June 1st, 2011
by PaulM
When the Vancouver crowd sings the Canadian national anthem in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, think “Lowell” because the man who composed “O Canada” lived in Lowell and married a Lowell woman. Distinguished musician Calixa Lavallee (1842-1891) was born in Montreal, but lived for years in the US. Wikipedia tells us that he settled in Rhode Island in 1857, joined the militia, and was wounded in the Civil War. By 1867 he was in Lowell, where he married Josephine Gentilly. He wrote the music for “O Canada” as a commission from the Province of Quebec in 1880. The words are from a French-Canadian poem. Read more about Calixa Lavallee here. There’s a plaque recognizing his achievements as an outstanding Lowellian in the lower level of the Pollard Memorial Library.
Culture, History, Lowell | 
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January 1st, 2011
by PaulM
Check this discussion thread from 2002 on Jacques L’Heureux’s Franco-American Connection website for the cultural significance of New Year’s Day among French Canadians.
And why is New Year’s Day an official holiday in Massachusetts? Here’s the Lowell connection from worcester.bettysgenealogy.org :
New Year’s Day, however, was not an American holiday. It was for many years distinctively the French-Canadians’ day. All the mills were open as usual but the French-Canadian help refused to work. This presented difficulties in maintaining operating crews and frequently resulted in trouble between management and employees. It was not until 1914 that New Year’s Day became a legal holiday in Massachusetts. Urged by a demand made by French-Canadians throughout the state, Representative Henry Achin of Lowell obtained passage of the bill in that year. It was preceded by a hard fight having been before our state government for a number of years. Frank P. Allen (Ed. Note: A well known Franco-American resident of Fitchburg) was a member of the legislature in the year of its passage. So, when we celebrate New Year’s Day, we should remember that our own Frank was instrumental in making the holiday possible.
Culture, History, Lowell | 3 Comments »
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