Leaving Your Parent's House

The walls you once walked by

Without any notice

scream as if to say

Where are you going?

A new place, that's where

Somewhere I think I know

but know nothing about

But hope to learn, and will

A familiar but unfamiliar place

I know everything, but nothing

about what here is

What I thought I knew

Lonely but not alone

thinking back to those walls

Is this a dream?

The Bridge

How do I know

this walk, the mist, the wind,

the biting cold stinging the skin,

the smell of exhaust and the sound

of engines, the little walking man

the views daring you to stare out,

over the rushing water.

How do I know this place?

Is this a place you recognize?

The Man

He, the one who brought here what we have.

What we had. What we have.

The buildings still lined along the water.

They look the same, but do no stand for the reason they were built

He, the one who traveled, explored, created, stole

the reason for this city, for its birth, for its beginning.

Now serve a different purpose

To serve rather than to produce.

Streets lined with cobblestones,

walked by people who did not see them paved.

A different place, in the same location.

New people, new culture, new everything.

Except for the buildings

The roads

The bridges

The water

The water that gave this city life.

The real power of Lowell.

The reason we are all here,

thanks to it, thanks to Him.

          The three pieces I wrote about for the Common creative assignment were each based on individual pieces in either issue 1 or 7 in The Common.

The first piece was based on the piece titled Your Parent's House by Ziena Hashem Beck. My poem, titled Leaving Your Parent's House is a continuation of Beck's work. In Beck's poem, the reader is taken through the typical house that he/she may have grown up in. The simple things like the walls are highlighted, while also the people and the same old rote conversations that happen over and over in an old home are talked about as well. In my piece, I take the reader to a new place, ripping him/her from their comfort of home at his/her parents house to somewhere that is completely new. I experienced this, along with hundreds of thousands of college freshman do every year. I aimed to relate to the alienation that one may feel when they enter a completely new place, and while they are surrounded by people at almost all times, it is still very easy to feel lonely. Perhaps after reading this, they may not feel so alone.

          My second piece is based on the piece titled Little Chapel by Richie Hofmann. This piece recalls a place where the narrator suggests he/she knows the place being described, but does not know exactly how, and also inquires about whether or not any readers also find this place familiar. In my piece titled The Bridge I tried to do something similar. I tried to describe a place that I know very well, the Bridge that stands between East and North campus here at Umass Lowell. A place that many of us here know, and to the last question of “Is this a place you recognize?” hopefully, many of my fellow students would reply with a yes, as they too know this place. The interesting thing about it though, its that their observations and memories about it may be vastly different than my own.

          The third piece I wrote is based on a piece of the same title in the first issue of The Common, by Cliff Forshaw. In Forshaw's work, he speaks of a man, in this situation, a Governor, who has created prisons, and chapels. Within the walls of these institutions so much goes on, more than what the actual walls themselves could have done, showing that in most cases, it is what happens there that gives a place its meaning, not the place itself. Here in Lowell, that man is the namesake of the city, Francis Cabot Lowell. He is the one that created, or perhaps stole, the idea for a machine that would transform the city forever. The machine loom was the reason for the building of all of the mill buildings that define the city of Lowell's skyline. It was this man, and the river that runs through the city, that gave Lowell the power to become such a revolutionary city. Centuries later however, Lowell is a different place, with entirely different people and culture, but no matter what is here, the mills will always be a reminder of what this city was founded on. 

The City of Lowell and It's Unexpected Culture

       

  Over the past month, I have taken several trips into the city of Lowell, with the goal of finding out what the city has to offer. Coming from a small suburban town a few minutes away, I did not expect much of the city. While growing up, Lowell was always thought of as the “sketchy” town that wasn't safe, and that's all there was to it. However, through these excursions, I have to come to realize that Lowell is home to some amazing culture, and I am extremely excited to take part in it over the next four years.

          The first of the excursions I took into Lowell was to see the play, year Zero at the Merrimack Repertory Theater. It was a cold, rainy night and myself and three of my hall mates decided to dress up a bit, in shirts and ties, to watch the play. We thought why have any of these nice clothes if we aren't going to use them, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. So, looking as we did, my friends and I hopped in one of our cars and drove to the theater downtown. We parked nearby and walked through the rain from there. Once we were inside, we found our seats and the play began.

          The play was about a Cambodian family living in California, and the struggles that they faced after their mother died. The family only consisted of a younger immature brother, who lacked guidance after his mother passed, and an older sister who was trying to make due with what she had, going to college while she was trying to step in as a motherly figure in the life of her younger brother. The only other two characters in the play were the sister's boyfriend, and their life long neighbor. The boyfriend was involved with some serious research at his university, with a bright future ahead of him, while the neighbor who was about the same age was just getting out of jail at the same time of the action in the play. Both characters Glenn, the boyfriend, and Han, the neighbor, ended up in competition to be the male role model in the younger brother's life. Eventually the younger brother sides with Han, and ends up doing some unsafe things with him. The sister too takes a liking to Han and she even breaks up with Glenn in favor of Han. They play ends with the sister, brother and Han together while Glenn remains out of the picture.

         The next excursion I took was to the Pollard Memorial Library, to see Greg Flemming give a book talk on his most recent, and only work, At the Point of a Cutlass. Originally, I intended to see a film at the Pollard Memorial Library's independent film night, but I and the three friends I was with got a little misguided on our journey and ended up in the wrong room. We sat there anticipating someone to stand up and introduce the independent film night, but as time went by, we slowly realized that we were not in the right spot. We searched online on our phones as soon as we became suspicious that ew had been sitting in the wrong room and quickly found out that we were about to hear an author, Greg Flemming, talk about his book. We read that the book had something to do with pirates so we figured why not stay and listen, as we all seemed to take an interest in that sort of thing.

          The title of the book was At the Point of a Cutlass: The Pirate Capture, Bold Escape, and Lonely Exile of Phillip Ashton by Greg Flemming. Flemming had been reading another book about piracy around the time of the 1700's and came across a brief account of Ashton's journey, and upon some further research, he realized that there had been no other modern written accounts of Phillip Ashton's amazing journey. The story goes like this: A young fisherman from Marblehead, MA named Phillip Ashton was on a fishing trip to Nova Scotia when his ship was taken over by pirates, captained by the infamous Edward Lowe. He and one other crew member were taken by the pirates and forced to be a part of their crew. His friend who was also taken didn't resist the pirate way of life, and quickly assimilated to their lifestyle and became one of them. Ashton, however, remained steady in not becoming a pirate, but was still forced to serve as one of the crew. He was beaten regularly, and after nine months he escaped when he asked to join a group of men from his ship on an excursion to a small uninhabited island where he ran away successfully. He lived on this island for two years, before eventually making it all the way back to Marblehead, where his local minister created the only other written account of Ashton's story, other than Flemming's. We all found that even though we did not end up at the film showing as we intended, the book talk was a great experience.

         The last excursion we attended, on the same night of the book talk was the opening ceremonies of the Jack Kerouac Literary Festival at Cappy's Copper Kettle, which was also in downtown Lowell, only about a 10 minute walk from the library where we had seen the book talk. We approached the bar and all four of us were hesitant to enter. We were all questioning whether or not we were in the right spot, but after two of us double checked online we we sure that we found the right spot. A little uneasy, because we figured it was a bar and we were under 21 so we might not be allowed in, we made our way inside and as soon as we walked in we were asked for our ID's. I told the man we were under 18 and were only there to see the Kerouac event, and he sent us in with a stern “no alcohol for you” and we went inside and found a table. We sat in the back of the bar room, and observed all of the people in the room.

          Once the actual event began, people would come up to the stage, and recite original poems about Jack Kerouac, sing songs dedicated to him, or read prose taken from some of his works that meant something to each and every one of the performers. Watching from the audience was quite the experience, as it was amazing to see how much one man and his work touched the lives of so many people. All of the people who got up to perform showed some kind of emotional connection to the work they presented, while also in some cases described how Kerouac's work actually influenced their lives.

          Through all of the events we attended, there were some commonalities that could be found in all of them. The most interesting of all of them was the unexpected culture that I managed to find in Lowell. Being from Westford which is a small suburban town about 20 minutes away from Lowell, I expected Lowell to be somewhat of a lower class city environment, where not much culture could be found. I came to find the exact opposite in each of my three excursions however. The audience of the play, while mostly students who were not there by choice, were all captivated by the play itself. To my surprise, most of the students I talked to after the play about it said they really enjoyed it as well. The book talk we attended showed us a great example of the lesser known events that go on in the city of Lowell, and opened up a door to me that I will be sure to take advantage of in the future. The opening ceremonies for the Kerouac Festival showed the most amount of unexpected culture to me. When I think of something happening at a bar, I picture a bunch of people drinking and not much else, but it was amazing to see how emotionally connected every one was to the performances that were happening on the stage.

          These excursions really opened up my eyes to the opportunities to experience the culture that can be found here in Lowell. My three friends who went to the book talk and Kerouac Festival with and I are all looking to go back out into the city to more of these events. We already have found another event at the library similar to the book talk we went to, and I'm sure well would all love to see any other plays and any performances like the ones we saw at Cappy's. While we may have been out of our comfort zone for some of the time spent on these excursions, I am definitely grateful to have been enlightened when it comes to what the city of Lowell has to offer to me.

Making My Way Through Lowell

          Confused by the intricate system of winding streets, canals and bridges I made my way through the downtown of Lowell, Massachusetts looking for a way to get to the Robert B. Kennedy Transfer Center where I would await a train to take me to visit my girlfriend. With about 30 pounds of clothes, and my school supplies, the mile long walk seemed to be much more than just that. The trolley tracks that line the street for much of that mile seemed to tease me with the idea that there were easier ways to get to where I was going. My mind wandered back to a time where these trolleys were bustling with people, back to a time when Lowell was a much different place.

          Back before Lowell was blossoming into a place of industry, it was a walking city. That meant that no matter where someone wanted to go within the city, they had to do it by foot. During my journey through downtown the thought of this seemed miserable, even though this was my first time taking a long walk through Lowell. I thought of the people who walked the same streets I had every single day to get to work and, not that walking is too much of a difficult task, for a moment shared their struggle. But it was not as soon as Lowell became an industrial city that it invested in more efficient means of public transportation, because of the fact that many of the working class, especially the mill workers, remained housed downtown, there was no need for any other system of public transportation.

          It was only when the middle class began to grow and settle in the outlying neighborhoods that a need for mass public transportation became important. The first company to act upon this need was the Lowell Horse Railroad Company, who in 1864 completed a horse powered street car line that connected the Belvidere section of Lowell, on the east side, to Pawtucket Falls on the west side, running through downtown (National Streetcar Museum). This line was profitable for the company and for the people of Lowell, and also opened up the door to many new possibilities for Lowell when it came to public transportation.

          Thinking back to my walk through downtown to the train station, I can't decide if I would have rather sat behind horses and been dragged around, or simply have just walked the distance by myself. The sights, sounds, and smells alone coming from the horses that would be drawing the streetcar would prove to make riding on one of them something to think twice about.

          The needed, next advance in technology came in the late 1880's, when many companies sought more efficient means of transporting masses of people around cities like Lowell. That new technological breakthrough came in the form of the electric streetcar. While compared to what we have today, this technological breakthrough may seem like nothing, being an engineering major myself, just walking around, looking at the tracks and learning about what the actual design is like on the electric streetcar gave me some insight as to what an amazing achievement this new technology was.

          The first electric streetcar, or “Trolley”, of Lowell was first operated in 1889. The trolley system was owned by the Lowell and Dracut Railway Company. Much like the first horse powered line that ran before it, the first trolley line also ran through the densely populated downtown area. This line however, crossed the Merrimack river and ran into Dracut. Over the next few years, the trolley system of Lowell expanded rapidly. The merger of the Lowell and Dracut Railway Company and the Lowell Horse Railroad Company, creating the Lowell Suburban Street Railway Company, allowed for much more expansion of the trolley system throughout the city (Shantz).

          Walking through the streets of downtown, looking at the stone paved streets, and the skyline lined with brick buildings I could almost feel the masses of people that were once here before me. These were the people that utilized services like the trolley system to get to wherever they were going, and during my walk I would have loved to have that opportunity as well. While a horse drawn street car my not be the best option, I certainly would have traded my half-hour walk for a ten minute ride on one of the technological breakthroughs of its time, the electric street car. Around that same time of year, the electric trolleys ran open-air lines that brought people throughout the city. I could see myself enjoying a ride through downtown, watching people go about their business after work, feeling the breeze against my face, and hearing the authentic sounds of an expanding city.

          In the summertime, trolleys would take people out into the country side. A popular destination for many at the time was a place called Canobie Lake (National Streetcar Museum). A lake in New Hampshire that was, at the time, surrounded by a resort, but is now known for Canobie Lake Park, the small theme park that lines one of its shores. As someone who has spent many summer days at Canobie Lake Park, learning that people took trolley's from Lowell to there struck a chord in me. I can understand some of the excitement people had when getting on the trolley after a week of work to go spend some time at Canobie Lake, and while not at a theme park, they to were somewhere they were with the friends having a great time.

          The trolley industry in Lowell did not just experience good times however, as right around the turn of the 20^th century many of the workers urged for better working conditions and higher pay, as they believed they were being treated unfairly. In 1903, they sough to solve this problem and joined with the Amalgamated Association of Streetcar employees to form a trade union, comprised mostly of Irish men. The tension between workers and owners was strengthened by a lack of capital for many smaller companies in cities around Lowell, and forced many owners to cut labor and operating costs, further angering their employees.

          Eventually, the lines that ran in Lowell were acquired by the Lynn and Boston Railroad Company, and another merger with the Bay State Street railway company brought about the decline of the electric trolley's era (Shantz). This merger did nothing to improve the Northeast's railway system, and around the beginning of the 1920's, the decline began to set in. electric trolleys made their last run in Lowell in 1935.

           Now, most that's left of the trolley system in Lowell is what I saw along my walk. The long stretches of unused rail that runs throughout the city, some electric poles that once carried electricity to power the trolleys, and some of the old trolley's themselves that sit near the National Park's Trolley Museum in downtown. That is except for the few days of the year where the National Park opens up the trolley lines, runs electricity though the wires, and operates the trolleys as if it were a day in 1895. These days serve to celebrate that time of change, expansion and hope in many people's lives and in the city of Lowell. Not only did my walk trough downtown let me realize what the trolley system had been, but it let me truly appreciate how something like transportation, which many people take for granted, is an important part of our past, present and future.

The Lowell trolley system in it's hay day, approximately 70 years ago.

(http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php/topic/8933)

The re-opened trolleys moving through Lowell in a time much more recent than when they were used first. 

(http://usdotblog.typepad.com/.a/6a00e551eea)

Works Cited

"National Streetcar Museum: History of the Streetcars in Lowell." National Streetcar Museum:     History of the Streetcars in Lowell. National Streetcar Museum, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

Shantz, Jim. "Massachusetts Streetcar Systems." Massachusetts Streetcar Systems. RPR, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.