City newsletter: Be cautious with water usage
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights:Drought conditionsAs of May 6, recent rain made minor drought improvements to southern areas of the state. All of New Hampshire continues to experience drought conditions, with 67.12% being abnormally dry and 32.88% being in a moderate...
Author events
Rom com rompIt’s a rom-com party event! Meredith Tate and Cameron Lund visit Gibson’s Bookstore virtually on May 20 at 7 p.m. to present their new young adult novels, Shipped, and Heartbreakers and Faker. It’s enemies to lovers and faking dating tropes all the way through tonight. Tate grew up in Concord, where she fell in love with her two passions: writing and traveling. She earned her master’s degree in social work from the...
Pierce Manse opens for summer season
The Pierce Manse, the historic Concord home of New Hampshire’s only U.S. President, Franklin Pierce, will re-open for guided tours on May 27. The Manse will be open Thursday through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through October. Visitors and tour guides alike are required to wear a face covering and to follow social distancing guidelines during the tour.Franklin Pierce was President of the United States from 1853 to 1857 and is the only...
A WWII cooking contest
The Kitchen FrontBy Jennifer Ryan(416 pages, fiction, 2021)The year is 1942 in England and the country is reeling from Germany’s attacks. The Blitz is going on in London, and people there and in the countryside are constantly on the lookout for enemy bombers. Losses of men – husbands, fathers, brothers and sons – are terrible, and hardships mount. Many foods are rationed. Some examples: each person is limited to four ounces of bacon,...
This week in Concord history
May 13, 1726: A group of Massachusetts colonists with a royal land grant arrive to settle Penny Cook. They find Judge Sewall, the first white settler, living on his 500-acre tract on the east side of the Merrimack. May 13, 1774: The New Hampshire Gazette of Portsmouth reports that the king has closed the port of Boston. May 13, 1974: Gov. Mel Thomson advises all secretaries in his office to cease use of the title “Ms.” in official...
Braiding Sweetgrass
Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants By Robin Wall Kimmerer (390 pages, nonfiction, 2013) Braiding Sweetgrass is beautiful, urgent, and brimming with wisdom. In this book, Robin Wall Kimmerer examines humans’ relationship to the natural world, as informed by her experiences as an indigenous woman (she is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation) and a botanist and professor of...
Poem: Behold
She told me she was afraid, afraid of growing old, her words had little meaning, these old words now retold. Spoken to me in a time, when years to come had not, those innocent words, only now thought. I wonder how she has aged, what kind of woman is she, is she still afraid of each year past, or does she cherish old memories like me. I hope the years were kind to her, that life did behold, she told me she was afraid, afraid of growing...
Rec summer camps accepting sign-ups
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Upcoming meetings City Council: May 10, 7 p.m.Planning Board: May 19, 7 p.m.These meetings are being held virtually via Zoom and are also live streamed via the City of Concord’s YouTube channel. Agendas and access information are...
This week in Concord history
May 6, 1967: Speaking in Manchester, Gen. Wallace Greene Jr., the top U.S. Marine, says America is winning the Vietnam War, “and I say that without any doubt whatsoever.” May 6, 1848: Colonel Dudley “Dud” Palmer, a leader of Concord’s temperance movement, puts forth a resolution requiring the town’s selectmen to enforce the laws against the sale of intoxicating drinks. It passes unanimously. May 6, 1799: Blazing Star...
This week in Concord history
April 29, 1948: The New Hampshire Christian Civic League, formerly known as the New Hampshire Anti-Saloon League, faces the prospect of disbanding after 50 years of fighting for prohibition. Donations have fallen off, and the organization cannot pay its bills. Nowadays, on the issue of reducing the number of people who drink alcoholic beverages, “even some of the church groups are easy-going,” laments league official...
Bulletin board
Poetry night Poet Jennifer Militello will visit Gibson’s Bookstore virtually on April 29 at 7 p.m. to share her newest volume of verse, The Pact. In this, her newest collection, award-winning poet and memoirist Militello confronts obsession, intimacy, and abuse. Through love poems inspired by such disparate spaces as a British art museum and the reptile house of a local zoo, poems comparing a romantic affair to the religious cult at...
Book: Darkness creeping
Darkness Creeping By Neal Shusterman (291, youth fiction, 2007) Love a good scare, but tired of the same old stories? Appropriately named, Darkness Creeping will keep you up at night. The best part is it’s a collection of short stories, so you can read it in between the dullness of your life and choose how much thrill you want. It will make you say, “Glad I’m not them,” as their stories eat at your mind. There’s something unsettling...
Book: Beginner’s Icelandic
Beginner’s Icelandic By Helga Hilmisdóttir & Jacek Kozlowski (221 pages, nonfiction, 2009) The possibility of seeing the northern lights this December — followed by subsequent disappointment — made travel restriction realities hit differently. Remember when Icelandic airline companies plastered images of the aurora borealis and crystal blue hot springs on seemingly every vertical surface in Boston? Since the dud light display in...
City newsletter: Washington St. bridge work begins Monday
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Upcoming meetings Zoning Board of Adjustment: May 5, 7 p.m. City Council: May 10, 7 p.m. These meetings are being held virtually via Zoom and are also live streamed via the City of Concord’s YouTube channel. Agendas and access...
Entertainment April 29-May 5
April 29 Brian Booth at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Caamp 5 Year Anniversary (online live) via the Capitol Center for the Arts at 9 p.m. April 30 OBB at Penuche’s Ale House at 8 p.m. Mr. Aaron at Kimball Jenkins Estate at 10 a.m. May 1 Talent Show to benefit the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness at the Bank of N.H. Stage at 7 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.) Andrew North and the Rangers at Area 23 at 7:30 p.m. Mr....
Entertainment
April 22 Crag Fahey at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Mariacha Divas (online) via the Capitol Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. April 23 Mariacha Divas (online) via the Capitol Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Queen City Improv at the Hatbox Theatre at 7:30 p.m. BYOB Masceo Williams at Penuche’s Ale House at 8 p.m. Reverend Mike and Crazy Steve at Area 23 at 7:20 p.m. April 24 Comedy Out of the Box at the Hatbox Theatre at 7:30 p.m....
Bulletin board: Community programs and events
Middle reader author talk Author Dayna Lorentz visits Gibson’s Bookstore virtually April 22 at 7 p.m. to present “Of a Feather!” In the vein of Barbara O’Connor’s “Wish,” a moving, poignant story told in alternating perspectives about a down-on-her-luck girl who rescues a baby owl, and how the two set each other free. Dayna is joined in conversation by her friend and fellow author Alex London (“Black Wings Beating”). Great horned owl...
Looking back: School constructed on historic lot
In the year 1910 the Walker School building that we all know from our childhoods was constructed. The deep history of this location dates back many years before the construction of this beautiful building, the Old North Church and meeting house graced the lot as our ancestors arrived and many decisions were concluded here. Religious services attended, political agendas addressed and a fine institute of learning established. In the...
City newsletter: Lifeguards sought for city pools
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Face covering ordinance Though Governor Sununu announced that New Hampshire’s mask mandate ends on April 16, the City of Concord face coverings ordinance will remain in effect through June 1 (vote by City Council at their January 2021...
Book: Inspector of the Dead
Inspector of the Dead By David Morrell (342, historical fiction/thriller, 2015) I’ve been on a Victorian murder-mystery kick lately, and this book was a great selection to continue fulfilling those literary cravings. Inspector of the Dead is the second installment in David Morrell’s Thomas De Quincey Mystery series, but I found it to be a perfectly suitable stand-alone read, even without having read Book 1, Murder as a...
Poetry: Feelings
We no longer shake hands, we don’t embrace, people have become anonymous, behind that mask on their face. We no longer see a smile, or hear a whisper behind the mask, feelings are not expressed, because expressions are now a task. In our most secret state, we still have feelings to share, it is only human nature, even in darkness we still care. People will once again feel love, the days in the shadows will end, the old days will be...
Book: Indo-European Cognate Dictionary
Indo-European Cognate Dictionary By Fiona McPherson (539 pages, nonfiction, 2018) Forget harrowing tales of sold-out yeast and sourdough starter gone awry—give your Quarantine Skill staying power for the (eventual) party small-talk: read (or just flip through) this cognate dictionary. It is brimming with fun facts ready for you to whip out and amaze party goers. What do you call a male sibling, in English? “Brother.” And in German?...
This week in Concord history
April 22, 1943: Denis Parker is born in Manchester. He will be named director of the State Employees Association, the union representing New Hampshire’s 10,000 state workers, in 1972. April 22, 1965: State Senator Bill Johnson of Hanover testifies in favor of a bill making jury duty a service for women as well as men. Before the bill, the law allowed women to serve on juries if they wanted to, but it wasn’t required. ...
Bulletin board: Virtual performances
Online performances The Capitol Center for the Arts and Bank of N.H. Stage both remain closed but continue to offer virtual programming. Upcoming shows and concerts, which can be found at ccanh.com, include: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Multiple dates, times. This enchanting new British musical explores the extraordinary world of a sorcerer and his rebellious daughter, as she discovers the explosive possibilities of her newfound magical...
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Everett Arena The Douglas N. Everett Arena has ended its ice season and has returned to concrete flooring for upcoming spring and summer events. Some shows are lined up to take place at the arena over the next few months and roller...
Poem: Moments
Perhaps we were brought here, this special time and place my friend, to look back at the moments, enjoy this day until the end. Life has been amazing, each day another chapter in my book, It has lasted for many years, enjoying every day that it took. Years do pass slowly, each day passes too fast, look back over the years, from the first ones to the last. Love is not complicated, moments together we did spend, we walked the earth in...
Looking back: Concord Dairy Company
This photograph portrays the original Concord Dairy Company that became a co-op in 1921. The first Concord Dairy was located at 84 Washington Street in Concord, near the present-day University of New Hampshire Law School. Concord Dairy was located on the site of the current UNH Law School parking lot where the building pictured was located. The Concord Dairy purchased the 84 Washington Street property, then known as the...
Blind Search
Blind Search By Paula Munier (340 pages, mystery, 2019) Mercy Carr was an MP in Afghanistan and her dog, Elvis, was also there, trained to search for guns and bombs. Now both have left the military and live in rural Vermont. Mercy has a cabin and they are trying to live a quiet life, enjoying the beauty of Vermont in October. But Mercy and Elvis find a lost nine-year-old boy named Henry in the woods. They also find a woman, shot...
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies By Deesha Philyaw (179 pages, fiction, 2020) This book is spectacular; I devoured it in one sitting and was immediately hungry for more. It consists of several short stories, each featuring a Black girl or woman grappling with something of an existential crisis. As the characters struggle with finding a sense of self, they also must navigate their relationships with others. These relationships may be...
This week in Concord History
April 15, 1861: Three days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, the first call for troops reaches Concord by telegraph from Washington, D.C., at 8 a.m. Friends rush across to the Phenix Hotel to awaken Edward E. Sturtevant, a popular police officer and former printer. Sturtevant rushes to the State House and, fulfilling his fondest wish, becomes New Hampshire’s first Civil War volunteer. April 15, 1928: Augusta...
