September 27th, 2010
by DickH
This past Saturday I served as the moderator at the Lowell Historical Society’s annual Trivia Night. My job was to ask the questions, alternating between Trivial Pursuit style interrogatories that tested general knowledge, and plenty of Lowell specific questions to test the knowledge of local history in the room. The evening was a lot of fun. Because of that, and because I’m always looking for ways to stimulate interest in Lowell’s upcoming celebration of its 175th anniversary as a city in 2011, I’m going to start posting a few Lowell trivia questions each Tuesday. Take the quiz yourself and contribute your answers via the comment feature if you feel up to it. On Wednesday nights, I’ll repost the questions along with the official answers.
Here are the first five Lowell trivia questions:
1) How did Fort Hill get its name?
2) What corporation was formed in 1792 and is the oldest existing company in the United States?
3) What was the first textile mill corporation to open in Lowell and the last of the original ones to close?
4) What hospital was phased out in 1930 and given over to the Grey Nuns of the Cross of Ottawa?
5) Which Civil War veteran was a five-term Congressman, a one term Governor and a candidate for the United States presidency?
History | 
2 Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by PaulM
In inky night we crossed New Mexico; at gray dawn it was Dalhart, Texas; in the bleak Sunday afternoon we rode through one Oklahoma flat-town after another; at nightfall it was Kansas. The bus roared on. I was going home in October. Everybody goes home in October.
We arrived in St. Louis at noon. I took a walk down by the Mississippi River and watched the logs that came floating from Montana in the north—grand Odyssean logs of our continental dream. Old steamboats with their scrollwork more scrolled and withered by weathers sat in the mud inhabited by rats. Great clouds of afternoon overtopped the Mississippi Valley. The bus roared through Indiana cornfields that night; the moon illuminated the ghostly gathered husks; it was almost Halloween. . . .
—Jack Kerouac, from Chapter 14, “On the Road” (1957)
Photograph by Allen Ginsberg, (c) 1957
Culture, History, Lowell | No Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by DickH
My “Information for Voters” pamphlet from Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin arrived in the mail last week. Among other things, the booklet contains information about the three ballot questions that will appear on the ballot at the November 2, 2010 state election. Here’s a summary of each of the questions:
QUESTION 1 – Sales Tax on Alcoholic Beverages
“This proposed law would remove the Massachusetts sales tax on alcoholic beverages and alcohol.” A YES vote would remove the sales tax. A NO vote would make no change in the state sales tax on alcoholic beverages and alcohol.
QUESTION 2 – Comprehensive Permits for Low- or Moderate-Income Housing
“This proposed law would repeal an existing state law that allows a qualified organization wishing to build government-subsidized housing that includes low- or moderate-income units to apply for a single comprehensive permit from a city or town’s zoning board of appeals, instead of separate permits from each local agency having jurisdiction over any aspect of the proposed housing. A YES vote would repeal the state law allowing the issuance of a single comprehensive permit to build housing that includes low- or moderate-income units. A NO vote would make no change in the state law allowing issuance of such a comprehensive permit.
QUESTION 3 – Sales and Use Tax Rates
“This proposed law would reduce the state sales and use tax rates (which were 6.25% as of September 2009) to 3% as of January 1, 2011. A YES vote would reduce the state sales and use tax rates to 3%. A NO vote would make no change in the state sales and use tax rates.
Other important information contained in the pamphlet included:
The deadline to register to vote is Wednesday, October 13, 2010.
If you registered to vote by mail or if there is any question about your identity, then you may be asked to present identification at the polling place (so bring your drivers license with you).
For more information about the upcoming state election, check out the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s website.
Election 2010 | 8 Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by Marie
The Boston Herald reminds us in an AP story just added to their on-line edition, that a newly expanded version of Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! awaits aficionados of Jack Kerouac and his literary world.
LOWELL – The city of Lowell is set to hold an expanded version its annual festival celebrating the city’s most famous writer – Jack Kerouac.
The four-day event, sponsored by Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! and UMass Lowell, begins Thursday and will feature tours of places Kerouac frequented and featured in his writing. The event also will highlight readings by bestselling writers Anita Shreve, Russell Banks, Ann Hood, Tom Perrotta and Andre Dubus III.
It’s the 22nd annual celebration of the literary event.
The Beat Generation icon, who was born in Lowell, published more than 20 books of prose and poetry, most famously “On the Road.”
In the Boston Herald on-line here.
Culture, Current Events, History, Lowell, Poetry | 1 Comment »
September 27th, 2010
by Tony
Middlesex Community College celebrated its 40th anniversary Friday night. Staff and guests posted some wonderful pictures of the evening on the college’s blog. Below is a sample…but click for much more.
Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by Tony
On November 2 Jim lane, Jerry Loew and Pat Wojtas will face off in a special election to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Chelmsford Selectman Sean Scanlon. A good website is an essential tool in elections today. And each of Chelmsford’s select-person candidates has adopted the tool.
Jim Lane is a member of the Chelmsford Planning Board. You can follow this link to his website.
Jerry Loew is in the computer software business. You can follow this link to his website.
Pat Wojtas is a former Selectwoman and severed on various boards in Chelmsford. You can follow this link to her website.
Election 2010, Greater Lowell | No Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by DickH
Tony Sampas shares some photos of smokestacks around Lowell. Above is a view of the Saints Medical Center power plant; below is a shot of Market Street near the Market Mills complex.
Lowell | No Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by PaulM
Roger Brunelle, inventor of the guided tours of Kerouac’s literary sites in Lowell, will lead a 2.5 hour bus tour on Saturday, Oct. 2, starting at 8.30 am at the National Park Visitor Center, 246 Market St. See the sites written about in “Visions of Gerard,” “Doctor Sax,” “Maggie Cassidy,” “Vanity of Duluoz,” and “The Town and the City.” The tour ends at Kerouac Park at 11 a.m., just in time for the annual “Commemorative at the Commemorative.” To reserve a space, call the Park Service at 978-970-5000. Seating is limited. To see the full schedule of the Jack Kerouac Literary Festival, visit www.uml.edu/artsandideas or www.lowellcelebrateskerouac.org
“Jack’s Birthplace, Lupine Road, Lowell,” a painting by Copley Society Master Vassilios “Bill” Giavis of Lowell from his “Kerouac Collection” (Web photo courtesy of pkart.com). To see more of Bill’s work, visit The Brush Gallery and Studios, 256 Market Street, Market Mills, Lowell, where he has operated a studio for more than 20 years.
Culture, Education, History, Lowell | No Comments »
September 27th, 2010
by PaulM
NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman today writes that “structural unemployment” is a fiction accepted by certain experts as a way to explain why so many people are jobless and repeated by many others who prefer to believe that explanation rather than do something difficult to try to fix the problem. Read Krugman here, and consider getting the NYT if you value the work.
Culture, Current Events, Election 2010, History, Lowell | No Comments »
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