Lowell Excursions

One of the things that helps distinguish Lowell is the wide array of historical and modern turn of events that help shape and define the city’s culture. Since coming to Lowell I have explored the city both on and off of campus to get a better sense of what Lowell is. One of the first places we visited was the Boott Cotton Mills which was the first set of mills built in Lowell and provided a brief glimpse into the history of Lowell. We also went to the Merrimack Repertory Theatre where Benjamin Scheuer performed a one man musical that told his coming-of-age story that shared a personal and individual experience and brought the audience, the people of Lowell, to relate together. Lastly, I went to a Riverhawk hockey game which made me a part of the modern Lowell society.

Visiting the Boott Cotton Mills provided insight on the historical aspect of Lowell and how it was the center of the Industrial Revolution. The Boott Cotton Mill was the first mill built in Lowell and represents the starting point or center of the Industrial Revolution. Lowell’s location on the river is what specifically made Lowell and ideal spot for industry, because water power could be turned into mechanical power that could then be used to run the mills. We were brought into a room packed with mechanical looms. After seeing how ridiculously close the looms were to each other, I was not surprised to hear how many injuries occurred in the mills. However, I was taken aback when the tour guide told us that in the past the looms were actually placed even closer, with barely enough space to walk safely. Another interesting thing was the amount of noise the looms were making. Out of all the looms in the room, only about half a dozen were running and when we left the room my ears were ringing after only five minutes of standing in the room. Working for over ten hours every day with hundreds of these looms running at the same time is unimaginable and it was no wonder that along with all the physical injuries, many women also had hearing problems after working in the mills for a while. After visiting the loom room, we were taken to a workshop where we were assigned roles to play to simulate working in an assembly line at the factory. It was interesting to see that despite the ridiculous work expectations and pay, women were still coming to work at the mills because even with the terrible conditions, they were getting extra spending money, which was something they were not getting from working in a rural environment. The women also had little choice in the quality of their work environment or their pay; if they held a strike or protested they were very easily replaceable by immigrants or other women looking for opportunities to earn spending money through work. It was through this exploitation of people rural areas and immigrants that Lowell was industrialized, which is a huge part of Lowell’s culture.

When we went to watch “The Lion,” I had walked into the Merrimack Repertory Theatre expecting to watch something interesting, but cheesy and unenjoyable, because I had no idea how a one-man musical was supposed to work. What I did not expect was the moving story Benjamin Scheuer poured out to the audience. The one-man musical was basically the man, Benjamin Scheuer, retelling his life story in the form of songs, using several different guitars to symbolically portray and share the different stages in his life. There was a guitar for his childhood years, one for his angsty teenage years, and several more for when he fell in love with his girlfriend, when he was diagnosed with cancer, when he reconnected with his family, and other significant events. Along with the symbolic use of different guitars, the mood and tone of his story was also depicted by the constantly changing color of the back wall. The way his tone was broadcasted onto the well really helped set the mood for the audience and helped me empathize and feel a part of his story, experiencing what he was experiencing, rather than an outside observer like I actually was. Attending this event helped me connect to Lowell’s artistic and emotionally sensitive side as Scheuer brought his captivated audience on a roller coaster ride of different emotions from happiness to depression to excitement to anger and several others, and this connectedness is part of Lowell’s culture.
The third excursion I took was to a Riverhawk hockey game which brought me together with the Lowell community to be a part of something that we all enjoy. It was a Saturday night and with nothing to do I went to the UMass Lowell versus Colorado College hockey game at the Tsongas Center. I had never watched ice hockey before and was not sure if I would actually enjoy it or not, but I was pleasantly surprised. One of my friends was on his phone for the first half of the game, which I was completely baffled by because the game was quite captivating. I have to say, the most intriguing parts of the game were when the puck would go flying halfway around the rink against the wall and whenever somebody would get checked, or slammed into the glass, and my friend on his phone could not help but agree once Lowell scored the first goal against Colorado. Every Lowell goal was followed by an exuberant playing of the UML Fight Song while the crowd sang along. By the end of the second period Lowell was tied 1 to 1 and the crowd was starting to become rowdy. The third period of the game was the most intense part and eventually we won 3-1. What I most enjoyed about going out to the game that night was the feeling of being a part of the community, because ice hockey is a large part of Lowell’s culture, and being a part of the game and cheering the team on brought me in with Lowell’s culture.

The three excursions I went on were completely different from each other, yet they all contributed to bringing me closer to Lowell’s heritage. The visit to the Boott Cotton Mills helped me understand Lowell’s history and background which are a large part of the city’s culture. Benjamin Scheuer’s performance of “The Lion” at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre was also important because it brought the audience together in relating or sympathizing to a common circumstance. The Riverhawk hockey game was also a contributor to bringing me close to Lowell’s culture because much of Lowell’s social culture revolves around ice hockey. It is because of this cultural connectedness that I can experience Lowell to the fullest. As someone who was born in Lowell I can now say that to come back to Lowell after so many years is an experience and being able to become a part of Lowell’s society and feeling the cultural connectedness is something that I am looking forward to.