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Ladd & Whitney Monument detail
The city of Lowell seal on the Ladd and Whitney Monument. Photo by Tony Sampas.
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Photos from Winterfest
As I drove in Westford Street from Drum Hill earlier today, an orange city of Lowell dump truck rumbled past me. In its wake the street seemed to be strewn with a handful of grayish chunks of snow. Momentarily baffled, I noticed a second truck approaching and saw its bed…
Read More »From Forgotten New England: Lowell’s Sacred Heart School Fire, 1967
Over on the “Forgotten New England” blog there’s another installment in the Fires of Lowell, Massachusetts series. This story of the Sacred Heart School fire in 1967 tears at my memory, my heartstrings and the fabric of my family history. My grandfather – Patrick J. Kirwin was a member of…
Read More »Pollard Library “Low-Vision” open house
This past Friday, the Pollard Memorial Library hosted an open house to show of some new Low-Vision Stations that have been acquired for folks with limited vision. Besides the equipment on display inside, the New England Eye Institute’s Mobile Clinic was parked in front of the library where comprehensive eye…
Read More »“Coke constantly on hand”
This 1870’s ad for the Lowell Gas Light Company is a pretty good example of how the meaning of words may change over time. In this case, the product advertized was a by-product of the coal gasification process that yielded the illuminating gas that was used to light the city’s…
Read More »Cold Common
Cold morning. Glove-cold. Bright clear sky. The blue-disc sun is warming if you step into its 98-million-mile-away rays, exactly, but otherwise the air is frigid. This is weather for staying in. I didn’t see any random walkers in the South Common Historic District. One man in a jacket over hooded sweatshirt…
Read More »Grammy Awards on TV Tonight
I’m a fan of the entertainment industry award shows on TV. Tonight, we get to see the Grammy Awards. The production was revamped last year to include more music than the shows used to offer. If you are not someone who keeps up with the latest in Music, like me,…
Read More »Blog Review of Joe Donahue’s New Book of Poetry
Poet and writer John Olson reviewed Joseph Donahue’s new collection of poetry, “Dissolves: Terra Lucida, IV-VIII,” on his blog called Tillalala Chronicles. Read the thoughtful, in-depth review here. I have Joe’s book on the side table in the living room and am reading it in small sections. When I have…
Read More »Veterans of Korean Conflict Memorial
The city’s memorial to veterans of the Korean Conflict, located on the grounds of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Photo by Tony Sampas.
Read More »Lowell Police account of downtown riot
The Lowell Police Department has posted an account of the riot that occurred inside Fortunato’s (corner of Middle and Palmer Streets) early Friday morning in which 14 people were arrested and three officers were injured. The full report is HERE but I’ve reproduced it in full below: Numerous individuals were…
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