EXPLORATIONS Reflections on a River Paddling the Merrimack in Lowell and Lawrence by nell porter Brown From left: Lone paddlers take in the sunset; the UMass Lowell Kayak Center (above) rents boats and runs classes and trips; kayakers explore Stony Brook and a historic canal; a bird’s-eye MAGAZINE/NPB HARVARD view of an urban stretch of the Merrimack Valley hubs of Manchester and Nashua, then swings east into Massachu- setts through Lowell, Lawrence, COURTESY UMASS CENTER LOWELL KAYAK and Haverhill to Newburyport n May, 15 UMass Lowell seniors, gradu- blue heron perches on telephone wires. Bird and the Atlantic Ocean. (To the north, the ation day in sight, push off from the city’s songs fill the air. Everyone stops to listen. Contoocook River Canoe Company of- Bellegarde Boathouse for an afternoon of “This is a great time to be here,” says trip fers scenic river outings from the town of I kayaking on the Merrimack River. Here leader Kevin Soleil, assistant director of Boscawen, New Hampshire.) the waterway, first harnessed to power tex- outdoor and bicycle programs at the uni- Two urban stretches in Massachusetts tile mills in the 1800s, is about a thousand versity’s recreation department. “The wa- hold a different sort of fascination: in Low- feet wide and smooth, thanks to the Paw- ter is really high because of all the rain, and ell, it’s the six miles from the boathouse to tucket Dam. Paddling upstream, toward the birds are migrating through. It’s also a Tyngsborough; in Lawrence, it’s a paddle New Hampshire, the group soon turns off great time to find a piece of trash and pick that begins near the Great Stone Dam. There to duck, single-file, under the granite arches it up—like those cans and plastic bottles the Merrimack is “ ‘beautiful river meets ur- of the historic Stony Brook Railroad Bridge, floating over there.” ban development.’ A real mixed bag,” says in North Chelmsford. There are wilder sections of the Mer- Soleil, who grew up in Nashua, another for- They enter a calm section at the con- rimack. At 125 miles, it snakes through 30 mer mill city. His Irish and French-Canadi- fluence of river and brook, surrounded by cities and towns: from rural Franklin, New an ancestors were among the thousands of reedy banks and sun-dappled trees. A great Hampshire, down into the former industrial immigrants who flocked to the Merrimack 12F July - August 2017 Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746 Document1Document1 11/20/03 11/20/03 11:51 11:51 AM AM Page Page 1 1 HARVARD SQUARED ASSISTEDASSISTEDLIVINGLIVINGRETIREMENTRETIREMENTCOMMUNITYCOMMUNITY Independent and Assisted Living Here’sSpecializedHere’s what what Memory people people Care are are Whatsayingsaying do Harvard about about us. alumni us. have in common? Cadbury Commons A Remarkable Senior Residence Name:Name:MiltonMilton R. R. JAMIE BOUDREAU AIRGOZ AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY Occupation:Occupation:PostalPostal Supervisor, Supervisor, Retired Retired Hobbies:Hobbies:Reading,Reading, Walking, Walking, Exercising Exercising Nevertheless, many Lifestyle:Lifestyle:Independent,Independent, Active Active people increasingly seem ChoiceChoice of Senior/Assisted of Senior/Assisted Living: Living: CadburyCadbury Commons Commons to view the river as an The Harvard alumni who chose asset, as something to be “ThereCadbury“There is a isstable aCommons stable and andgentle gentle mayatmosphere atmosphere have enjoyed—and protected. of helpof help and andempathy empathy throughout throughout the the community.retiredcommunity. from I feel Iwork, feelassured assured but that not thatI am fromI partam part oflife. of The few urban parks are others’others’ lives, lives, as they as they are ofare mine. of mine. For Formyself, myself, well used. More public I feelIMuseum feelthat thatCadbury CadburyVisits Commons • CommonsPlay Readingprovides provides a a access points and trails wellSymphonywell trained trained and andcaring Selections caring group group of •people ofLecture people who who are interestedare interested in my in welfare.”my welfare.” are planned, and hous- Series • Yoga • Organic Gardening CallCall (617) (617) 868-0575 868-0575 to arrange to arrange a personal a personal es and condominiums tour,Calltour, (617) or visit or 868-0575 visit www.cadburycommons.com www.cadburycommons.com to arrange a personal tour, along the river are cov- WhereWhereor visitThe www.cadburycommons.comThe Emphasis Emphasis Is On Is OnLiving Living eted, many marketed 66 Sherman6666 Sherman Sherman Street, Street, Street, Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridge, EQUAL EQUAL MA MA02140 02140 ◆ (617) ◆ (617) 868-0575 868-0575 HOUSING HOUSING as “riverside.” A rising MA 02140 • (617)868-0575 OPPTY OPPTY number of visitors (last year more than 2,000) COURTESY UMASS CENTER LOWELL KAYAK are taking trips on boats Valley for work, first in the water-powered from the UMass Lowell Kayak Center at the factories, then in those fueled by steam. Bellegarde Boathouse, which rents kayaks, ® “My grandmother grew up in Lowell and canoes, and stand-up paddleboards through Teaching the World worked as a teen in the mills of Manches- September 5. Soleil and his staff also give boat- ter,” he says. “And yet you go up hiking in the ing lessons and run guided paddling tours for White Mountains in the Pemigewasset Wil- families, along with outings at sunset or by derness, and you drink from Pemigewasset moonlight. A Saturday 11 a.M. shuttle car- River headwaters—and that’s this water,” ries paddlers and their gear from the Lowell he says, gesturing out over the Merrimack. boathouse to a launch in Tyngsborough: the “It’s an urban waterway, but it’s connected trip back downstream takes between two to these places we think of as pure wilder- and four hours. “People are often surprised ness. And then you’ve got the history. This when they get out on the water that the river’s was the birthplace or cradle of the American as beautiful as it is,” says Soleil. “They’re ex- industrial revolution.” pecting all the bad things an urban waterway In Lowell and Lawrence that legacy still can have, but it can be very peaceful, serene.” dominates the downtown landscapes. For On their spring outing, the UMass Low- paddlers on the river, architectural arti- ell students paddle farther up Stony Brook, Open House facts—smokestacks, railroad crossings, and then squeal and holler as they pass through SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2017 dams—can loom large. At the same time, rov- a nearly pitch-black tunnel that runs under ing the river’s creeks and crannies reveals a congested Middlesex Road and below a red- PREPARE9am YOUR-12pm CHILD “vibrant ecosystem,” Soleil reports. Hawks brick building. Built in 1897, it was once the PreschoolTO THRIVE and Kindergarten AT and eagles, beavers, turtles, woodchucks, storehouse for a mill complex that produced deer, and foxes live here, too, despite the ar- thousands of pounds of worsted yarn per ArlingtonTHE Campus:NEXT 17 LEVEL Irving Street ray of pollutants—industrial and household week (for which the brook produced pow- waste, raw sewage, cars, tires, TVs, and fur- er via a canal). Turning around and travel- To learn more, call 617.499.1459 niture—that have continuously endangered ing back to the pond-like section, everyone or visit www.isbos.org ISB is accredited by NEASC (New England Association of Schools and the river for more than two centuries. looks up and watches a Pan Am Railways Colleges), CIS (Council of International Schools), MEN (French Ministry of Education) and IB (International Baccalaureate). Harvard Magazine 12g Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746 HARVARD SQUARED freight train rumble by on the old tracks. 13 years. But there’s more insidious pollu- The Ayer Mill clock tower, restored in ISTOCK At such close range, the rush of locomotive tion as well, which is likely the main source 1991, still presides over Lawrence. Each summer, thousands of Merrimack Valley power is exhilarating. It also sounds as if of the bacteria that threaten public health. children participate in the Greater the world is ending. Parts of the sewer systems in the older, most Lawrence Community Boating program. “Do you swim in the Merrimack?” one populated cities along the river are “com- young man asks Soleil. The answer is bined,” meaning rainwater runoff, sewage, ments of 1972 (later dubbed the Clean Wa- yes—and no. “Much of the time it’s okay,” and industrial waste are funneled through ter Act), MRWC’s mission is to “protect, Soleil answers. “But in the summer, E.coli a single pipe, according to Robert “Rusty” improve, and conserve” a watershed—the can form.” Tangible trash is still routinely Russell, J.D. ’82, the new executive director fourth-largest in New England—encom- dumped in the water, although the nonprof- of the Merrimack River Watershed Coun- passing 214 communities with 2.5 million it Clean River Project has hauled out more cil (MRWC). residents. “When it rains a lot or you have COURTESY OF GREATER LAWRENCE COMMUNITY BOATING than 100,000 tons of garbage, including 73 Established in the wake of the Feder- a big snowmelt, the [combined sewer] sys- cars and more than 8,000 tires, in the last al Water Pollution Control Act Amend- tem gets overloaded; the treatment plants WHY I JOINE D THE HAR VARD CLUB OF BOSTON There are many dierent reasons to join the Harvard Club of Boston. Kay Foley, 28, is a Harvard alum and former co-captain of the Harvard varsity women’s swimming and diving team. Here’s why she joined: “My time spent at Harvard was the best 4 years of my life so far. When I graduated, I wanted to maintain a connection to the tremendous people I had met and a connection to the College.