Aug. 14, 1945: The victory bell rings at 7:11 p.m., signaling the defeat of Japan and the end of the war. Thousands of people rush into downtown Concord to celebrate peace. One planned event is an “o so joyful Hara Kiri parade.” Children in kimonos carry parasols down Main Street, vying for $1 prizes for the best costumes. Also in the parade is an overturned canoe labeled “Jap Navy.” A man standing atop a Main Street building gaily fires a 10-gauge shotgun again and again. The police report that the throngs are well-behaved with the exception of a carload of Pittsfield boys who are caught setting off false fire alarms.
Aug. 14, 2003: 550 people attend a memorial service for Sarah and Philip Gehring at South Congregational Church in Concord.
Aug. 15, 1864: Steam whistles and cannon herald the opening of Capitol Street along the south side of the State House grounds. A month earlier, the state lawmakers voted that if the street was not constructed by this day, they would move the capital.
Aug. 15, 2003: Speaking at a rally at the State House plaza in Concord, local environmentalists and public health advocates condemned President Bush's Clear Skies Initiative and called upon the state's congressional delegation to oppose it, the Monitor reports.
Aug. 16, 1843: A severe gale accompanied by torrents of rain destroys a large elm tree in the State House yard. The tree is 20 inches in diameter at its base. The wind breaks it off 20 feet about the ground.
Aug. 17, 1990: Pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, Concord's Bob Tewksbury goes seven perfect innings against the Houston Astros before finishing with a one-hitter. It is his second consecutive shutout.
Aug. 17, 2001: In a ceremony honoring the Derry astronaut, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen signs legislation designating the Alan Shepard Discovery Center, a planned addition to the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, as the official state memorial to Shepard.
Aug. 18, 1999: The Executive Council denies a pardon hearing request from a convicted murderer who says, after 23 years in prison, he is a changed and repentant man. Gary Farrow, 43, is serving a life sentence for the 1976 murder of 19-year-old Michael Stitt of Laconia, whose body was found lying behind a state liquor store in Concord.
Aug. 19, 1863: With the Union armies in need of more soldiers, Concord takes part in the draft. Of 924 names placed in a turning wheel, the city's quota of 277 is drawn. The city will pay each man a bonus of $300.
Aug. 20, 1816: A wandering portrait painter named Samuel F.B. Morse writes to his parents that he has just been to a party in Concord and met a 17-year- old woman who is “very beautiful, amiable and of excellent disposition.” She is Lucretia Walker, a member of one of Concord's most prominent families. Morse decides to stay in Concord for awhile.
Aug. 20, 1844: Samuel Jackman, the oldest man in Concord, dies at 96. He was a veteran of the American Revolution.
Aug. 20, 2001: City councilor Jim O'Neill announces his decision to run for mayor. Mike Donovan will later win the election in a clean sweep.
