Softball League. “Richie” Burgess, as I knew him, played on some of those teams, including the championship team in 1988. I wrote a poem, “Bragging Rights,” to commemorate that winning season, and following is…
Read More »‘Mill Power’: A Book Excerpt
Readers of this blog know that I’ve been writing a book about the origin and impact of Lowell National Historical Park. Titled Mill Power, the book is expected to be available this coming summer. Following are a few paragraphs about the roots of the park, discussed in much greater detail…
Read More »‘North Chelmsford’ by Richard Marion
“North Chelmsford” by Richard Marion (c) 2014 [original 2010] See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
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