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The following account of an 1833 Yankee v Irish riot in Lowell was recently forwarded to me by one of Lowell’s foremost historians. Because it includes details of Hugh Cummiskey being shot by the rioters and because this is Irish cultural week, I’ve reproduced the story below: Riotous. On Friday…
Read More »Tony Sampas caught the sun setting over the Tyngsborough bridge last Friday evening.
Read More »Paul Sweeney sent along some photos of St Patrick’s historian Dave McKean (above and below) leading his annual tour of the Acre this past Saturday as part of the city’s Irish Cultural Week activities. Besides Paul’s photos, Corey Sciuto wrote a blog post about St Patrick’s Church that included some…
Read More »Tom Wolfe titled one of his books “A Man in Full,” and the word “full” came to me when I tried to think of a word to describe the story that Andre Dubus III tells us in his fiercely honest new memoir “Townie.” He grew up between two worlds, the…
Read More »Jack Kerouac was born on March 12, 1922; jazz man Charlie Parker died one March 12th. From the Barnes and Noble people, here is a literary comment on author Jack Kerouac and jazz man Charlie Parker. Thanks to Alan Crane on Facebook for the link. For the schedule of Kerouac…
Read More »13 TOWNIE, by Andre Dubus. (Norton, $25.95.) In this memoir, Dubus explores his attachment to violence and his relationship with his famous father. 1
Read More »Last evening at UMass Lowell’s O’Leary Library, Dr. Colm Donnelly of Queen’s College, Belfast, Ireland, gave a presentation on the results of the archeological excavation that was conducted last August on the lawn in front of St Patrick’s Church. The historical dig, a joint effort of Queen’s College and UMass…
Read More »David Brooks in today’s NYTimes wonders out loud if the contemporary American behavioral trend of heightened self-approval may be weakening the national civic culture. He often asks such “community” questions as he tries to puzzle out the workings of our democratic-republic system. He makes a comment on the connection to toxic partisanship in…
Read More »Some of us have vivid memories of the “Blizzard of 1978” and the harsh toll it took on our lives, our property, our schedules and our peace of mind. Imagine back nearly a century before when another blizzard hit Massachusetts. Mass Moments remind us that on this day – March…
Read More »Tony Sampas shows us that the Merrimack River continues to rise, even before the next patch of rain arrives.
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