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Outstanding accomplishment by the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust in partnership with the City of Lowell planning department staff, our delegation at the Statehouse, and Gov. Patrick’s administration. $1.3 million in funding to complete the Concord River Greenway land improvements and pathways. The LP&CT has been visionary and persistent in…
Read More »Peter Aucella, Assistant Superintendent at Lowell National Historical Park recently received the Department of the Interior’s Superior Service Award for his 24 years of vision, planning, and efforts associated with the Lowell Summer Music Series and the development of Boarding House Park. Each year, the series draws some 30,000 people…
Read More »Thanks to journalist John Collins and the Sun newspaper for reporting on artist Vassilios “Bill” Giavis’s gift of a print of one of his classic paintings to the Town of Dracut. The original painting was based on a poem of mine. Read the story here. A Hundred Nights of Winter…
Read More »In some quarters the myth of “the war on Christmas” still lingers even thrives. In truth there was a such a crusade, but it took place in 1659 and it was here in Massachusetts. A minister of that day decided that that the celebration of Christmas was becoming too merry… too profane……
Read More »Trips down “memory lane” seem more frequent lately. Christmas time certainly lends itself to remembering. Family traditions, ethnic and cultural traditions, religious traditions… are all part of the fabric of our lives. The Irish “candles in the window” at Christmas tradition continues. from the archive: Christmas Traditions: Candles in the Window and…
Read More »As UMass Lowell is in the midst of a Division One basketball game with Duquesne University this afternoon at the Tsongas Center, we are reminded that on this day – December 21, 1891 – the game of basketball as designed by James Naismith was first played at what is known today as Springfield College in Massachusetts. ON THIS DAY …
Read More »This essay was first heard on the former “Sunrise” radio program of WUML, 91.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Executive producer Chris Dunlap assembled writers in the area for the daily essay feature, a popular component of the morning public affairs show. I shared this essay with readers of this blog for…
Read More »On this snowy night, from Alaska comes a poem with a snowy owl, courtesy of our desk in the West manned by Tom Sexton. Here’s a Lowell memory for our readers. For those who don’t know, Tom Sexton is a distinguished alumnus of Lowell High School and former Poet Laureate…
Read More »The Christmas Fruitcake: An Ageless Tradition by Henri Marchand A note from the author: Like its subject this essay has been around, appearing first as a Sunrise radio essay, re-wrapped as a “Guest Column” piece in the Sun and showing up on this blog for the past few years. At…
Read More »Along with Henri Marchand’s “fruitcake” essay, the re-appearance of this poem has become part of the Christmas tradition for this blog. 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…
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