We hit the streets to find the pulse of Concord's vibrant yardsaling community and jam our finger squarely upon it. What were people buying? What were they selling? How much does a used VHS tape go for these days? These questions begged to be answered.We've always had a penchant for yard saling. Maybe it's the bargains one can score, maybe it's the thrill of competition…

The Contoocook River is 71 miles long, and I canoed nine of those miles with my daughter, Carolyn Blasko, and her son, Jay, on May 26. We were shuttled up to the Contoocook Village with our rental canoe by the Contoocook River Canoe Co. of Concord, with Will Hastings as our van driver. Prior to leaving on the shuttle, Patrick Malfait, owner of the Contoocook River Canoe Co., demonstrated how to correctly wear…

Avid gardeners, consider yourself warned: Your green thumb may earn a surprise knock at the door. Fear not, though - it's for a good cause.Polly Shumaker is always on the lookout for eye-catching gardens to include in the annual South Church Garden Tour, and she and her four-member committee have rounded up six such landscapes for this year's third annual iteration, "Beyond…

Last week, installers put the finishing touches on a solar electric system at the Canterbury home of Beth McGuinn and Ruth Smith. Solar hot water has been flowing through the pipes since December. And the house isn't even the main attraction, losing the wow-factor battle to a 50-by-75-foot organic garden that plays host to more than 40 varieties of vegetables.As recently as eight years ago, the entire plot was wooded forest.So how do you turn your own wooded lot into a magical garden of efficiency and general greenosity? Simple, just send three installments of $250 to the Concord Insider and…

While we were out on our yard sale hunt, we happened upon another sure sign of summer - a lemonade stand, manned by 10-year-old Jamie Huffman. We stopped by, had a delicious cup of lemonade and asked him a few questions about his business.What gave you the idea to set up a lemonade stand?I always read these books called "The Lemonade War" series, and it makes me want to do this.How long have you been selling…

The Concord Police Department was kind enough to give us access to some recently unearthed police logbooks. We think it's a fascinating look into the way life used to be in Concord, so we've pulled out some interesting entries for you. Check it out!July 1, 1934: Mrs Barrette of E. Canal St. complains of Jim Henry selling her husband beer and getting him drunk so he won't work.Aug. 23, 1934: Got a call to go to California Field about 9:15 p.m. Said there was a gang there raising hell. Found them, but all they were doing was singing a little. Not even drunk. Drove them away.May 1, 1935:…