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Here’s a throwback thing to the pioneer days of festival-making in Renaissance Lowell. This was “Expo ’79, Art/Music” at Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Lowell CityFair was part of the federal jobs program (imagine that) called C.E.T.A. (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) wherein a dozen or so Lowell artists were hired to…
Read More »Good news for those researching or just interested in the St. Patrick’s Cemetery burial and other information for the Irish individuals and families who came to Lowell in the 19th century. Access to this information is an important addition to Lowell’s cultural/historical resources. Thanks and kudos to Dave McKean and…
Read More »Lowell is a city of Monuments. Some are prominent, like the Ladd & Whitney Monument in front of City Hall. Many others just blend into the background, their meaning and symbolism lost to time. This Saturday’s Lowell Walk will scrutinize the many monuments on the grounds and in the vicinity…
Read More »Web photo courtesy of Wikipedia The new issue of the New Yorker magazine has a short article about James Whistler’s durable portrait of his mother, speculating on why the painting is on the short list of iconic images in art history. The reporter, unfortunately, skips a mention of where the…
Read More »Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy of Massachusetts died on this day – August 25, 2009. Known as the “Lion of the Senate,” Democrat Ted Kennedy was a staunch liberal who was elected to Congress nine times, spearheading many legislative reforms. From the U. S. Senate History: “Elected at age 30…
Read More »Today is the 99th birthday of the National Park Service and is the beginning of a year-long celebration leading to the centennial celebration in 2016. As part of this anniversary observation, the National Park Service asks people to discover their parks, not only official National Parks but also urban parks,…
Read More »Web photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org With purple loosestrife spread across the region, I thought I’d re-post this prose poem from years ago.–PM . Long Purples People write letters to writers, and sometimes the mail is a gift. Not long ago, Bill Martin wrote to tell me that he’d read a…
Read More »We’re fortunate to have two interesting Lowell walks this coming weekend. On Saturday, August 22, 2015, Jim Dyment, the executive director of the Brush Art Gallery will lead our regularly scheduled Lowell Walks. The topic: Lowell Artists, Past and Present. As always, the tour will begin at 10 am at…
Read More »My best time for reading books is during vacation, when I can live with a book for hours at a time, maybe come back to it two or three times during the day. I can read news articles and magazine pieces on the fly, but I’ve never been someone who…
Read More »Another essay on the history of the Lowell Public Schools by Jim Peters: The 1800’s were a period of tremendous growth in the educational system. During the 1800’s, the educational system had grown rapidly. Local Government got involved with the education of our ancestors. Today, we are basically going…
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