My First UMASS Lowell Hockey Game

Hockey has always been my all-time favorite sport. I played until I was 8 years old. I didn't wan to stop, because I loved to play, but my schedule along with my siblings was way too busy for our parents to keep up with. Anyways, I've always had a love for hockey. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend any of the previous games before this last home game of the semester. I work on the weekends, so I have to go home to work. Since this game was on a Tuesday, I was able to go.
I went with a couple of girls from my floor, and we left as soon as I got back from my FYSH class. We wanted to get there early, because they were giving out UMASS Lowell Riverhawks Hockey mugs to the first 150 people at the game. One of my friends, Randah, was the first to get her ticket and got the last mug. We were all so jealous. We sat in the student section in the 3rd row form the glass diagonal to the goalie. This game didn't have as a big a showing as others, as it was on a Tuesday night.
UMASS Lowell faced off against American International College.  These two teams had not played each other in 20 years. However, 20 years ago American International College lost 22-0 to UMASS Lowell. I have to say that American International College has improved greatly, because they only lost 6-1. In the first minute of the game UMASS Lowell already had one goal, and within the first two minutes they had two goals. Needless to say, the crowd thought that we were going to destroy them like we had the last time we played them. However they stepped up and put up a stronger defense. The crowd still heckled American International College though. In the third period, American International College finally scored a goal making the score 5-1. UMASS Lowell did not leave it unanswered though. They scored another to make the final score of the game 6-1.

Although the hockey was so were the activities that happened in between periods. In between the first and second period, they had two children around the ages of seven and nine go on the ice. They had them compete to see who could put a UMASS Lowell Hockey uniform on the quickest and score a goal. The youngest seemed a little confused, but he was adorable. He was trying so hard to put the hockey jersey on, while the other child slung the jersey around his neck. The older boy slipped in to the pants that fell to the ice and made walking/ running a difficulty for him. The eldest ended up winning because he scored. The youngest didn't even get to touch the hockey stick, because he was having such a hard time with the clothing. Altogether it was adorable, but the poor boy who lost was so disheartening that everyone in the crowd felt bad for him. Both of the boys got rewards for their participation though. The second activity was the sandwich eating contest. Both of the guys who participated were almost equal in eating their sandwich, but one had to win so the host/announcer chose the one who she thought looked up first.
We decided to stay to the end of the hockey game. The players came around, after they shook hands with American International College, and tapped the glass with their hockey sticks as a salute to the fans. All-in-all I had a great first experience at the hockey game. I wish I could go on Fridays nights to see how wild the game are, and Im sure I will make an attempt to go to more. UMASS Lowell's hockey team is one of the best teams at the school, if not the best team. This game was a great experience and I would love to attend another in the near future.

The Inadvertent Basketball Game

On Tuesday November 19, 2013, I made the cold, long trek across the new bridge to north for swim practice. My friend, Michaela, and I left from Fox Hall at 8PM as we typically do to go to UMASS Lowell's  club swim team practice. It was freezing outside so we had to bundle up. I had a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, scarf, hat, and mittens on so that we wouldn't freeze on the walk over, or back with our hair soaking wet from the pool.
Once we finally got to the pool, there was huge crowd of UMASS Lowell students and the typical New Wave Swim Club was not finishing up nor were the kids waiting to be picked up. The lights in the pool were shut off, and only me and Michaela were there, when finally our teammate Bobby showed up. He had no clue whether or not practice had been canceled. Then a man in a suit came over to us, because we all looked so lost. He saw our gym bags and asked what we were doing, so we told him that we had practice, but he said that due to the basketball game that was going on all activities in Costello were cancelled during the game. We had no idea why because the pool was separated from the gym, but the pool was locked so we could not get in. We had no idea what to do and figured that we'd wait for our coach to come, because she wasn't going to let us miss a practice, especially because we had a meet coming up.
After a few minutes of waiting, I called the club president. He, also, had no idea that practice was supposedly cancelled. He called the vice president who worked for the lifeguards and could get us into the pool. We had to wait for her to show up, so while a group of us gathered we decided to watch the basketball game. Surprisingly, they were doing pretty well against Brown University. There was a massive crowd inside the gym. It started to go wild right before half time, because UMASS Lowell was making a comeback. A flag about the size of a four door sedan that said UMASS Lowell Riverhawks was being waved back and forth rapidly and violently. UMASS Lowell's team was gaining momentum, but then the buzzer sounded that signaled the end of the first half of the game. We continued to watch even after half time, when the cheerleaders did their routine. Our coach or vice-president had yet to arrive. The team came out pumped up and ready to go, but so did Brown. It was a close game after that, but unfortunately our vice-president showed up.
She unlocked the pool, turned the lights on, and we got in so that our coach wouldn't be mad. She arrived shortly after that. While swimming we could hear the chants and cheers of the crowd. It was actually quite inspiring. However, after 15 minutes in the pool the man in the suit came into the pool. He told us that we could not be practicing in case people from the game came into the pool. But the game was in its final seconds as he said that so we were allowed to continue our practice. We discovered that the final score of the game was 76-87. Brown had won. But UMASS Lowell had put up a good fight, and we got to have our swim practice. So, Tuesday November 19 was a pretty eventful and cold night.

UMASS Lowell Underwater Hockey Tournament

This past weekend, there was an underwater hockey tournament in Montreal, Canada at the Olympic Pool in the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard. The picture below is a panorama of the pool where we played. UMASS Lowell's underwater hockey team, which I am a part of, was in attendance. Underwater Hockey is a relatively new sport that has drawn attention from all over the world. It is by far one of the hardest and most complex sports that I have ever played.

Underwater hockey is played with 6 players on each team, 3 forwards and 3 backs. Every player wears fins, headgear, a mask, a snorkel, and a glove while wielding a small hockey stick, which are all depicted below. These enable the players to be faster and breath easier. The puck is placed in the middle of the pool at the start and after each goal. The center forward is typically the striker, which means they race forward to get the puck before the other teams striker does. This is the position I play. The left and right forward race forward too, so that they can receive the pass from the center forward if they win the puck.  The other 3 players are the center, left, and right backs, who follow the forwards, in case the other team wins the strike or they prevent the striker from passing it to another forward. The players must cycle with one another so that they are able to defend and push the puck forward. Also, the players must push their lungs to their limits otherwise they could lose the game for their fellow teammates. Being where your teammate needs you to be is key to the game, but definitely the hardest part of underwater hockey to master. Their are two goals that are approximately 10 feet in length on opposite ends of the pool. The puck has to touch the back of the goal, which is about 6 inches from its front. These games are reffed so penalties do occur and there are penalty shots. A penalty gives one team an advantage while the other team has to be 3 meters away until the team with the advantage touches the puck. A penalty shot will occur if a player is prevented from scoring within one meter of the net. A penalty shot consists of one person from the team defending the goal and 2 people from the other team advancing the puck. The rules are quite simple, however the positioning on these plays and throughout the whole game are difficult to get a hang of.

Our UMASS Lowell team of 11 players headed off to Canada on Friday, November 15. We arrived that night and prepared for our long day of games on Saturday. In total the UML team played 6 games together. However, the women of the team got to play in an women's exhibition game, where we learned new drills and played against other women competing in the tournament, since underwater hockey is a predominantly men's sport. In the 6 games that we played, we lost all of them. However, considering that all the forwards playing for our team were new, including myself, our team did excellent. Some of the other teams that were playing had been together for 13 or 14 years. On Sunday, we had finals, and surprisingly we weren't seeded last but next to last. The team we versed was the Mercenaries, who had beat us 3-1 on Saturday, but ended up with a worse seed due to their sever losses against other teams. After the first half no one had scored, but right at the beginning of the second half our center back scored. We had to hold them off for another 6 minutes to advance into the finals. However, the Mercenaries got the puck in our zone and in our feats to stop them we gave them a penalty shot. They scored on the penalty shot with 2 minutes left. The game ended with a tie. Therefore, we had to play a round of sudden death, which is basically overtime. The mercenaries ended up winning, but our UML team did much better than expected. The picture below is of our team after we played our hearts and lungs out in the last game. We had learned a lot in our time playing and walked out with our heads held high, because of how well we did in regards to having 6 new forwards playing. UMASS Lowell's underwater hockey team is one of few college teams to compete in tournaments. By playing in these tournaments we bring a diverse name to our school, and get our school's name out across nations. Not many colleges have underwater hockey programs. It is one more thing the UMASS Lowell has over many colleges in America and the world. It is the funniest and hardest sport that i have played, but definitely the most rewarding. I was honored to represent UMASS Lowell at the underwater hockey tournament in Montreal this past weekend.

Boston and Maine Train Engine

Downtown Lowell hosts an old Boston and Maine Train. It was the first major railroad to ever run through the state of Massachusetts. The Boston Manufacturing company founded by Francis Cabot Lowell was the first textile company in Massachusetts to invest in a railroad company to transport their goods. With the different season in New England, transportation of goods became a huge problem when there were excessive amounts of snow or rain, so that companies were late or could not deliver their goods to their costumers.

The first set of tracks was laid from  Boston to Lowell. It was constructed with a granite bed of rock as the base. However this made the tracks too firm so that the railroad cars would bounce around too much and jolt so that every night the train cars would need to be repaired. The Boston and Lowell Railroad Company decided to change the design of their railroad tracks, and they used wooden railroad ties so that they would not have to make as many repairs. 

The Boston and Lowell Company was very successful in the amount of goods that they transported, despite the troubles with the railroad tracks. However, they did not expect to be so popular among transportation for the public. They were. The profit from the people that they transported rivaled that of the goods that they transported. Thus the company created another railroad for transportation of the public in 1842. This railroad made 6 stops rather than the straight shot to Boston from Lowell or vice versa. The popularity of the company's transportation made them a highly competitive company.

With the company's success, the Boston and Maine Railroad was formed. It took a long time to construct this railroad, because it extended from Portland, Maine to Lowell, Massachusetts, where it would then use Boston and Lowell's railroad. With all the extra traffic the Boston and Lowell line became congested. In response, the Boston and Maine Railroad company made another line that went from Haverhill, MA, which was already a stop for the Boston and Maine Train, to Boston. With the loss of the Boston and Maine Railroad Company the Boston and Lowell Company began to loose business, especially since they were no longer renting the lines to Boston and Maine. Eventually, the Boston and Maine Railroad Company leased Boston and Lowell to save them from their crashing business. 

For quite awhile after the Boston and Maine Company leased the Boston and Lowell Company things were going well, and business was steady. However with the invention of the automobile and highways, the train were no longer a primary means of transportation for most people. Freight was also being brought around the country by truck. Boston and Maine's business began to decline. Eventually the commuter rail run by the MBTA sprung up. Boston and Maine trains were used for this but the MBTA bought the company. After sometime Boston and Maine Railroad Company went bankrupt and allowed the MBTA to use their own trains. However, the MBTA does still use some of the Boston and Maine Company's lines.

The Boston and Maine Train Engine in downtown Lowell, MA signifies a period of great success that was centered and operated out of Lowell.  The train is in front of Lowell's National Park to commemorate the success and importance of the companies to Lowell's success during the industrial revolution, and later years. Also, it serves as a reminder that Lowell was one of the first city in Massachusetts, and for that matter in America, to have a railroad. Their innovation in creating the line from Lowell to Boston was key to the success of many textile companies in the Lowell area during the Industrial Revolution. Now since the train that run through Lowell are mostly passenger based, the Boston and Maine Train is a great way to remember the significance that the Boston and Maine and the Boston and Lowell Railroad Companies played in the Industrial Revolution and the start of railroads in America.

River Muse Responses

For our Honors Seminar class we had to read a few short excerpts and respond to them. The first one was a short story called Collecting by David Daniel. The second was Cut from American Cloth by Paul Marion. The last was The Mascot by Chaz Scoggins. All these short stories represent Lowell. In the foreword of this collection of stories the author says that Lowell can be described in two words: bricks and books. Bricks for the the red bricks of the Lowell mills, and books for Lowell avid Literary works and authors such as Jack Kerouac.
The first short story by David Daniel was my favorite of the three excerpts. In Collecting an unemployed man, Ed Oliver, is the main character. He has too much pride in himself to go to the unemployment office and register for it. So, after he drops his two daughters off at school, he goes to a local bar. At this bar he is always hoping and listening for any job opportunities that might pop up. One night, instead of going straight home after he finished with his time at the bar, he saw a man on the corner selling drugs. He attacked the man and robbed him to make away with $782. He lied to his wife about where he got the money, and tried to be as stingy as possible with it. He ended up wasting the last of it on alcohol. When he thought another job opportunity would open up, he'd prepare and be let down. After this happened, he went to rob a another drug dealer in Boston, but he failed. After that failed attempt he realized that his life was miserable. He went to his wife and surrounded his pride. He went to sign up for unemployment. This story tells the misery of some people in Lowell, and how it has rough parts.
The next story Cut From American Cloth basically describes the influential people who hailed from Lowell or spent some time in Lowell. Marion talks about how people such as Congresswoman Edith Rogers lived in Lowell, married into a prestigious industry family in Lowell, and served the longest uninterrupted term in congress for a woman until this day. He goes on about people like this who made Lowell a place on the map in Massachusetts like Tsongas who had a red phone for Lowell in his office in Washington D.C. He makes reference to famous figures like Jack Kerouac to symbolize how Lowell can be described by bricks and books. The bricks are symbolic because of industry and the mills, while books are symbolic because of Kerouac and other powerful figures who wrote about Lowell in their books.
The last excerpt called The Mascot starts with the introduction of Lowell's baseball history. Scoggins talked about how Lowell had the chance to be part of the Major League's when it was first starting but they declined, because they didn't believe that it would survive. Obviously, they were wrong. He then talks about a story about a young boy, George Diggins, who at the age of 10 years old was the youngest professional baseball player in the sports history. He played for the Concord Marines, when they didn't have enough subs to sustain the game, and since he was the mascot their coach put him in.  However he wasn't signed to a contract at this point, but after his three innings debut , he was signed as a publicity thing. This story exemplifies Lowell's background in baseball.
The collection of stories called River Muse shows the history of Lowell, and gives examples to support their claims. In the foreword, the author says that Lowell can be described by bricks and books. He exemplified that by these three articles.

Ethnic Groups in Lowell

Lowell has been known for its diverse ethnic community. Since the Industrial Revolution, people from all different nations have been flocking to Lowell for work opportunities. Groups of immigrants began to claim parts of the city as their own, since early factories failed to provide housing for their immigrant workers.
The first group of immigrant workers to come to Lowell to work in the mills were the Irish. They were not given housing by the factories that they worked for. Therefore, the Irish, sticking to who they knew and where they came from, stayed together. The Irish population of factory workers moved to a section of Lowell where they could live with other Irish who had left home and came to a foreign country as they had done. While being in a new setting, with a new job, and with all different kinds of people around them, the Irish were happy to live near other Irish, because they were able to keep their culture and customs alive. It was a way to stay connected to their home. Living in an Irish section of Lowell was comforting to the Irish, who had just uprooted their whole lives for work and food. Just because they were all living in an Irish section of Lowell did not mean that everything was alright. They faced many economic troubles and other hardships, but persevered through them. To this day,  Lowell still has a sizable population of Irish descendants. Lowell also takes pride in the fact that the city was once so deeply connected to the Irish.
Other ethnic groups that came to Lowell were the French-Canadians and the Greeks. They all also formed their own sections of Lowell. The French-Canadians lived in "Little Canada" which borders the Northern Canal. It is now where UMASS Lowell's East and North Campus are located. Next to "Little Canada" was the Acre along Market Street, where the Greeks resided. They created the Greek Orthodox Church and parochial schools where children were taught about their heritage and in the native tongue of their Ethnicity so that they would carry on their heritage. The French-Canadians made the French-Canadian Catholic Church, where they had the Franco-American School, which is still a functioning school today. These two populations struggled with working in the factory just as the Irish did.
The next flock of workers to arrive in Lowell were the Jews, Poles, Lithuanians, and Armenians.  The Jews settled in the Highlands of Lowell. Many of the Poles lived in Centralville. The Lithuanians and Armenians also lived in their own ethnic enclaves. In these enclaves they all spoke their native tongue, practiced the same religion, and followed the same customs. These factors made each of these areas a safe place for each ethnic group. Therefore, when they picked up their well-rooted lives in their native country to move out to America, they didn't have such a feeling of loneliness.
However, over the years these ethnic portions of Lowell began to break down. This breakdown lead to the diverse community that embodies Lowell today. Lowell takes pride in all the different ethnicity's that it includes.

Works Cited
1. "Immigrant Communities." National Park Service. N.p., 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

Jack Kerouac Scavenger Hunt

This Columbus Day weekend was Lowell's Jack Kerouac Literary Festival. However, I was unable to attend any of the scheduled events as I went home for the long weekend. I decided to do a scavenger hunt instead.
The first stop on the scavenger hunt was the Jack Kerouac Commemorative. It's a public art display dedicated to Jack Kerouac, who is a famous author from Lowell, MA. It is located on Bridge Street and called Kerouac Park. It has multiple large granite structures with excerpts from some of his greatest works engraved in them. Its a marvelous site and even better if you're a Kerouac enthusiast. The excerpts are inspirational. One was talking about how he was living with his mom again, but it was lovely day and people were out and about living their lives happily. These excerpts gave Kerouac Park an uplifting feeling. Also, the granite gave the park a prettier and richer look. Combined the excerpts and granite gave an air of richness and knowledge. I would recommend that if you have time to go visit this, because it is surprisingly a nice park for downtown Lowell.                  

The next stop on the Scavenger hunt was to find, describe, and explain the importance of Jack Kerouac's typewriter and backpack. After a quick google search, I was able to locate these two items at Lowell's National Historic Park Museum. I was not able to go and actually see them due to the government shutdown. However, after some research, I was able to find some information about these items. Kerouac had a portable typewriter. He used an early 1930s Underwood Portable typewriter(Pictured Below). Its a black, antique, but sleek typewriter that was probably the norm for his day. He wrote his most famous book On The Road with that typewriter. His book is so famous, because it was written so freely and without pausing, because he wrote it on a 120 foot scroll(Pictured Below). He did this so that he was able to keep writing without having to stop to refill his paper. Not only did his book, but his method of writing his book is what made him such a key player in the beat generation.
                               
                               
Not only were his typewriter and scroll famous, but so was his backpack. He used his U.S. army surplus bag and hitch hiked across the country. He had his backpack and notepad and lived his life on the road with what he had on his back. In doing so, he wrote On The Road. His experiences lead to many other of his accomplished books. His Hitchhiking also made him a model for the beat generation. Some say that his hitchhiking has inspired today's backpacking adventures. Therefore his backpack symbolizes the start of the backpacking movement and experience of the beat generation's adventures.

The last stop on the scavenger hunt was Jack Kerouac's grave. He is buried in Edson Cemetery in Lowell, MA. His grave stone is a simple granite slate in the ground. One line of the stone say "He Honored Life". From my research, what I've heard about Kerouac, and his books, this phrase is very true to him. As part of the scavenger hunt, we had to write a poem.

Sitting here ever so calm,

I let out a drawn out sigh.

Staring at my hand's palm, 

Overhead I hear birds fly.

The bright colors of the leaves, 

On an over-looking tree,

Rustle with birds in the breeze.

An inspiration to me.

The day coming to an end,

I get ready to head out,

But say goodbye to a friend,

Whom I just learned about.

The scavenger hunt was a fun little adventure. It taught me about Jack Kerouac, who I had originally know only as an author of some book. My research and visiting his commemoratives made me realize that he wasn't only an author, but an inspiration to a lot of the people of the beat generation. I would recommend these 3 places to anyone, even if they don't like Jack Kerouac or don't know who he is. Its a great way to learn more history about Lowell.