Today MassMoments reminds us that on May 28, 1863 the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry – gathered on the Boston Common then paraded in review by the State House as they began their way South. This first black regiment from the North had orders to proceed to Beaufort, South Carolina and…
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Created by Simon Towle, Photographer, 92 Merrimack Street. From the New York Public Library’s Digital Library of stereoscopic views. The first Decoration Day – later known as Memorial Day – was celebrated on May 30, 1868. By proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic,…
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MassMoments reminds us that on this day – May 26, 1647 – the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony banned those “devils” – all Jesuit priests – from entering the Colony. The Puritans were particularly hostile to Roman Catholics. Puritans had originally separated from the Church of England because they believed…
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Dave McKeon posts on the Lowell Irish blog his memories of Memorial Day from decades ago. The city’s celebration then was centered around a major downtown parade but then everyone would travel to the various cemeteries around the city to pay respects to deceased family members. There were also important…
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“Dawn Birds” by Richard Marion (c) 2013 See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net I saw a large “vee” of geese in the sky last Sunday when I was doing yard work. I heard them honking before I saw them overhead.—PM
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When I was growing up a lame riddle often repeated was: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.” Looking back on it, I can see the question and answer are just kind of daffy, but also hear a little bit of a Merrimack…
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MassMoments reminds us that on this day May 22, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was viciously attacked on the floor of the United States – beaten with a cane by Preston Brooks, a Congressman from South Carolina. The issue – the language used by Sumner in a passionate anti-slavery…
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Photo taken last September, 2012 Returning home from my errands at 2:10pm … I encountered a Lowell Police presence along with many utility and city trucks as a very large branch of the iconic Pow Wow Oak that hung over Clark Road in Lowell has broken off… hard to see…
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The aftermath of the South Lowell (then Tewksbury) Cartidge Company Explosion, 1903. The Lowell Historical Society will hold its annual meeting tonight in the ground level Community Room of the Pollard Memorial Library. The meeting itself begins at 6:30pm with a brief business meeting and election of officers and directors.…
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