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Because a mother – back in 1935 – thought her two sons needed a summer job – Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp is celebrating its 75th anniversary as a family restaurant “where ice cream makes the meal.” From that first shop opened in Springfield, Massachusetts the business now has 12,000 employees in a chain of 508 restaurants concentrated…
Read More »The NYT on July 16 reported that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen will donate half of his $13.5 billion of personal wealth to various charitable causes. His announcement is tied to a nationwide challenge by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to the mega-rich, asking them to pledge half their fortunes to…
Read More »Washington Post op-ed columnist Anne Applebaum blows off some steam in her latest column and says Americans are talking out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to “government.” Read her column here, and consider subscribing to the Post online if you appreciate the writing.
Read More »Better known for his drawings, paintings, and ceramics, my brother Richard has been putting some of his recollections and observations into words lately. Following is a “movie memory” that he wrote with Suzanne Cromwell in mind. He refers to her as “Suzanne Movie” for her work with the Lowell Film…
Read More »“Brilliant” author Jane Brox said “thanks” for the blog post about her book the other day and also said that she was “as surprised as anyone to see the mention [in TIME magazine].” She credited her publicist at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, whom she says is treating her very well. Jane noted that there’s…
Read More »Several weeks ago I wrote of my rediscovery of TV sportscaster Len Berman who did sports on WBZ-TV in Boston during the 1970s and who now has launched an internet career after many decades doing TV sports in New York City. Berman’s website invites you to sign up for his…
Read More »As of now (8:07), both Channel 5 and WBZ are reporting that the worst of the storm along Route 2 is moving southeast, and therefore won’t hit Lowell. There are other storms in western Massachusetts, but none of them seem directed at Lowell based on Channel 5’s online radar map…
Read More »Our best wishes to Mass Dems Party Chair John Walsh as he recovers from an apparent mild heart attack. Dem activists in the Greater Lowell/Merrimack Valley area have a high regard for John Walsh and his commitment to the Democratic Party. From the MetroDesk of Boston.com: John Walsh, the chairman…
Read More »According to a story in the Worcester Telegram – lawyer and Central Massachusetts GOP activist James P. McKenna has decided to mount a sticker-candidacy to join the race against Attorney General Martha Coakley. No Republican was nominated by the State Republican Party to challenge her in the November election. McKenna now…
Read More »There’s an Op-Ed in today’s Globe by Carlo Rotella, a professor of American Studies at Boston College, that uses Lowell’s Micky Ward as the prime example of how popular culture, mostly in the form of movies, has embraced Massachusetts as a place where “traditional forms of masculine virtue still thrive.”…
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