Saying goodbye to the Sewalls Falls Bridge after 100 years together
If you’ve been to the Insider’s neck of the woods lately, you’ve probably noticed that it hasn’t been the easiest part of town to get around since the end of last year. Not because East Concord is the epicenter of the traffic universe, but because the 100-year-old Sewalls Falls Bridge has been out of commission. The 660-foot steel bridge that was built in the summer of 1915 saw its last commuter Nov. 31, 2014, and it’s made getting...
The Bow Garden Club put together fine-smelling wreaths and swags
The Bow Garden Club was busy this weekend making wreaths and swags at the Old Town Hall. Poinsettias were also prepared to be delivered to people’s homes. Power was out in the morning, but that didn’t stop the garden club members from making it all happen.
Why make just a house when you can build a gingerbread village?
So we had this grand plan. We were going to bake our own gingerbread, whip up our own frosting and create snowmen, Santas, trees and wreaths from scratch using whatever tasty treats we could put together. But like many things we do at the Insider, things didn’t quite go as we had hoped. The gingerbread failed miserably, the frosting had its own issues and we kind of just abandoned the whole creating holiday cheer out of fear of...
A look at nature through the lens of photographer Roger Irwin
If you couldn’t tell, photographer Roger Irwin sure does seem to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time when it comes to capturing some of nature’s greatest moments. That or more likely he spends a lot of time sitting around in the woods just waiting for something cool to walk by. Irwin’s work is currently showing at the Audubon’s McLane Center through Dec. 31.
At Concord High, seniors call the shots
There are lots of shows to see in Concord if you’re looking for an entertaining night out. Everyone knows about the cool movies at Red River Theatres, the fun plays at the Concord City Auditorium, the big productions at the Capitol Center for the Arts and the local music at pretty much all of the restaurants and bars. But you might not know much about the hidden gem that is Concord High School’s Senior Directed One Acts. The annual...
We found some tasty looking competition at Presidential Oaks
Presidential Oaks held its Gingerbread House Competition again this year, and all nine entries in the adult and youth categories were judged during the annual Christmas Fair on Saturday. Unfortunately, Insider Land (read more about it on page 10) didn’t bring home the grand prize, but at least we didn’t finish in last. But as you can see, we were up against some pretty tasty looking competition. The top adult took home $250 and the...
Take a look at the past – and future – of the Sewalls Falls Bridge
We found some old photos of the Sewalls Falls Bridge lying around the office taken by former “Monitor” photographer Ken Williams. We also found a rendering of what the new bridge will look like on the Sewalls Falls Bridge project’s official website. It only made sense, then, that we show you the past and future of “The Most Courteous Bridge in the World.”
You should go check out the Kimball Jenkins student show
If you’ve been keeping track, this marks the 16th year in a row that Kimball Jenkins has used the month of December to show off its students work. The annual student exhibition features over 100 pieces and since you can see that less than a tenth of those are shown on these two pages, there’s a lot more to see. And you’re in luck ’cause the show will be on display in the Carolyn Jenkins Gallery through Jan. 3.
CRTC competition leads to lots of cool stuff for Toys for Tots
You probably never knew this, but there’s some healthy competition among the students at the Concord Regional Technical Center. Oh yeah, throughout the course of the school year there’s quite a few spirit challenges, which we can only assume that a win results in some pretty serious bragging rights. So when the powers that be at the CRTC decided to collect toys and change for Toys for Tots, the students stepped it up a notch. “This...
Learn what it’s like to make a movie and take in ‘The Nutcracker’
Tuesday There will be an interfaith service from 6 to 7 p.m. at Blossom Hill Cemetery. This service will focus on the approaching season of winter, its gifts and challenges as well as its comforts and constraints in Perkins Chapel. Wednesday Concord’s own Pedro Pimentel will be the guest speaker at this month’s Wednesdays Wisdom event at Kimball Jenkins at 6 p.m. The topic of discussion will center around the process and plight of a...
If you haven’t seen ‘The Nutcracker’ this year, here’s your chance
There are just some things you can count on this time of year. Christmas music before Thanksgiving, extra people in every store you go to and the St. Paul’s School Ballet Co. putting on its annual performance of The Nutcracker. The school has been dazzling audiences with its production since the 1970s and that includes when Jennifer Howard, who is now in her fourth year of directing the ballet company, was a student at St. Paul’s....
The Bulletin Board
10th annual artisans fair at Bishop Brady Saturday Bishop Brady High School will host its 10th Annual Christmas Artisan Fair on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The fair features 74 artisans, and will include raffles, a cookie walk, food and a Christmas Shop for children 12 and under. Admission is free. Proceeds from the fair benefit Bishop Brady’s Habitat for Humanity Service Program. For more info visit, bishopbrady.edu. Maureen...
This Week in Concord History
Dec. 8, 1979: Concord City Manager Jim Smith rescinds the fire department’s ban on live Christmas trees in public buildings. Dec. 8, 1991: James Carville, an adviser to Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, speaks confidently about his man in an interview with the Monitor: “I have no doubt if we could spend 10 minutes with everybody in the state, we’d win this campaign.” Clinton will finish second to Paul Tsongas but...
City Briefly
City Manager Tom Aspell usually sends out a newsletter each week full of updates and little tidbits about what’s going on in the city. And this past week was no exception, so here are some of the highlights. Hey, that’s our cover story Bridge work continues This past week, concrete was placed for the footing at the south bridge abutment and the steel decking was dismantled on the north truss of the existing bridge. In addition,...
Book of the Week: ‘The Red Collar’
The Red Collar Jean Christophe Rufin 2015, 158 pages Fiction If you had to explain to someone what it means to be human, you could give them this book. The Red Collar is about Wilhelm, a briard sheepdog mix, who followed Jacques Morlac when he was mobilized to fight in the French army in 1915. When the book opens, Morlac is in prison and Wilhelm is outside “baying relentlessly.” Major Hugues Lantier du Grez is the officer...
