Life From The Roots: Jack Kerouac Was a Man Who Loved Cats. See the Proof.

The Life From The Roots blog topics have changed several times since I began this blog in 2009. I initially wrote only about the family history I had been working on for 20 years. Years later, I was into visiting gardens, historical homes, churches, libraries that had genealogical collections, historical societies, war memorials, and travel/tourism places. I also enjoy posting autographs and photos of famous people I've met or have seen.

Along with my New England roots, other areas include New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Please check out the labels on the right side for topics (please note, they need work). Below the labels and pageviews is a listing of my top nine posts, according to Google. Four of them pertain to Lowell, MA. These posts change often because they are based on what people are reading.

Friday, January 12, 2018

Jack Kerouac Was a Man Who Loved Cats. See the Proof.

Lowell, Massachusetts was home to Jack Kerouac, a famous novelist, poet, and "beatnik" for part of his life. Although he has been deceased for almost 96 years, the city still enjoys celebrating his life, especially during his birth month of October. Throughout one week, the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival is held (2017 program on link). An update: To celebrate his birthday, I just read about an On the Road Marathon to be held March 10th and 11th in Lowell.

He was born in Lowell, lived here and in many other places throughout the United States, and was buried here. We have a park named after him, and tourists come to the city to see where he lived.

Over three years ago, I posted a blog post, "There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- Jack Kerouac, Life and Times, Birth and Death," which included photos of a place he lived, his cemetery stone, and showed an exhibit of his personal items. This past year, I had the opportunity to see another exhibit, held during the Doors Open Lowell weekend (selected buildings open to the public). The exhibit is now a permanent fixture at the Allen House (above), built in 1854, which has the office of the current Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML), overlooking the Merrimack River (below), not far from my house.

The exhibit is small, although enjoyable, especially if you love cats and Jack. Below, is what you see first, as you enter into the main room of the house.