Updates: Thank you to Pam Carter, Market Basket, Thanks to Bill Clinton, Ipswich, MA changes

I haven't written a Bits of News post in over three years, but thought I would group a few "bits of news" today.

Pam Carter writes in her blog, My Maine Ancestry blog, and received the Blog of 2012 award. She recently awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award, which was very kind of her, since I do very little writing anymore. To show my appreciation, I am highlighting her blog (just mentioned above). Please read about Pam, a seasoned U. S. History teacher at a high school, so whatever she writes will be a thorough blog post. Carter is her maiden name, so if you have Carters in your tree, you might be related. As a matter of fact, Pam and I are distant cousins through Thomas Carter. Thank you, Pam, very much for my award and I hope some of my readers will follow your blog.

Castle Hill (Wikipedia) at Ipswich, Massachusetts

More news, the above shows the almost completed restoration of the casino area. Today was a cloudy day, so you can't see the ocean. The huge house faces the ocean.

Some of you might recognize the castle because it has been shown in several movies, such as; "The Witches of Eastwick," "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," "Flowers in the Attic" and more recently the current movie, “The Equalizer,” with Dezel Washington.

The 1677 Whipple House and the reconstructed 1657 Alexander Knight House were recently in the news. The Whipple House lost a huge tree during a severe storm, and there was roof damage to the house. The Alexander Knight House has a new handmade fence to go with the 1657 house. (my photo)

Yesterday, I was delighted to see that the Market Basket grocery store chain again made the news. The below statement was what Bill Clinton said...glad to see he follows my local news. He has been to Lowell, at least two times, perhaps more.

Clinton name-drops Market Basket in CNBC interview

Sentinel & Enterprise UPDATED:   09/28/2014 06:32:14 AM EDT

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_26622370/sunday-notebook-clinton-name-drops-market-basket-cnbc#ixzz3EjhWkvUI
Part of the article reads:

"THE MARKET BASKET fight first made headlines in national outlets such as The New York Times and NBC Nightly News, among others. Last week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology held a forum that attracted hundreds to hear about lessons that can be gleaned from employees' victory in getting the company to sell to beloved leader Arthur T. Demoulas.

A few workers who attended the forum loved that it was held just across the river from the Prudential Center in Boston, where the Market Basket board held so many of its meetings.

But no one probably expected a former U.S. president to mention the chain's name. But Bill Clinton did in a CNBC interview Sept. 23 at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Clinton was asked by reporter Becky Quick about the American economy, with the stock market soaring as many middle-class families still struggle. Clinton mentioned three reasons for the sluggish job market: a need to raise the minimum wage, a need for a better mix of jobs, and the fact that so many companies are using their wealth on dividends or buying back stock.

Clinton mentioned Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, which recently went public, as saying his investors would make more money in the long run if the company placed employees and customers first. He then turned to Market Basket, which has been putting employees and customers ahead of shareholders for years.

"This Market Basket case in Massachusetts and New Hampshire was a big issue because the family that owned it wanted to get rid of the guy who was running it," Clinton said, showing an accurate familiarity with the saga. "They thought he gave too much of the wealth of the company to the employees. The customers loved it. So the employees and the customers left when they got rid of him. They had to bring him back."

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_26622370/sunday-notebook-clinton-name-drops-market-basket-cnbc#ixzz3EkA81Nun

There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- Artist James McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell

"There is A Lot to Like About Lowell" is the city slogan.

(See tab on right side called "Lowell Series" for many more articles about Lowell.)

Artist James McNeill Whistler was born in this house in Lowell.

Photos taken in spring.

WHISTLER PARK

"The Demoulas Foundation is

committed and dedicated to

the history, past and present and

future, of the city of Lowell."

Telemachus A. Demoulas

1920 - 2003

1834

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, July 11, 1834,

at 243 Worthen Street

His parents were Major George Washington Whistler,

Civil Engineer and his second wife Anna Matilda McNeill.

City Hall in the background.

The First Demoulas Market Basket in Lowell, Massachusetts, the Fighting Two Cousins and All the News it's Making

Cropped photo was taken May 14, 2014.

The First Demoulas Market was established in

Lowell in 1917 by Athanasios "Arthur" Demoulas

and his wife Efrosene (Soulemanis) Demoulas.

Immigrants who ten years earlier had arrived

in Lowell from Kalabaka, Greece.

In 1955, the market was incorporated by their

sons Telemachus and George, who expanded the

business to 14 supermarkets before George's

early death in 1971.

Telemachus went on to create on of the

largest supermarket chains in New England.

He became a well known and respected

philanthropist beloved throughout the

acre and the city of Lowell for his

generosity, his vision and his spirit.

He died in  2003 at the age of 82.

The photo above and below were taken behind the house where James McNeil Whistler was born.

 (The marker is in the middle, with red car to the left.)

To read more about this family and the business, see Wikipedia HERE or google Demoulas or Market Basket. It is currently on our Massachusetts news non-stop, and on national news as well. I'm posting this because there might be some people who would like to see photos from two of their 71 stores.

There is a feud between two cousins and apparently, there has been bad blood for many years. Both cousins have the first name, one is Arthur S. and the other Arthur "Artie" T.

As a result of the favored cousin's firing, the employees are extremely upset, as are the customers. People are not shopping in the stores, instead of dragging themselves to the more expensive stores such as Hannaford, Stop and Shop and Shaws as a way to force the other cousin to change his ways. Employees and customers are picketing side by side and many customers are bringing food for the employees. This began at least 12 days ago, and nobody knows when it will end or what the outcome will be.

Customers are taping their receipts from competitive stores on the doors. Market Basket is losing at least 10 million a day because of this.

Unsold bread and other perishables are donated to food banks. There hasn't been produce in the stores for about 14 days, so many of the local farms are doing a brisk business, now selling fresh blueberries, corn and other crops.

 Artie T.'s father would be so proud of him.

This Market Basket picture was all over Facebook after the Super Bowl game on February 2, 2020, unfortunately the Patriots didn't play in. It had been noted that these Patriots, including Tom Brady, were wearing jackets similar in color and style of the Market Basket managers.

Final Update: July 19, 2015:

A year later, sweet as ever

Customers, workers recall Market Basket victory and smile

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

UPDATED:   07/19/2015 07:00:20 AM EDT

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_28507031/year-later-sweet-ever#ixzz3gLGFFiAX

Updates:
August 5, 2014, long article in the New York Times. See HERE.

August 6, 2014, The Today Show had a long segment about Market Basket. See HERE.

August 6, 2014, The People Magazine had an article, "Market Basket Grocery Chain Workers Want their Beloved Fired Boss Back." See HERE.

August 12, 2014, WCVB news, "Market Basket employees told to return or lose jobs" "We are writing one final time, to invite you to return to work and perform your job obligations."  http://www.wcvb.com/news/3-market-basket-board-members-urge-end-to-standoff/27423768?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=wcvb%2Bchannel%2B5%2Bboston

August 15, 2014, The Boston Globe, "Market Basket board meetings the stage for family strife" http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/08/14/behind-closed-doors-demoulas-cousins-feud-raged/0dc9gC2d7tNlk9oTH4QIuK/story.html

US News and World Reports, "Killing Market Basket's Golden Goose"
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2014/08/15/market-baskets-short-term-gain-will-cause-long-term-pain

Why B-Schools Should be Teaching Market Basket http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-samuelson/why-b-schools-should-be-t_b_5682367.html

Deal Finally reached after 42 days on August 27th

FIRST APPEARANCE OF ARTIE T. DEMOULAS AS THE RETURNING CEO AND NOW OWNER OF MARKET BASKET, August 28, 2014.  Artie T’s closing words: “It’s great to be together again, you’re one of a kind, let’s have some fun.”
http://www.wcvb.com/news/market-basket-hustling-to-stock-shelves-after-deal-reached/27768080#!bLHf5y

Labor Day rings true at Market Basket  http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_26446851 The Market Basket Fairy Tale http://online.wsj.com/articles/holman-jenkins-the-market-basket-fairy-tale-1411770663?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10553624399357934584804580177883175239028.html

Clinton name-drops Market Basket in CNBC interview

Sentinel and Enterprise UPDATED:   09/28/2014

Read more: http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_26622370/sunday-notebook-clinton-name-drops-market-basket-cnbc#ixzz3EjhWkvUI
Part of the article reads:

"THE MARKET BASKET fight first made headlines in national outlets such as The New York Times and NBC Nightly News, among others. Last week, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology held a forum that attracted hundreds to hear about lessons that can be gleaned from employees' victory in getting the company to sell to beloved leader Arthur T. Demoulas.

A few workers who attended the forum loved that it was held just across the river from the Prudential Center in Boston, where the Market Basket board held so many of its meetings.

But no one probably expected a former U.S. president to mention the chain's name. But Bill Clinton did in a CNBC interview Sept. 23 at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Clinton was asked by reporter Becky Quick about the American economy, with the stock market soaring as many middle-class families still struggle. Clinton mentioned three reasons for the sluggish job market: a need to raise the minimum wage, need for a better mix of jobs, and the fact that so many companies are using their wealth on dividends or buying back stock."