Nov. 24, 1812: The first inmate, John Drew of Meredith, is brought to Concord’s first state prison. The prison was built near Washington Street after legislative approval in 1810. During a visit to the city, the Rev. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale, called it “a noble edifice in beautiful granite.” How Drew found it is not recorded. He was sentenced to four years for stealing a horse.
Nov. 24, 1989: The temperature in Concord falls to 5 below zero, making this the coldest November day of the 20th century.
Nov. 25, 1817: A fire consumes a large, three-story house on Main Street in Concord. It will eventually be replaced by the Phenix Hotel.
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, 2000: Interviews in downtown Concord find the public tiring of the never-ending presidential election. Speaking for many of his fellow city dwellers, Jerry Slaughter tells the Monitor, “I think they should just decide so we can get on with our lives.”
Nov. 25, 2001: Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, a consulting company hired by Concord City Councilors to study traffic patterns on Loudon Road, concludes that instead of more lanes for traffic there should be fewer and that some traffic should be diverted to alternate routes, the Monitor reports.
Nov. 26, 1845: Five hundred twenty-five turkeys mysteriously pass through the streets of Concord, one day before Thanksgiving.
Nov. 26, 1898: A giant snowstorm hits New Hampshire. Concord records 18 inches, Manchester two feet. “Along the coast the loss of life was appalling. More than 200 lives were lost and 200 vessels destroyed,” one local history reports.
Nov. 26, 1900: “Uncle Ben” Davis dies. He was one of Concord’s most popular citizens during the 19th century and, according to one eulogist, “the greatest music teacher that New England ever produced.”
Nov. 26, 2003: Congressman Dennis Kucinich may be a long-shot presidential candidate, but in the world of online dating, he’s rising rapidly in the polls, the Monitor reports. The Ohio Democrat put out a casual call for his ideal first lady at a candidate forum in New Hampshire, and now 80 women are vying on a website contest for a date with Kucinich.
Nov. 27, 1817: Between 20 and 30 pet dogs throughout Concord are bitten by a dog with rabies. The rabid dog will be killed the next day.
Nov. 27, 1884: It is Thanksgiving, but the trains are running in Concord and the mail will be delivered as usual, at 7 and 11 a.m. But in general, “the streets wore a Sunday-like still,” the Evening Monitor reports.
Nov. 27, 1999: In a game of word association, voters interviewed across Concord choose answers such as “likable” and “lightweight” for Texas Gov. George W. Bush. For Arizona Sen. John McCain, the answers include “stern” and “steadfast.” Al Gore prompts “Clinton” and “sincere.” Bill Bradley evokes “basketball” and “unknown.”
Nov. 27, 2000: About 300 people attend a Concord memorial service for longtime basketball coach Frank Monahan. “I personally feel I’ve lost a second father,” says Steve McMahon, a former player, “and I’m sure others that played for him feel much the same way.”
Nov. 28, 1975: Frustrated at what he considers biased news reporting at the state’s public television station, Gov. Mel Thomson accuses the university system trustees of a “whitewash” when they disagree. His proof: Channel 11 declined to run a clip provided by the Sweepstakes commission of a woman winning $500,000.
Nov. 28, 2001: Former Concord High basketball star Matt Bonner returns to New Hampshire to play with his University of Florida team against UNH. Bonner scores 15 points in a Florida victory.
Nov. 28, 2002: New Hampshire is served a Thanksgiving Day appetizer of snowy, slushy weather. Temperatures drop to the mid-20s in Concord, with a high of 31 degrees. Light snow and mist falls across the region throughout the day.
Nov. 29, 1866: Fire damages the Penacook mills. Loss estimated at $40,000.
Nov. 29, 1867: Ingalls & Brown’s Quadrille Band plays at a grand ball at Concord’s Eagle Hall. “If you don’t dance,” exhorts the ad in the Patriot, “go to hear the music.”
Nov. 29, 2003: The wind whips across central New Hampshire with gusts of more than 45 mph, knocking out power and tearing down lines and trees. Public safety officials spend much of the day responding to calls for downed wires and trees in at least 20 communities.
Nov. 30, 1870: Fire burns out the stone warehouse behind the Eagle Hotel, leaving only the granite walls standing. Today, the warehouse is home to the Museum of New Hampshire History.
Nov. 30, 1983: Mayor David Coeyman is squired through the streets of Concord in a rickshaw pulled by Somersworth Mayor George Bald. Coeyman, a former two-pack-a-day smoker, won a bet that he could quit.
Nov. 30, 1988: Washington columnist David Broder expresses skepticism about former New Hampshire governor John Sununu’s likelihood to succeed as President-elect George Bush’s chief of staff. He writes: “Washington is a long way from Concord. At home, Sununu shared the compact capitol with a large but poorly staffed legislature and a state administration in which few were willing, or able, to challenge his views. The Democratic political opposition was weak in both numbers and leadership. In that setting, he could command — or coerce — approval of most of his plans. Critics and even some colleagues in Concord describe Sununu as brusque, demanding, opinionated, unyielding and, on occasion, secretive and devious.”
Nov. 30, 2000: A Monitor editorial calls on George W. Bush to concede the presidential election. The opinion is read on C-SPAN by morning anchor Brian Lamb, and responses quickly pour in from around the country. One Michigan man writes, “What are you people up there smoking anyway?”
