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This article, slightly revised, appeared first in Merrimack Valley Magazine in December 2021 when Covid had become part of daily life. Invited to write a piece about holiday time in the area, I dialed back to my childhood and later college years when downtown Lowell was a magnet for people…
Read More »Recollections of Noël By Louise Peloquin When the priest at Notre Dame de Lourdes church * put on violet vestments on the first Sunday of Advent, Noël was on the horizon. My family attended French Mass which always included traditional hymns from Québec and France. Our Advent favorite was: “Venez…
Read More »This essay by Henri Marchand was first heard in 2008 as a radio essay on the “Sunrise” program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Today we continue our tradition of reposting the essay each year at Christmas. The Perfect Tree By Henri Marchand We begin the holiday season engaged…
Read More »Last Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting was the final one for outgoing councilors Corey Belanger, Wayne Jenness, and Paul Ratha Yem, all of whom gave farewell remarks. I’ll write about what they said in next Sunday’s newsletter. Otherwise, the most significant thing that arose at Tuesday’s meeting was a report…
Read More »This essay by Henri Marchand was first heard as a radio essay on the “Sunrise” program of WUML, 92.5 FM, at UMass Lowell. Today we continue our tradition of reposting the essay each year at Christmas. The Christmas Fruitcake: An Ageless Tradition By Henri Marchand I think there…
Read More »Living Madly: The Holidays Simplified By Emilie-Noelle Provost I didn’t put up my Christmas tree this year. It’s the first time in my life that I haven’t had a decorated tree in my house during the holiday season. Although I have always enjoyed our Christmas tree, I just couldn’t bring…
Read More »Home for the Holidays: Cowboy Christmas By Henri Marchand “The memories of childhood have no order, and no end,” wrote Dylan Thomas in Reminiscences of Childhood. A popular holiday song claims that, “there’s no place like home for the holidays.” These lines come to mind as my family prepares to…
Read More »“How to forgive” – (PIP #89) By Louise Peloquin Tucked in the local news columns, L’Etoile occasionally slipped unusual pieces inviting readers to introspection. L’Etoile – January 6, 1926 HOW TO FORGIVE We believe we have made a marvelous moral effort when we have not caused our neighbor…
Read More »Our longtime contributor Chath pierSath, writer and painter, is featured in the current issue of the prestigious “New England Review” with collaborator Seán Carlson. In the category of “Testimonies,” the duo has “Painting the Last Photograph: Art and Memory After Genocide.” Chath and Seán are organizing a…
Read More »Tuesday’s Lowell City Council meeting lasted just over an hour and was mostly undramatic. Councilors did cancel their meetings of December 23 and December 30, so this coming meeting on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, will be the final one of this council session and the final meeting for outgoing Councilors…
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