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Lowell came into existence as a town in 1826 but was incorporated as a city, the third in Massachusetts, in 1836. That makes 2011 the city’s 175th birthday. The party will be held this coming Monday, April 11, 2011, the actual anniversary. Festivities will kick off at 4:20 pm with…
Read More »Sundress outside the methadone clinic. No one wants the clinic around but we all need winter to end. . —Dave Robinson (c) 2011
Read More »iPhone trills a new message. Dread. My old dentist wanting to confirm. . —Sean Thibodeau (c) 2011
Read More »With the celebration of the city’s 175th anniversary coming up next week, I was asked to share on this blog the poem I was commissioned to write by the city’s Sesquicentennial Committee in 1986. I read the poem at the opening ceremony on the plaza at the JFK Civic Center.…
Read More »Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) wrote during the Edo Period in Japan. He is considered the master poet of the time. In celebration of National Poetry Month, this blog is hosting the 3rd Annual Community Haiku Project. Readers are invited to send no more than two haiku at a time for consideration…
Read More »Jim Calhoun, UConn Basketball Coach We do like to make those Lowell connections. The starting center for the UConn Huskies – Sophomore and Lowell native – Alex Oriakhi was a critical player in last night’s win for the national chanpionship with his 11 points and 11 rebounds. Oriakhi played at…
Read More »Thirty Three years ago on April 5, 1968 cities across the United States experienced violence and unrest during the twenty four hour aftermath of Dr Martin Luther King’s assassination. I was seventeen, living in an inner city and remember the night well. In Boston a concert featuring the King of…
Read More »On this day – April 5, 1908 – Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Davis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. The iconic actress and two-time Oscar winner is remembered for many performances especially in the films “Dangerous” and “Jezabel” for which she won Academy Awards. Her performances in “Dark Victory,” “All About Eve”…
Read More »One of the most important American painters of our day is George Condo, who has deep roots in Chelmsford and at UMass Lowell, where his father, Pasquale Condo, was a longtime professor of mathematics. Condo was profiled by Jim Sullivan in yesterday’s Boston Globe. One early influence on Condo was Kerouac: “But as a…
Read More »The Globe is reporting on BusinessUpdates that Steward Health Care Systems announced this morning that they have a letter of intent to purchase yet another hospital in the Merrimack Valley. Saints Medical Center in Lowell seems to find Steward “a good fit” for the hospital’s “mission, vision and values” according…
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