Christmas Greetings from Life From The Roots

Flowers are paper peonies.

Display at Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusetts

There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- Christmas Time

"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.)

Christmas Time

 

Merrimack River Valley Home
Fletcher Street

Old Handmade Christmas Cards made by my Grandfather

The Christmas card shows a picture of my mother, born 1919.  I like the garland spelling the word MOM with my mother's photo inside.

There are now two children in the family, see in upper window.  I would have loved to have seen 1923, 1924 and 1925, but they weren't in the collection.

This card is also a birth announcement for another child.  The sisters are shown with their brother.  My grandfather probably had the cards completed before the birth and wrote in the name and date.

My grandfather absolutely loved England, and went many times.

This was made in 1921, three years after they married.

I found an article that appeared in The Hartford Courant, Dec. 14, 1976. "The Peck Memorial Library (Berlin, CT) announced Monday the opening of a new exhibit of more than 40 Christmas cards. The exhibit, titled 'Christmas From the Bishops,' will feature cards sent by the Earle K. Bishops of Kensington, CT from 1921 to 1976." 


Note: I have about 30 in his collection. Each card was posted in December 2009.

There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- The City of Mill Girls and Immigrants

"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.)

The City of Mill Girls and Immigrants

This door opens to the free Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit by the Lowell National Park Service, in Boarding House Park. I love this exhibit and have been quite a few times, not only to see the charming period rooms, similar to those that the Mill Girls lived in, but the Jack Kerouac exhibit, the display of a lot of Lowell memorabilia and an outstanding timeline of the wave of many immigrants who came to the city.

Bedroom for the Mill Girls (above and below).

Dining Room (above).

The Keeper's Room (above).

Partial display of some of the museum (below). These photos were taken in 2013 and December 2014. Repair work is being done on one floor, so the exhibit will be closed until late January.

Signs and time tables for transportation to Lowell.

"A 1912 map of Lowell shows five major immigrant communities scattered in clusters around the city. Little Canada, which bordered the Northern Canal, had become the primary neighborhood for French Canadians. Greeks concentrated in the Acre along Market Street, while Poles, Portuguese, and Russian Jews had their own enclave within each of these areas, ethnic institutions evolved that catered to the needs of the immigrant group."  See: HERE for map and article in full.

"Because the factories paid workers extremely low wages, it was necessary for both children and adults to take jobs in the mills. On pay day, family members often pooled their wages. In 1872, for example, some large families lived on $7.00 a week."

Timeline of Lowell.

 Great display of old family photos. If you are working on your family history, and your family or ancestors lived in Lowell, this exhibit is a must to see.