The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is a 2025 long-listed Booker novel (really more of a novella) suffused with the gray and misty atmosphere of a British seaside village in the early 1960s, animated by fascinating characters, and enriched by…
There was no Lowell City Council meeting this past Tuesday so today I’ll cover some of the things discussed at the council’s September 22, 2026, meeting which I omitted from last week’s newsletter. I found a couple of procedural discussions among councilors to be both interesting and important. The first…
Time of the End of the Season Part IX By Bob Hodge Bob Hodge grew up in Lowell and went on to graduate from Lowell High (1973) and University of Lowell (1990). He was (and still is) one the greatest runners to come out of this region. He’s also a…
Remembering Cupples Square By Leo Racicot In spite of my lifelong devotion to The Acre and Saint Patrick’s Parish, I was actually born on Pine Street in The Highlands, baptized at Saint Margaret s Church on Stevens Street. Aunt Marie and Nana lived most of their lives in The Highlands…
A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday. Podcast: The Varsity featuring host John Ourand interviewing Ted Leonsis, a Lowell High Distinguished Alumni. Leonsis gained fame and fortune as an executive with America Online (AOL). In 1999, he purchased the NHL’s Washington Capitals and since…
Two years ago, Louise Peloquin began sharing excerpts from L’Etoile, a French-language newspaper published in Lowell from 1886 to 1957. At my urging, she has agreed to compile some of her previous posts with added contextual information into a book manuscript to be called, L’Etoile: A Star on Prince Street.…
We’ll start with a housekeeping announcement: Due to the ongoing storm, I postponed this weekend’s tours of Lowell Cemetery. They will now be held next weekend, Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4, 2026, both starting at 10 a.m. from the Lawrence Street Gate (same tour both days). **** The…
Due to the coming wind and rain storm, this weekend’s tours of Lowell Cemetery have been rescheduled to Saturday, October 3, 2026, and Sunday, October 4, 2026. Both tours begin at 10 a.m. from the Lawrence Street Gate.
Jay Atkinson’s Novel ‘Storrow Drive’ Is Getting Pulled Over by Readers I’m always glad to see a new book by my Merrimack Valley Conference literary comrade Jay Atkinson, in his case a former Ranger from Methuen High School who was a scholar-athlete in college in Nova Scotia. Jay is still…
Due to the coming wind and rain storm, this weekend’s tours of Lowell Cemetery have been rescheduled to Saturday, October 3, 2026, and Sunday, October 4, 2026. Both tours begin at 10 a.m. from the Lawrence Street Gate.