It’s hard for us to imagine what Loudon Road might have looked like in the ’70s, but the fact that there was an eatery called Dan’s Mile-Long Hot Dog Stand speaks volumes.
That was just one of the weird thing we learned from All About Town, a board game all about Concord businesses created back in 1976 by Canterbury entrepreneur Albert Aldo.
The game is structured like a confusing version of Monopoly: Using faux money printed from the Bank of New Hampshire, each player must travel from their home to five local shops to complete a shopping list.
There are, of course, a few snags along the way. If players land on the wrong space, they have to draw a “hazard card,” which sets them back. (One depicts a hippie – complete with a VW van spray painted with “love” and “peace” – being hassled by the Concord PD.)
The board is peppered with landmarks and symbols, like the State House, city hall, purple lilacs and white birches.
Many businesses featured still exist today, including Elliott Jewelers, Concord Camera, Endicott Furniture and the Grappone dealerships (which back then went by Grappone Toyota-Peugeot).
We visited McGowan Fine Art last week to view the game, where it was being framed for its new owner, who asked The Revelator to keep his name out of print. We’ll just call him Dr. S.
Dr. S. told us he bought the game at Concord Antique Gallery for a whopping $14.40. It apparently retailed in ’76 for $6, and there are versions of Nashua, Manchester and Worcester, Mass.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get in touch with Aldo last week, but Brian Giles, a framer at McGowan, knew Aldo through his brother. Giles wasn’t so sure how popular the game ever got among locals.
“We had the game at my parents’ house but no one ever played it,” Giles said. “(Aldo) had a warehouse full of ’em . . . . I don’t think it took off very far.”
