I wrote the first draft of this poem in 1976, and worked on it on and off for a long time. I had in mind the extensive outdoor lighting displays in Dracut (the town) and Lowell, but especially as it evolved the dense array of Christmas decorations in Pawtucketville, between Mammoth Road and…
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Tony Sampas photographs the Nativity diorama at St Patrick’s Church in Lowell
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A story in today’s Globe traces Lowell Police sergeant Micky O’Keefe’s newest career as an actor, after his starring role in the Mickey Ward biopic “The Fighter” which has created quite a buzz both here in Lowell and throughout the country. Here’s the full story from the Globe.
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Yesterday’s news that the Commonwealth will lose a Congressional seat as a result of the 2010 census adds another element of drama to the 2012 state election. Not only will the presidency and the US Senate seat held by Scott Brown be on the ballot, but now we have the…
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The Boston Herald’s Jessica Van Slack is reporting today that the Suffolk University Board of Trustees has a 13-member committee ready to go in search of a new President. Longtime President David Sargent has retired. It’s not a surprise that Van Slack “stirs the pot” – reporting that four seach committee members…
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Read the boston.com article here and see US Rep. Niki Tsongas’s comments.
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Steve O’Connor, author of “Smokestack Lightning”, learned much about life while working as a clerk at the Davis Square Drug Store back in the 1970s: When my son approached the age at which he began to become convinced that he needed his own car, I put some vexing questions to…
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Note from Henri Marchand: Like its subject this essay has been around, appearing first as a Sunrise radio essay, re-wrapped as a “Guest Column” piece in the Sun and showing up on this blog last year. At Paul Marion’s request I re-gift it once more to all who either love…
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This reminder was sent by Jim Dyment of VYU arts magazine and the Whistler House Museum of Art: “Another neighborhood comes back to life as the Appleton Mills building on Jackson Street nears completion. It’s been under construction for months and this project is one more step in the process…
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The word downtown is that Steve O’Connor’s collection of short stories, “Smokestack Lightning,” is one of the hot local gift items for last minute shoppers. It’s a little big to go in a stocking, but fits nicely under the tree. Available at Barnes and Noble, Brew’d, Dharma Buns, Welle’s Emporium,…
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