When I was growing up, one bright spot in the long, gloomy stretch of winter from Christmas to Opening Day was the Bob Hope Christmas Special. Hope began visiting American troops in war zones during World War Two, so in the 1960s and 1970s, he and his entourage ventured to…
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MassMoments reminds us on this Christmas morning that Christmas was not always “merry” in Massachusetts. On Christmas Day in 1659 – the Great and General Court of the then Massachusetts Bay Colony established a fine for anyone making merry or working on Christmas Day. …in 1659, a…
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TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their…
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Dec. 23, 2010 (from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal, jsonline.com) Editor’s note: The following editorial, among the most famous ever written, appeared in The New York Sun in 1897 and remains appropriate today. Merry Christmas, everyone! —– We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing…
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Musican Dave Norton sent a reminder about a good cause event tonight. Worthen House – Lowell’s Oldest Tavern & Restaurant 141 Worthen St. Lowell, MA 01852 (978) 459-0300 – “this one is for Ed!” Thursday 12/23 8:30 to closing. The line-up is a who’s who of Lowell’s music industry. 8:45…
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For many of us 50 and older, watching the “Lone Ranger” was one of our earliest TV memories. I don’t remember much about the program, but I do remember the opening and the theme song. Seeing the name “Fred Foy” in today’s obituaries would not have attracted my attention; but…
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Read NYTimes columnist Gail Collins today and feel good about our government leaders, at least some of them, working together to get some stuff done and move the sprawling nation forward a few feet just as we get set for another yearly starting line. Read her opinion here, and get…
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Our blogging colleague Kad Barma called attention to this item: Lowell filmmaker and photographer James “Jim” Higgins won the Grand Jury Prize in the 2010 Screaming Ant Film Festival, which is a huge deal even though some of us have not heard of this annual online festival. His film “A Fairy’s Tale”…
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I wrote the first draft of this poem in 1976, and worked on it on and off for a long time. I had in mind the extensive outdoor lighting displays in Dracut (the town) and Lowell, but especially as it evolved the dense array of Christmas decorations in Pawtucketville, between Mammoth Road and…
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