Martin Luther King Jr. in Lowell

In honor of today’s observation of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, here’s a story of King’s visit to Lowell, Massachusetts. In honor of today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, here’s a reminder that King visited Lowell on April 12, 1953. Rev. Otto Loverude, the pastor of the First…

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Lowell Politics: January 19, 2025

On Tuesday, the Lowell City Council voted to demolish the Smith Baker Center, a former church and community center that sits across Merrimack Street from City Hall. The outcome of the vote was predictable, since for nearly a year a majority of councilors have publicly expressed a preference for demolition…

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Living Madly: Wheel of Fortune

Living Madly: Wheel of Fortune By Emilie-Noelle Provost When most Americans hear the term “Wheel of Fortune,” the long-running television game show is probably what comes to mind. But the original Wheel of Fortune, from which the show took its name, dates back to the ancient Romans. Known as Rota…

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Two Poems by Jacquelyn Malone

Late Afternoon on Palmer Street in Spring By Jacquelyn Malone A business meeting over a glass of wine, as papers on the outdoor table lift briefly in a soft breeze. Sudden “Ohs,” then laughter as colleagues dig in again to proposals, budgets, wine. A car rolls over cobblestones, the rumble…

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Inauguration Plans – Grandiose Simplicity or Simple Grandiosity?

Inauguration Plans – Grandiose Simplicity or Simple Grandiosity? – (PIP #53) By Louise Peloquin Two articles about planning Calvin Coolidge’s inauguration report the flip from desired simplicity to imposed grandiosity. A hundred years later, will the inauguration be grandiosely simple or simply grandiose? L’Etoile – February 11, 1925 Simplicity of…

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Historical fiction that expands our minds and feeds our senses by Marjorie Arons Barron

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud is a fictional drama based on the author’s own multi-generational family, covering seven decades of family history and moving from Salonica in Greece, to French (colonial) Algeria to France, Switzerland, Brazil, Canada,…

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Lowell Politics: January 12, 2025

The Lowell City Council returned to its regular meeting schedule on Tuesday after a three-week gap due to Christmas and New Year’s. However, City Manager Tom Golden and City Councilors Sokhary Chau and Kim Scott were absent, so the agenda was relatively light. The dominant issue at Tuesday’s meeting was…

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America’s Rotunda

America’s Rotunda by Rich Grady The roads and sidewalks were still covered in a mush of snow and ice. The snow was not the pure white blanket of a day ago, but a dirty mix of sand, salt and slush. I decided to walk the two or three miles to…

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