Sunday, July 17, 2011

Crotty Circle Forgotten

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but I've been working on remembering the veterans of the Civil War.  It amazes me that so many of our veterans have been forgotten.  We can not forget! 

Speaking of forgotten.......

In Lowell there used to be a rotary named Crotty Circle that was named after George E. Crotty, a war veteran of the Great War.  He was a disabled veteran who was the former welfare superintendent.  An impressive ceremony was conducted on Memorial Day 1940.  There was a granite monument in the middle of the circle. 

The location of Crotty Circle was on Thorndike Street near the intersection of Chelmsford Street.  This traffic circle was very dangerous and congested.  In 1960, the state legislature passed a bill to name the new elevated circle "The Lord Overpass".  It is named for Louis J. Lord, a former city councilor and father of the mayor at the time.

Why do we honor people with squares, monuments and the like?  Because we want and need to remember them.  Where is George Crotty's granite marker?  Did it get moved to a location nearby?  Is George Crotty remembered?  He should be.