December 22, 2014 - 9:41 AM
LOWELL, Mass. - The owner of the Indianapolis Colts has ponied up $10,000 for a Massachusetts organization that keeps Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac's legacy alive.
James Irsay's donation is the largest single pledge in the history of the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Committee.
Treasurer Steve Edington says the organization reached out to Irsay knowing he's huge Kerouac fan. Irsay paid $2.4 million for Kerouac's original "On the Road" manuscript in 2001, and in 2007 allowed it to be displayed in Lowell, Kerouac's hometown.
Edington tells The Sun newspaper (http://bit.ly/1rcQLNG ) that the organization was "delighted" with the donation that will help keep it viable.
The Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Committee is a non-profit founded in 1985 that holds a program around Kerouac's March 12 birth date, and a large scale festival every October.
___
Information from: The (Lowell, Mass.) Sun, http://www.lowellsun.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2014