Here’s a poem from a warm spell during a February long ago. In addition to being in a couple of my books, this one was included in the anthology “Line Drives: 100 Contemporary Baseball Poems” edited by Brooke Horvath and Tim Wiles and published by Southern Illinois University Press.—PM . Spring Fever .…
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MassMoments reminds us today of the terrible famine faced by the people of Ireland in the mid-1840s. Brought low by the potato blight, harsh winter weather and burdensome taxes, the Irish people were starving and perishing in horrible numbers. Those who could – left their land. The plight of the…
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Move Lowell Forward, the local non-partisan political action committee, hosted a Planning and Development Forum featuring Assistant City Manager for Planning and Development Adam Baacke. Adam spent about 90 minutes reviewing and answering questions about many projects underway and planned in the city before a crowd of about 50. Here…
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This blog’s frequent contributor Steve O’Connor has his first novel on the shelves: “The Spy in the City of Books.” Today’s Sun includes a fine preview article about the book and the story behind the story. Steve’s book-launch party is this Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Athenian Corner on Market…
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The MetroDesk of the Boston Globe has a Michael Paulson story about the next step planned by the Achdiocese of Boston in dealing with seven closed parishes. These parishes have lost a final appeal with the Vatican to have them reopened. Included in the seven – is the Lowell Parish…
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With the centennial of the famous 1912 Bread and Roses Strike in Lawrence approaching, will scenes like this one below of union workers protesting cuts in pay and benefits multiply in the months ahead as state legislatures grapple with budget shortfalls? Read the NY Times article that goes with the…
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Thanks to Guy Lefebvre of the Lowell Gallery who sent along this print of the July 8, 1865 Harper’s Weekly which shows a story about the dedication of the Ladd & Whitney Monument in Lowell. Luther Ladd and Addison Whitney were two young mill workers from Lowell who were killed…
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Some abstract art from Tony Sampas. This photo shows the spire of the First Congregational Church/Smith Baker Center, as seen through the granite columns of the Pollard Memorial Library.
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With warm weather forecast for the next few days and spring training underway in Florida, Steve O’Connor shares a baseball story: I have a cousin several years my junior named Michael Stirk who moved to Chicago after college. I rarely see him, since Chicago is way past Worcester, and since…
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After two consecutive nights of watching the Westminster Dog Show I kind of fancy myself an expert in dog breeding. Well, I guess there is only one way to put this… the judges at the Westminster Dog Show and I totally disagree. They awarded “Best in Show” to the Scottish…
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