June 5, 1845: John Parker Hale and Franklin Pierce debate slavery before an overflow crowd at the Old North Meeting House in Concord. After one antislavery speech from Hale, a veteran known as Old John Virgin blurts out: “Give it to 'em, Jack. Drive the poor vipers into their dens, and make 'em pull their holes in after them.” In response to a pro-Southern argument from Pierce, Hale proclaims: “I refuse to bow down and worship slavery.” The site of the debate is now Walker School.
June 5, 1989: Concord's CAT buses roll for the first time. Rides are free for the first week. It's the first public transportation available in Concord in 11 years.
June 5, 2003: Just 29 hours after they cut holes in razor wire fences to escape from the North State Street prison in Concord, Philip Dick, Kevin Gil and Christopher McNeil at caught at a campground in Plymouth, Mass.
June 6, 1944: At 3:55 on this Tuesday morning, Captain Leo F. Blodgett of the Concord Fire Department sets off Concord's downtown fire alarm, sounding two “eights.” This is the signal that the Allied invasion of Europe has begun. All over Concord, lights blink on as residents rise to turn on their radios. Gov. Robert O. Blood declares that this is a day for prayer and hope, not for celebration. Special church services throughout the state are widely attended.
June 6, 2001: Concord High graduate Matt Tupman hits the first home run in Concord Quarry Dogs history, a blast over the centerfield wall at Keene's Alumni Field. The team improves its record to 3-0 for the season.
June 7, 1965: To celebrate the city's bicentennial, Concord leaders bury a time capsule in the State House plaza, to be reopened on June 7, 2015. Among the items inside: marble from the giant railroad station demolished in 1961 and wood from the State House dome.
June 7, 2001: Warren Doane, who won two state championships in his 29 seasons of coaching Concord High baseball, dies at the age of 60. Doane, who was one of the most recognized sports figures in the city, also coached Concord's American Legion team for 15 years and was the first general manager of the newly formed Concord Quarry Dogs.
June 8, 2000: With $240,000 in outstanding parking fines on record, Concord is looking for ways to beef up enforcement, the Monitor reports. The most drastic proposal is a boot-and-tow ordinance that would immobilize cars whose drivers owe more than $100 or have more than five outstanding tickets.
June 8, 2001: Concord has won a $405,000 grant from the state Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, the Monitor reports. The money vastly improves the odds that a group trying to buy the orchard at Sunnycrest Farms will reach its $1.3 million fundraising goal.
June 9, 2003: Dwayne Thompson, the man convicted of killing Concord resident Robert “Cigar Bob” Provencher, will not get a new trial, the state Supreme Court rules. Thompson had asked the court to overturn his conviction because a lower court judge did not allow a hearing on whether to admit DNA evidence. The court rules that even if the hearing should have been held, the decision against it did not influence the outcome of the case.
June 10, 1900: A Concord police officer arrests clerk Walter Davis at Fitch's Drug Store for selling soda water on Sunday. The law allows for Sunday sales of only “bread, milk and the other necessities of life.”
A judge will let Davis off, saying that soda is as necessary to life as milk and that citizens should be encouraged to drink anything other than alcoholic beverages.
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 11, 2001: People passing by the federal courthouse in Concord share their reactions to the early morning execution of Timothy McVeigh. Their overwhelming sentiment: Good riddance.
June 11, 2003: Attorney General John Ashcroft visits Concord to meet with the state's Anti-Terrorism Task Force, praising the officials who make up the group and thanking U.S. Attorney Thomas Colantuono and Gov. Craig Benson for their work in securing the state.
“Our efforts to protect America depend on law enforcement being integrated and cooperative,” Ashcroft says at a press conference at the federal courthouse, “sharing information, and sharing understanding, from the very feet on the street in local law enforcement to those who are at the top levels of administration in national law enforcement.”
