August 31st, 2010
by Marie
A note in today’s Globe about a vintage postcard exhibit at the Boston Public Library, reminded me of the value of post cards as historical and cultural documents. While this exhibit focuses on early 2oth century Boston, the millions of cards in the hands of private collectors and in local historical societies and libraries have opened a door on the past. Images of pastoral and recreational scenes, cemeteries and gardens hold sway along with those of municipal buildings, bridges, schools, train depots, hotels, street scenes, waterways and much more. Some cards even have multiple images alongs with catchy greetings – all wanting to bring a touch of an area visited to home and family. According to the Globe article, Americans mailed more than 677 million postcards in 1908 alone. Many cards of traditional American scenes were made in Germany back then. Lowell collectors know that’s why the sand-colored stone of Lowell Tech buildings often appear red-brick in color post cards. The German artists must have thought all buildings were like mill buildings!
I wonder what the historical ”post card” resource will be for the early 21st Century. Do we even use postcards these days? What role could “Facebook-ing” greetings and images play? I don’t want to see post card usage become so passe that they disappear!
The Lowell Historical Society has published two post card books that are windows into a past time. Check out these publications here: http://ecommunity.uml.edu/lhs/sales.htm
Culture, History, Lowell | 
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August 23rd, 2010
by Marie
The press coverage of President Obama’s family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard has been a mixed bag of facts, speculation, jibs and criticism. It’s no surprise that our old friend Glen Johnson offers one of the better takes in this piece for the Associated Press. Another former Lowell Sun writer Mark Arsenault also has a good piece in today’s Globe here.
Culture, Current Events, History, Politics | No Comments »
August 22nd, 2010
by Marie
With one of the six Caritas Christi Health Care facilities – Holy Family Hospital in Methuen – such an important Merrimack Valley institution, I’ve posted frequently about the role of Attorney General Coakley in the proposed purchase by Cerberus Capital Management – a New York private equity firm Cerberus. The editorial in today’s Globe highlights the pluses and cautions as the AG’s review continues.
On one hand the Globe editorial notes:
There are good reasons to support the proposed sale of Boston-based Caritas Christi Health Care to New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. In addition to protecting over 12,000 in-state jobs, Cerberus has promised to pay off the non-profit hospital chain’s debt, permanently secure employees’ pensions, earmark $100 million for hospital renovations and expansions, create up to 4,300 new jobs, and increase the system’s footprint by 117,000 square feet.
On the other:
In essence, Cerberus believes that by improving the facilities and services at Caritas hospitals, it will be able to attract a large number of patients who currently leave their communities to patronize faraway facilities in Boston. But it’s unclear whether this potential boost in patient volume could net Caritas hospitals enough money to satisfy Cerberus’s investors. And what if it doesn’t? Will Caritas raise prices? Cut services? Close facilities? Cerberus is asking for a stake in Massachusetts’ fragile ecosystem of community hospitals, and if it stops providing certain services, there would be a domino effect on other hospitals. With that in mind, the firm should have already shared a detailed business plan with the public. Since it hasn’t, the attorney general should make those plans public as a part of the approval process.
As noted – the AG’s review gives the best opportunity to really assess the safeguards for the community – the public who uses the system and the public fall-out if the Cerberus plan fails. Madame General – take the time, proceed with a cautious eye and get the best deal for the patients and the community – they too have a vested interest in this “non-profit” to “for-profit” deal.
Read the full Globe editorial here.
My disclosure – I have been an in and out patient at Holy Family Hospital (formerly the Bon Secour) and a supporter of its mission for nearly 40 years. I’m headed to HFH next week . I have a personal vested interest in the success of this project – “much to gain but also much to lose.” mps
Culture, Current Events, Greater Lowell, History, Science | No Comments »
August 21st, 2010
by Marie
Mass Moments reminds us this morning that on this day – August 21 in 1909 – the iconic Pilgrim Monument on the highest hill in Provincetown was completed clearly declaring that the Mayflower’s first landing was in fact here at the tip of Cape Cape .
On this day - …in 1909, two young girls, using ropes and a pulley, helped haul the last stone into place to complete the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown. The town’s Yankee residents had long been seeking funds to erect a monument to the Pilgrims, who landed on the tip of Cape Cod weeks before they ever laid eyes on Plymouth. It took until 1906 to raise enough money. The following year, President Theodore Roosevelt sailed to Provincetown in a yacht appropriately named the Mayflower to lay the cornerstone of the monument. Three years later, President William Howard Taft spoke at the dedication. 116 steps and 60 ramps lead to the top of the 252-foot tower, which is still the tallest all-granite structure in the United States.
Read the full story here at MassMoments: http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=242.
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August 19th, 2010
by Marie
An absolutely gorgeous day on the Cape for the Obama family arrival this afternoon. At 10am temp in the mid-70’s – the sun is shining reflecting like diamonds off the water – there is a wonderfully cool breeze and the light blue sky is clear with a few random clouds. Martha’s Vineyard is just across the Sound – it seems as if you could reach out and touch the land… the ferries are just crossing paths – full of looky-loos hoping for a glimpse while others want to escape the hub-bub. I’ll be happy just to look for the helicopters and see the close-ups on TV. It reminds me of the summer of 1961 when my grandmother Agnes Meehan Kirwin sat all wrapped-up on her favorite spot on Craigville Beach waiting to wave at President Kennedy as he flew over on his way to the Compound. She sported a very large Kennedy button and lots of pride in our Irish Catholic President. The Cape is full of memories… more later.
Culture, Current Events, History, Politics | 1 Comment »
August 18th, 2010
by Marie
St. Helena
In light of the theft and recent recovery of the relic of the True Cross from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston – today’s “Saint of the Day” is noteworthy. Today – August 18 - is the feast of St. Helena – Empress mother of Constantine the Great. She converted to Christianity and performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross.
Read more about the traditions of the ”finding of the true cross” here.
The relic of the true cross has been a part of the church since early in the 19th century when Boston’s first bishop – Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus gave it to the then diocease and the first cathederal .
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August 14th, 2010
by Marie
We sometimes forget that the Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region with deep historical roots. The flow of the mighty Merrimack River has been a unifying force for the culture, heritage and livelihood of its residents since time of the Pentacook tribes through the Industrial Revolution to this modern era of highway, environmental and technology connections.
The cross-valley and cross-state connection manifests itself in many ways - including politics, the economy, shared traditions, sports and other rivalries, deep family and ethnic relationships, transportation, tourism, education, causes, culture, the arts and recreation.
Over the next year I’ll be writing about these Merrimack Valley connections from an historical, political, practical and personal point of view.
Today I’ll note the practical - a sharing among Merrimack Valley law enforcement veterans is noted in a story from the Manchester NH Union Leader. The subject is a problem with gangs and gang fighting which is on the rise in Manchester. Lawrence Police Chief John Romero and Lowell Deputy police Superintendent Arthur Ryan have shared their experiences and strategies with Manchester as well as Nashua.
Both Romero and Ryan in offering advice said their cities’ gang problems are far from solved but for the time being are relatively under control. Read the full article here at the UnionLeader.com.
“This is an age-old story,” said Ryan, referring to youth considering the possible benefits of joining a gang. “You’re looking down the street and you see who has all the toys and who’s getting the respect. It’s the bad guy.”
Stay tuned for more from and about the Merrimack Valley.
Culture, Current Events, Education, Greater Lowell, History, Poetry, Politics | No Comments »
August 13th, 2010
by Marie
Five of the twelve top colleges in the most recent rankings by Forbes Magazine – including the highest ranking – are located in Massachusetts. These institutions are: Williams College (1), Amherst College (3), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (5), Harvard University (8) and Wellesley College (12). Here are the top twelve:
| Rank |
Name |
State |
Cost |
Total Student Population |
| 1 |
Williams College |
| MA |
49,530 |
2,072 |
| 2 |
Princeton University |
NJ |
49,830 |
7,330 |
| 3 |
Amherst College |
MA |
50,230 |
1,697 |
| 4 |
United States Military Academy |
NY |
0 |
4,553 |
| 5 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
MA |
50,100 |
10,299 |
| 6 |
Stanford University |
CA |
51,760 |
17,833 |
| 7 |
Swarthmore College |
PA |
50,381 |
1,490 |
| 8 |
Harvard University |
MA |
50,250 |
26,496 |
| 9 |
Claremont McKenna College |
CA |
50,990 |
1,212 |
| 10 |
Yale University |
CT |
51,400 |
10,192 |
| 11 |
United States Air Force Academy |
CO |
0 |
4,537 |
| 12 |
Wellesley College |
MA |
50,026 |
2,498 |
Check out the methods used for ranking the colleges here and look at the full list of “America’s Best Colleges” here at Forbes.com.
Culture, Current Events, Education | No Comments »
August 12th, 2010
by Marie
Mass Moments reminds us that on this today - August 12th – in 1834 the Ursuline Convent in Charlestown lay in ruins. The night before a Protestant mob sacked it and burned it to the ground.
The rioters were mostly poor Yankee laborers who feared and hated Irish Catholic immigrants. While some of Boston’s wealthiest Protestants sent their daughters to the Ursuline Academy, most Yankees harbored a deep prejudice against Catholics. Long suspicious of “popery,” Protestant Boston was receptive to the malicious rumors that swirled about the convent. The convent burning was a prelude to the fierce anti-Catholicism that would greet the famine Irish who flooded into Boston a decade later.
Read the full article here at MassMoments.org.
Later in the 1850s with the emergence and power of the “Know Nothing” Party in Massachusetts – Catholic nuns were again the object of attack and religious prejudice. The Know Nothings feared the rising influence of the Catholic Church and its Irish immigrant believers. While working to curb the voting power of immigrants the Know Nothings while in control of the Massachusetts Great and General Court passed measures aimed at limiting the influence of the Catholic Church. One of the most infamous acts passed was the establishment of the Smelling Committee - an investigative body comprised of Know-Nothings and Nativists whose mission it was to “investigate” abuses in Catholic convent schools.
The Lowell Connection: The Smelling Committee announced it would be visiting the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur convent in city of Lowell in March 1855. Armed with the deep-seated Know Nothing antipathy for all things Catholic, the Committee arrived on the doorsteps of the convent. The sisters refused them admittance declaring they would not do so without the presence of their spiritual leader – Father Timothy O’Brien.
Father O’Brien arrived shortly after being notified and was able to prevent the Committee from inspecting the sisters’ personal quarters even though they had been quite adamant about doing so. The Committee stayed overnight in the city where – the story is told - the committee leader Joseph Hiss used Commonwealth funds to carouse with a local woman – the scandal was quickly exposed. The convent ultimately passed its inspection.
The Know Nothing movement eventually declined and fell from the national scene by the late 1850s.
Culture, Education, History, Lowell, Politics | No Comments »
August 10th, 2010
by Marie
Lowell native Dr. Brian C. Mitchell wrote of the Irish in Lowell 1821-1861 and the Lowell Acre’s “Paddy Camps”.
The wire story the other day was just a teaser. A story in today’s Globe tells the fuller story of the teaming-up of students from UMass Lowell with researchers from Queen’s University in Belfast for a weeklong dig on the property at St. Patrick’s Church in Lowell’s Acre. The dig is part of a broader study of the Irish who immigrated to Lowell before and after the Great Famine and the role they played in 19th-century America.
Researchers say the church grounds, which have not been built on since the Irish settled there, hold tantalizing historic potential.
“We are hoping to find artifacts from their everyday life as clues to their lifestyle,’’ said Frank Talty, codirector of UMass Lowell’s Center for Irish Partnerships. “That’s the story to be told: How did they live?’’
The settlement, according to an 1831 article in the Portsmouth Journal that called it “New Dublin,’’ consisted of 100 cabins about 7 to 10 feet tall, “built of slabs and rough boards.’’ It also included a schoolhouse with some 150 children.
Archeologists will be looking for domestic items such as dishware, hearth remnants, and clay pipes, which were often personalized and bore markings that could be used to pinpoint the owners’ Irish origins, Talty said.
Read Peter Schworm’s full article here. Stay tuned for the unearthed results.
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