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Last Chance: Tonight . . . ‘Melody Cavalcade’ (‘Les Mis,’ Celtic harp, Gershwin, radio comedy & more)
Tonight is the last chance to see “Melody Cavalcade” by the Greater Lowell Music Theatre at Fisher Recital Hall in Durgin Hall at UMass Lowell, South Campus. Last night’s show was a smash. The packed house raved. Where else can you see local performing-arts titans Jerry Bisantz, Michael Lally, and…
Read More »Richard Howe, Jr., Dot Com and More
Just a shout out to the inventor of this blog, our faithful leader and executive editor, friend and colleague Dick Howe, Jr., on the delivery of his first book, “Legendary Locals of Lowell.” I predict a long shelf life for this sweeping pictorial account of people in the city. As…
Read More »Hawk-ey Champs! UMass Lowell
Folklife at the National Park: A Look Back
Following is another excerpt from “Mill Power: Reclaiming Lowell’s Place and Story,” the book I’ve written about the national park in Lowell. This piece is a sidebar, a flashback to the Lowell Folklife Project of 1987-88, when a team of scholars recorded in pictures, on tape, and in field notes…
Read More »‘Hymn’ by Lucy Larcom
Lucy Larcom (1824 – 1893) was a poet, writer, editor, teacher, abolitionist, and more who worked in the Lowell textile mills from age 11 to 21. She published hundreds of poems, a notable memoir (“A New England Girlhood”), and other works. In Lowell, she is remembered at Lucy Larcom Park,…
Read More »from ‘The Park Bill Becomes Law’: Ray LaPorte’s Story
Here’s another excerpt from the book about the origin and impact of Lowell’s national park that I’ve been working on for the past two years. With luck, the book will be available by the end of 2014. The search is on for a publisher that can distribute the book widely,…
Read More »Inspired by Lowell: Michael Leary
Some of our readers know that I’ve been working on a book about the origin and impact of Lowell National Historical Park for the past two years. Following is an excerpt from the section about preserving the historic structures and places in the city. Michael Leary is an urban studies…
Read More »Let’s Review
Columnist Charles M. Blow in today’s NYTimes has it right when he points out how dishonest U.S. Rep. John Boehner’s comments are when talking about taxes and President Obama. In collaboration with the Congress, Republicans and Democrats, the President approved tax cuts for 82 percent of taxpayers at the end…
Read More »‘Church of the Immaculate Conception’ by Tom Sexton
Church of the Immaculate Conception . Because the massive side door is slightly ajar at 6 a.m., I decide to pay a visit, to inhabit my past. Inside it could be night. Old women kneeling. Perfume thick as mist. To my surprise the man with the purple-red stain on half…
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