Menu
‘Take-Out’ by Richard Marion
Is New Year’s Eve the biggest Chinese-take-out night of the year in Lowell? What is your favorite Chinese take-out place? “Take-Out” by Richard Marion (c) 2012 See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
Read More »History
Top Ten Lowell events of 2009
I couldn’t find my Lowell list from 2008 so we’ll just skip from yesterday’s 2007 Top Ten to the following inventory from 2009: (Originally posted on December 29, 2009) It was a busy year in Lowell politics, so I won’t limit myself to just ten items. Here is my list…
Read More »Happy Birthday to Richard P. Howe Sr.
Congratulations to my dad, Richard P. Howe Sr., who celebrates his 80th birthday today. Elected to the Lowell City Council in 1965 (photo above), he served twenty consecutive terms for a total of 40 years (January 1966 to January 2006). He did not seek re-election in 2005 so his final…
Read More »Top Ten Lowell events of 2007
We launched this website in March of 2007 and at the end of each year since then, I have posted my Top Ten Lowell Events of the year. On each of the remaining days of 2012, I’ll post one of these lists from year’s past beginning today with 2007: Top…
Read More »Chistmas Was Once Banned in Massachusetts
A repost from last Christmas – let’s think about how things once were and how much they change and may change again – and never underestimate the power of words and images. MassMoments reminds us today that the Puritans of Massachusetts led by minister Increase Mather thought the celebration…
Read More »‘Not Long Ago Joy Abounded at Christmas’ by Jack Kerouac
A Christmas Eve memory in this excerpt from the 1957 essay “Not Long Ago Joy Abounded at Christmas” by Jack Kerouac: “. . . Christmas was observed all-out in my Catholic French-Canadian environment in the 1930s much as it is today in Mexico. . . .When we were old enough it was…
Read More »‘The Christmas Fruitcake’ by Henri Marchand
. “The Christmas Fruitcake” by Henri Marchand . I think there is no yuletide tradition so endlessly lampooned and so deliciously mocked as the once esteemed fruitcake. Everyone loves chestnuts roasting on an open fire and even plum pudding gets an annual endorsement by the beloved Cratchits, but mention fruitcake…
Read More »‘On John F. Kerry’ (1974)
I was 20 years old in 1974, a sophomore studying political science at Merrimack College. when John Kerry announced he would not make a second attempt to be elected to Congress in the Fifth District. I had been a volunteer in the 1972 campaign, helping in a modest way in…
Read More »John Kerry’s electoral history
With John Kerry being nominated today to serve as America’s next Secretary of State, his career in elective office is almost certainly at an end. Here is a Lowell-centric record of the eight general elections (and corresponding primaries) in which he appeared on the ballot: 1972 – Congress – 5th…
Read More »This Winter Solstice of 2012
Today December 21, 2012 is the Winter Solstice. The solstice marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The winter solstice also marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Have you noticed that the place and angle of the sun is different throughout the year? With the coming…
Read More »