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American Poet Carol Frost: The Lowell Connection
In the August issue of The Atlantic magazine, Carol Frost has a short poem about being alive titled “The Scrubbed and Simple Moon,” which is a big deal because the magazine typically publishes one poem per issue. Twelve poems a year. I’m sure the poetry editor gets thousands of compositions submitted for consideration each year. Kudos to her. A great get, as they say in tennis and pickleball.
Poet Carol Frost was born in Lowell in 1948. She is not often mentioned locally when the subject turns to writers connected to the city. So it is worth noting that she has roots in Lowell. She posts on Facebook occasionally, and today put up a link to a new interview she did with Sean Singer on his Substack newsletter. Here’s the link for readers who want to know more about her.
And here’s her listing on the website of the Poetry Foundation based in Chicago. Click this link for more information.
Carol Frost has had a distinguished career as a writer and teacher. I don’t know a lot about her life in Lowell or after, beyond what has been reported in short profiles online. I never heard that she has a connection to Robert Frost, who also has roots in the Merrimack River Valley—Lawrence. The Shenandoah Literary Magazine website has this information: ” . . . as a child she spent a year in her mother’s hometown of Vienna, so German was the first language she spoke. She studied at the Sorbonne and earned degrees from the State University of New York at Oneonta and Syracuse University.”
Maybe the authorities in the Lowell cultural sector would think about inviting her to read her poems in the city and talk about her literary life. When was the last time she was in the city? If she sees this post, maybe she can let people know.
She lives in Florida where she teaches at Rollins College. Here’s the link to her website.
All Aboard!
All Aboard!
By Leo Racicot
Our mother never learned how to drive. As she told it, the first time her Lowell High School driving instructor took her out on the road, she drove straight into a ditch and said, “Never again!”
As a single girl, she worked at Abbott Worsted in Forge Village, a section of Westford. Curious one day as to how she got to work if she didn’t have a car, I asked and she said, “I took the trolley.” I knew Lowell had had its own trolley system but until then never realized it took riders out-of-town to the suburbs.
Before the coming of electric cars, people wanting to get around did so either on foot or by horse-drawn carts and buggies. Horses used for transportation created no end of problems for large cities; for one thing, they deposited pounds of waste per day on city streets causing messes as well as health threats to the public. The lifespan of workhorses was brief; often the animal would collapse en route and be left in the road for days before being moved; yet another health risk.
A more efficient, sanitary solution was needed. At the end of the 19th century, the newly-invented electric trolley came on-the-scene and was immediately embraced by commuters.
Trolleys not only served Lowell Proper but extended out to the countryside, to Dracut and Westford (how Ma was able to get to work). One line took passengers as far as Southern NH and Canobie Lake for people seeking weekend escape.
The electric trolleys thrived until the 1930s when they were replaced by automobiles and buses.
You can see replicas of the old trolleys on display throughout present-day Lowell. Some even take visitors on short rides so they’re able to experience what it felt like to ride these open-air wonders of transportation history. On weekends, The National Streetcar Museum at 25 Shattuck Street, across from the Lowell National Park Visitors Center, opens for tours on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 am to 4 pm Here, guests can view restored trolley cars and learn about their history and importance.
When we were kids, my friends and I made a game of trying to find trolley track remnants which could still be seen here-and-there around town, especially in the Middle Street area. I remember for years the remains of one piece of track was visible right on Fletcher Street just outside our home.
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Trolley Replica in Downtown Lowell
Trolley conductor portion of a mural
National Streetcar Museum on Shattuck St in Lowell
Horse-drawn carriage in 1899
Electric Street Railway model on Shattuck Street in Lowell
Downtown Lowell trolley cars in 1930
Abbott Worsted Factory in Forge Village
Remnant of trolley track on Middle St
Seen & Heard: Vol. 29
A weekly report on things I’ve read, heard and seen since last Wednesday.
Article: “Could Massachusetts become the first state to repeal legalized marijuana?” by Bryan Hecht, Boston Globe, July 6, 2026. It looks like this November there will be a ballot question asking voters to repeal the ballot question that made selling pot legal in Massachusetts. This article talks about some of the consequences if it passes such as lost tax revenue, marijuana businesses closing, etc. I voted for the repeal several years ago on the grounds that marijuana use was all around us so it might as well be permitted and regulated. I’m not sure how I will vote this year. The primary cause of my skepticism is this: Every day I take my dog for a walk along Pine Street. The number of cars that pass us trailing a plume of marijuana smoke and its distinctive smell is beyond belief. How can the drivers of these cars not be impaired? This article does reveal that the prime movers behind the repeal effort are Republican Party operatives which does cause me pause in allying myself with their efforts. Still, I’ll pay close attention to whatever is written or said on this issue because I’m definitely in the persuadable camp.
Book: The Reshaping of Everyday Life: 1790-1840 by Jack Larkin (1989). I spotted a Kindle version of this book for $1.99 so purchased it, mostly because the period covered spanned the founding and early decades of Lowell. When the book was written, the author was the chief historian at Sturbridge Village which was an important validator of his expertise in this area. The book provides a practical explanation of almost every area of life including typical working conditions, schooling, travel and transportation, simple pleasures and entertainment, sex and marriage and family customs, and housing arrangements. The book was packed with details, so much so that it was challenging to remember details, however, the book’s value was mostly atmospheric, giving a good feel for life. The other thing that stood out was how much everything changed over the fifty years covered. It left me wondering if the pace of change over the past 50 years was equally drastic in the evolution of everyday life today.
Article –‘Systemic failure’: Crash that killed Boston transit planner sparks furor over road safety efforts” by Diti Kohli, et al. Boston Globe, July 10, 2026. 36 year old Louisa Gag was a city of Boston transportation planner who was also a bicycle safety advocate. While cycling to work on July 9, she was struck and killed by a motor vehicle on Tremont Street in Boston. Her death sparked outrage among advocates of bicycling and walking since the location of her death had long been identified as a hazardous stretch of road. The fact that nothing had been done was just further evidence that even a progressive city like Boston puts a higher value on convenience for those driving motor vehicles than it does on those riding bicycles or walking.
Article: “A smoky haze gives skies an eerie tint.” by Ken Mahan, Boston Globe, July 15, 2026. On Tuesday, July 14, I woke to TV weather forecasters predicting a 100 degree day. In the morning, I walked the dog early but it didn’t feel that warm. After lunch I went out to the porch and it was pleasant weather-wise: not too hot with a nice breeze. But there was an odd tint to the sky, almost like a storm was imminent. My weather app showed a 0 percent chance of rain with not a cloud in the sky. Yet on the porch, the sun was invisible (which kept the temperature down). At some point, it occurred to me this was smoke from wild fires. I hadn’t heard that in the news but it had happened last year and was memorable, probably because I don’t ever remember anything like it previously. On Wednesday, this story and all other New England news outlets talked extensively about the smoke.
Obituary: “Sam Neill, Leading Man Who Could Play Everyman, Dies at 78” by Natash Frost, et al, New York Times, July 14, 2026 – Best known for his role in the Jurassic Park movie franchise, Sam Neill was born in Northern Ireland but moved to New Zealand when he was 7 and remained there the rest of his life. Through his career, he appeared in many notable films including The Hunt for Red October, but I always knew him from the British TV show, “Reilly, Ace of Spies” which appeared on WGBH-TV (Channel 2) in Boston and on other PBS stations in early 1984 as part of the Mystery TV series. Neill portrayed Sidney Reilly, a real-life spy of the British secret service in the early 20th century. Reilly, who was born Sigmund Rosenblum in Odessa), was considered the first modern “super-spy”. Among his exploits were stealing heavily guarded German naval blueprints, infiltrating the German General staff during World War I, and nearly pulling off a coupe that would have deposed Vladimir Lenin in Russia in 1918. I believe the show is available for viewing on BritBox and on the PBS Passport app.
Tour de France 2026 – Last Stage
Tour de France 2026 – Last Stage
By Louise Peloquin
On July 4th, the Tour de France took off from Barcelona for the first time, and offered spectators a magnificent view of cyclists whizzing by Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia.
courtesy AFP
This brief is for readers who enjoy following the Tour each year.
When reviewing the 2026 itinerary a few months ago, one sportscaster enthusiastically announced “the return of the Montmartre fury” meaning that the last stage on July 26th would once again include climbing la Butte Montmartre (Montmartre Hill) and would become part of la Grande Boucle (the Big Loop) from now on.
La rue Lepic (18th arrondissement) welcomed the world’s best cyclists last year and during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
courtesy AFP
Details on the 2025 Montmartre climb are found on this link:
https://richardhowe.com/2025/07/15/tour-de-montmartre-in-2025-tour-de-france/
To prepare for the 2026 Tour, la rue Lepic spruced up. Back in June, worn out cobblestones were removed and replaced.
Renovation also included narrowing the street to install flower beds, in keeping with “the greening of Paris.” Begun in July 2015 during Annie Hidalgo’s first term as mayor, la végétalisation de Paris entailed narrowing hundreds of city streets, eliminating thousands of parking spaces and planting hundreds of trees.
Now narrowed, lower rue Lepic will be all the more challenging for le peloton (pack of cyclists) to climb sans problème. And a bit higher up, the slick cobblestone will test strength and stamina.
The 113th Tour is certainly exciting to watch. La rue Lepic is ready!
upper rue Lepic
By the way, if you’re on site on July 26th, a 5-minute walk will take you to la rue des Martyrs which we discovered on June 23rd.
Here’s the link: