This is the award won in 2011 by local historian David McKean. It’s time to offer your nomination(s) for the 2013 Annual Awards for Lowell Preservation and Culture. The Lowell Heritage Partnership joins the Lowell National Historical Park in seeking nominations from the community for recognition and acknowledgment of contributions to preservation…
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On Presidents’ Day, my wife and I met friends in Boston to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the Fenway, which is a case study in museum revitalization. The venerable, distinctive museum building dates from the early 1900s. Inside is the extraordinary and eclectic collection of an amazing woman,…
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The 2nd Annual Lowell Writers and Publishers Winter Roundup is set for this Saturday, Feb. 23, 12.30 to 4 pm, upstairs at the Old Court Irish pub, Central and Middle streets in downtown Lowell. See who is behind the books and pick up the newest publications by area authors. Among…
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Just 20 days until the release of Legendary Locals of Lowell. More information about the book and its release are available HERE on our Legendary Locals of Lowell page and below is a list of readings/book signings that have been scheduled thus far: (Pre-publication) February 23, 2013 from 12:30 pm…
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History was always my favorite topic in school and my interest in the subject has only grown stronger as the years have passed. One reason I find it so fascinating is that everything has a history. I’m interested in the history of Lowell but I’m also interested in the history…
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While roaming around the region this weekend I crossed paths with the talented and always entertaining Jerry Bisantz. Last weekend’s blizzard came up as a topic and Jerry mentioned some photos he had taken in the midst of the storm. He kindly agreed to share the photos with our readers.
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Here’s a hat tip to the climate-change demonstrators in Washington, D.C., who are speaking on behalf of the planet this holiday weekend. Lowelltown is as white tonight as the monuments in the capital city. I wrote this poem after a family trip to Washington in the summer of 2004. There…
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Following is an excerpt of a 1994 interview (oral history) of M. Brendan Fleming, professor emeritus of UMass Lowell and former mayor and city councilor of Lowell. The interviewer was Maryrose Lane. The full transcription of the oral history is available on the website of the UMass Lowell Center for…
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Here’s Part IV of the index for my upcoming book, Legendary Locals of Lowell, which will be published on March 11, 2013. Howe, James E., 64 Howe, Richard P., 48, 67, 99 Hoyt’s German Cologne, 40 Hoyt, Eli, 40 Irish Mill Workers, 29 Irish, Cyrus, 62 Jackson, Patrick Tracy, 14…
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MassMoments tells us this morning that in 1849 – the first American-made Valentine cards were created and sold in Worcester, Massachusetts by Mt. Holyoke graduate Esther Howland. Modeled on the English-style Valentine, her fancy designs, embossed, cut and colored paper along with romantic sentiments and hidden messages soon grew into…
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