This week in Concord history
In our haste to get back to decorating Christmas cookies, we printed this week’s history last week. So here is last week’s history this week. Dec. 23, 2000: Bradlees department store on Fort Eddy Road is about to go out of business, the Monitor reports. The 105-store chain, which struggled through the 1990s, will close all of its locations. Dec. 23, 1861: Israel Drew of Pittsfield lies about his age and joins Company G of the...
Looking back: Returning home, soldiers found a new world
Battles are sometimes fought on many different fields. On the field of glory, sometimes in your very own neighborhood. There are other times the battle continues with tragic memories that will always remain. A century ago, there were many battles being fought in many different areas. As young men and women received the good news on the front telling them World War I had ended, the struggle continued for many. The forlorn soldiers...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 16, 1979: Rachel Adams, wife of former governor Sherman Adams, dies at her home in Lincoln. She was first lady from 1949 to 1953 and joined her husband in Washington when he was assistant to President Dwight Eisenhower from 1953 through 1958. An artist and author, she published an autobiography, “On the Other Hand,” in 1963. Dec. 16, 1976: Gov. Mel Thomson announces he will have state troopers stationed at border liquor stores to...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 13, 2001: Less than five days after being introduced as Notre Dame’s football coach, George O’Leary resigns amid revelations that he falsified information about his academic credentials and playing career. He admits that he lied about playing football for three years for the University of New Hampshire, which he listed on his resume. Dec. 13, 1774: Paul Revere gallops into Portsmouth to urge dissidents there to guard their...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 3, 1910: Mary Baker Eddy, Bow native and founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, dies in Chestnut Hill, near Boston. Dec. 3, 1963: Gov. John King says he favors an appropriate memorial for the slain President John F. Kennedy but will oppose any effort to rename one of New Hampshire’s mountains after Kennedy. Dec. 3, 2001: Manchester inventor Dean Kamen unveils the Segway Human Transporter on ABC’s Good Morning...
This week in Concord history
Nov. 25, 1875: Although the building is not quite completed, the fire department occupies its new central station on Warren Street between Green and State streets. Nov. 25, 1957: President Eisenhower suffers a “cerebral occlusion.” The problem affects his speech and once again thrusts his special assistant, former New Hampshire governor Sherman Adams, into greater responsibility. Nov. 25, 1817: A fire consumes a large three-story...
This week in Concord history
Nov. 19, 1863: New Hampshireman Benjamin Brown French accompanies President Lincoln to the cemetery at the Gettysburg battlefield. After Lincoln’s address, French writes in his journal: “Anyone who saw and heard as I did, the hurricane of applause that met his every movement at Gettysburg would know that he lived in every heart. . . . It was the spontaneous outburst of heartfelt confidence in their own President.” Nov. 19, 2000: In...
This week in Concord history
Nov. 12, 2003: Concord’s Luke Bonner, a senior and basketball star at Trinity High School in Manchester, signs his national letter of intent to play for West Virginia. Nov. 12, 2000: Concord High routs longtime nemesis Londonderry, 53-8, advancing to the state Division I football championship. The win ends a streak of lopsided defeats the Tide had recently suffered at the hands of Londonderry. Concord will go on to win the state title...
This week in Concord history
Oct. 14, 1937: Norm D’Amours is born. A Democrat, he will serve in Congress from 1975 to 1985. In 1992 he will run unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor. Oct. 14, 1846: A Northfield girl, Susan Maria Hills, is killed when her clothes catch fire from an open fireplace. Oct. 15, 2002: Concord High juniors get the news that their statewide test scores rose significantly in all four subjects on the test,...
This week in Concord history
Oct. 8, 2001: Concord area cancer patients and their families win a prolonged and sometimes agonizing battle, when a state board approves Concord Hospital’s plan to bring radiation treatments closer to home. The decision clears the way for the hospital to install a $7.8 million radiation device in its new cancer treatment center. Oct. 8, 1856: A show called Price’s Ethiopian Minstrels opens at Concord’s Phenix Hall. The show,...
This week in Concord history
Oct. 1, 1900: A 26-year-old egg farmer named Robert Frost moves to a 30-acre farm in Derry. Oct. 2, 1990: The U.S. Senate confirms the nomination of David H. Souter of Weare to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the State House in Concord, Souter tells a gathering of well-wishers: “I have been given much and much will be expected from me in return, and I will make that return to you and I will make it in the fullest measure that I...
This week in Concord history
Sept. 16, 1845: Benjamin O. Bartlett, 57, of Pembroke dies. “He has left his surviving friends the rich consolation of believing that their loss is his gain,” the New Hampshire Courier reports in his obituary. Sept. 16, 1973: Three Roman Catholic laymen announce plans to open a new liberal arts institution, Magdalen College, for 300 students, saying American universities have lost their intellectual and moral vigor. Years...
This week in Concord history
Sept. 2, 1856: The Coos Republican reports a freak accident in Whitefield: “Mr. Webster Parker, while at work with a log on the dam at Morris Clark’s Sawmill in Whitefield Village, was carried over and down the apron of the dam with great velocity some 20 feet and then dropping partly through a hole in the apron was there confined about 30 minutes, the water constantly pouring over him. A large crowd collected, and much interest was...
This week in Concord history
Aug. 5, 2003: The Rev. Canon Gene Robinson, 56, of Weare, makes history when the country’s Episcopal bishops vote 63-42 to make him the country’s first openly gay bishop. Aug. 5, 1855: On a visit home in Chester, N.H., Benjamin Brown French worries that the nation is headed toward civil war because of the Southern movement to add new slave territory. “To this movement I am sorry to see a Northern President lending his aid!” he writes...
This week in Concord history
July 15, 1605: Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer, sails into Piscataqua Bay. July 15, 1822: The hail that falls in Concord today is “of a sufficient size to break glass and cut down the corn,” according to a local history. July 15, 1832: Six convicts escape from the state prison in Concord by splitting a stone in the roofing of their cell and letting themselves down the wall by their blankets. Four are captured in...
This week in Concord history
July 8, 1967: Monitor reporters set out in the streets of Concord to test a Harris poll’s findings that President Lyndon B. Johnson’s popularity is rising and that the Vietnam War will be a decisive factor in the 1968 presidential election. Interviews with 115 people in Concord turn up these results: 28.7 percent like Johnson more than they did in 1964, 58 percent like him less. Most of those who criticize Johnson cite his handling of...
This week in Concord history
July 1, 1883: A report says there are 60 post offices in Merrimack County. In 1882, the postmasters in the county were paid a combined total of $18,515.94. July 1, 1927: At nightfall, 2,000 people gather at the State House plaza to watch Mayor Fred Marden push the button that will illuminate Concord’s new “White Way” for the first time. Concord Electric Co. has installed 126 large bulbs to light the way, which runs more than...
This week in Concord history
June 10, 1983: A celebration marks the opening of Eagle Square. Former mayor Martin Gross delivers a poem to mark the occasion. One stanza describes the Eagle Stable, which will soon be open in the Crystal Courtyard, a mini-mall for specialty foods: Your stable’s stalls, once equine halls, soon hungry souls will seek. No hay or mash but gourmet stash – an appetite boutique. June 10, 1900: A Concord police officer...
This week in Concord history
June 4, 2001: The Concord School Board approves a policy prohibiting students on sports teams or in clubs from attending gatherings where other students are using alcohol or drugs. If students are caught – regardless of whether they were drinking or getting high – they, along with a parent or guardian, will have to meet with a school counselor to discuss the risks associated with alcohol and drug abuse. June 4, 1819: A great...
This week in Concord history
May 27, 1861: After enlisting 71 men in Contoocookville, Joab N. Patterson takes them to Portsmouth, where most will join the Second New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry for three years’ service in the Civil War. Lt. Patterson, who recently graduated from Dartmouth at age 25, will fight in 24 engagements from First Bull Run to Appomattox Court House, rising to the rank of brevet brigadier general. May 27, 1727: New Hampshire’s...
This week in Concord history
May 20, 1775: Meeting in Exeter a month and a day after the battle of Lexington, New Hampshire’s Provincial Congress resolves to raise 2,000 men in three regiments. It also passes a tax of 3,000 pounds to pay the soldiers. May 20, 1727: A charter is granted to the town of Chichester. May 21, 2001: Senior Jake Zielinski pitches a six-inning perfect game as Pembroke defeats Coe-Brown, 10-0. May 21, 1913: The...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
This week in Concord history
April 8, 1864: Capt. Dana W. King of Nashua and 47 members of the 2nd New Hampshire Cavalry are captured during the disastrous battle of Sabine Cross Roads, La. They are taken to “wretched captivity in the famous ‘stockade,’ or poison pen, at Tyler, Texas,” their adjutant reports. April 8, 1977: Poll results are released showing 62 percent of New Hampshire residents favor construction of the Seabrook nuclear power plant, with...
This week in Concord history
April 1, 2003: Gov. Craig Benson launches his Adopt-a-School program, a campaign promise that essentially builds on longtime state and local efforts to connect schools with businesses. The governor’s project will link businesses with schools around the state in an effort to strengthen communities, supplement curriculum and show students that they might one day use what they learn in school. April 1, 2000: Concord’s Matt Bonner...
This week in Concord history
March 26, 2003: Roland Allen of Penacook dies at the age of 82. For more than 60 years, Allen involved himself in nearly every aspect of Penacook life. From running the Penacook Fibre Co. to founding the village community center to serving on the local school board, he seemed to have been everywhere in town at once. In his spare time, he was a prolific songwriter, an amateur inventor and (gasp!) a devoted Yankees fan. March 26,...
