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The Parker Lectures

The Parker Lectures By Leo Racicot The Parker Lectures have been around for more than 100 years, Established as a trust fund in 1917 by their founder, Moses Greeley Parker, a Dracut physician and much-decorated Civil War surgeon, the Lectures offer the Greater Lowell area programs of a wide-ranging and…

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Paperbacks

 Paperbacks By Susan April Paperback books I stole from the Beaver Brook Mill when it was a department store: The Grapes of Wrath Up the Down Staircase Gone With the Wind. Collinsville. I was twelve. Our house had telephone books and Liberty Mutual pamphlets like First Aid for Slightest Injury…

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Lowell Politics: August 24, 2025

In last week’s newsletter, I reported on two items from the August 12, 2025, Lowell City Council meeting. These were the upcoming trip to Switzerland by a city delegation and the Lowell Housing Authority versus vagrants discussion. Today, I’ll cover some other topics from that same meeting. The August 12…

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Bookstores I Have Known

Bookstores I Have Known By Leo Racicot College City Book Mart was the first bookstore I discovered and grew to love. It was located in what is now Francis Gatehouse Mills, on Broadway Street. The reason I’d found myself in that neck of the woods is: our Aunt Marie had…

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The Underpass

The Underpass By Susan April The Underpass was a fearful place. A literal underpass of the Boston & Maine railroad at the foot of Middlesex Street by the Lord Overpass. You had to be brave or crazy to take that shortcut. I was both. I never understood the spaghetti of…

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Lowell Politics: August 17, 2025

The Lowell City Council met on Tuesday night and completed a lengthy agenda that covered many topics. In today’s newsletter, I’ll focus on two of them. One of the council’s first votes was to cancel the next council meeting which was scheduled for August 26, 2025. This will create a…

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North Common, 1960s

North Common, 1960s By Leo Racicot Not every kid can boast that his front yard was a nine-acre park. I can. Our house was right across the street from North Common, a charming expanse of green in summer, white in winter. All my sister and I had to do was…

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