The Lamplighter congratulates Sarah Guselli of Plaistow, N.H., Miss Italy 2009. The new face of the city's Italian Festival was crowned practically in private after most activities in the city's downtown Italian Festival were canceled by rain on Sunday. The Sons of Italy Victor Emanuel Lodge ran its annual contest as scheduled. The festival's outdoor activities, are planned for Sunday, Oct. 4. There is a forecast for showers, but not the drenching rains of last weekend.
Colorful foliage is already arriving, so be sure to take a ride past Hilldale Cemetery when the scenery is at its height soon. The cemetery boasts the most brightly colored maple trees in the city for sure.
The Lamplighter hopes the millions being spent on improving train conditions between Haverhill and Boston will include repairs to the railroad bridge in Haverhill, so visitors to the new riverwalk won't have to hold their collective breaths whenever a train uses the bridge.
Nice to see the faded crosswalks on Winter Street, and several other places, have been painted and are no longer invisible.
Motorists are praising new blue street signs in Groveland, while acknowledging Haverhill has recently improved its signs as well. But the Haverhill ones are not as eye-catching as those in the neighboring town.
It is time for police to crack down on jaywalking on Merrimack Street, before there is a serious injury. Many pedestrians stroll across the street with no concern for crosswalks, often at an angle instead of walking quickly (and straight across) the busy street. Drivers must stop frequently along the downtown streets.
A viewer of last Sunday's Patriot game said that with quarterbacks named Ryan and Brady so prominent, it was like the old days of St. James High football days. (Today, the field on Prmrose Street is used mostly for soccer.)
The Lamplighter wonders why mail-delivery personnel are allowed to talk on cell phones while driving and walking their routes. Seen a few recently. Seems as though it would be quite the distraction.
Protests about the lack of accesss to Special Collections at the Haverhill Public Library are mounting almost daily. One just came comes from a writer trying to find information on the Whittier family for a novel she is writing.
Have you heard about the entertainment career of Seth Romatelli from Haverhill? He regularly tapes a podcast show with Jonathan Larroquette, son of the famous actor with the same family name. Seth had a bit part in a Britney Speers movie, "Crossroads." He has also done work in commercials. Sounds like a start.
A Lamp Post reader with a good memory sent these lyrics to the John Greenleaf Whittier school song:
I love to go to Whittier The school down in the vale Tis there I learned to work and play In life I'll never fail Stately walls Hallowed halls, Memories Will follow us As we go on in life In the world Successful We will be
The Lamplighter hopes the person looking for them remembers the melody!
