Aug. 21, 1851: Concord’s downtown is ravaged by the worst fire in its history. The fire starts in the old “Mechanics Home” and spreads through old wooden buildings on the east side of Main Street from Park Street south and past the State House. Lost are the Eagle Coffee House, a drug store, the Merchants Exchange, the Prescott Piano Factory and a host of other stores, offices, sheds and houses. More than 1,000 firefighters joined the futile battle. Witnesses say the glow of the fire could be seen in Francestown and Portsmouth – even Portland, Maine.
Aug. 22, 2000: The nation’s reborn scooter fascination has definitely reached central New Hampshire, the Monitor reports. “We just can’t keep them in stock,” says Laurie Sanborn, owner of Banagan’s Cycling Company in Concord.
Aug. 22, 2001: After a surprise rejection from the state’s Health Services Planning and Review Board on Concord Hospital’s proposed cancer treatment center, the hospital vows it will continue efforts to open the center and requests a rehearing. Concord Hospital spokeswoman Pam Puleo says, “Our biggest concert, and greatest disappointment, is for the people we serve and the lack of local access to radiation therapy.”
Aug. 22, 2003: Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean opens his Concord headquarters, speaking to supporters about the threat of global warming and the need to invest in renewable forms of energy. “I can see Karl Rove cackling and rubbing his hands together over the Birkenstock governor from Vermont right now, but the truth is that this president has allowed us to fall behind in so many areas, and I don’t want to fall behind in this one,” Dean says. “What I want is a president who believes renewable energy is important in this country.”
Aug. 23, 2000: Documents filed today reveal that Gordon Humphrey has spent more than $1 million in his campaign for governor. The kicker: Three weeks remain before the Republican primary.
Aug. 24, 1979: Campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in Concord, U.S. Sen. Bob Dole acknowledges that former California governor and movie actor Ronald Reagan is the heavy favorite. Dole says he hopes to be “in a position to catch a falling star. If the star doesn’t fall, the star will be the nominee.”
Aug. 25, 1855: Concord establishes its first public library. The city council appropriates $1,500: “$300 for fixtures, the residue for books.”
Aug. 25, 2001: The Monitor reports: In a town known for large, single-family homes, Bow officials are trying to make room for retirees. The town has approved a 30-condominium project, and two others may not be far behind.
Aug. 25, 2003: A front-page story in the Wall Street Journal details the lavish compensation packages bestowed upon the rector and vice rector of St. Paul’s school in Concord. According to the Journal, Bishop Craig Anderson, the school’s rector, made $524,000 in salary, benefits and deferred compensation last year – more than most college presidents, and vice rector Sharon Hennessy earned $316,400 in total compensation. Some alumni, parents and donors, outraged at Anderson’s salary, campaign for his ouster. They also push for new faces on the 24-member board of trustees, which sets his pay.
Aug. 26, 1988: Developers abandon plans for a seven-story hotel on Fort Eddy Road. Instead, Concord will get the LL Bean strip mall.
Aug. 26, 2003: The New Hampshire Main Street Center receives a summer gift in the form of a $50,000 donation from the Grappone Companies. The center will use the money to help pay for the technical assistance it gives to its 19 local Main Street communities.
Aug. 27, 1991: Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder arrives in Concord and plays coy about plans to run for president. “I’m not unmindful at all of all the portents, the omens and the signs relative to being in New Hampshire. I take all of them seriously.” Wilder will eventually jump into the race but then back out.
Aug. 27, 2002: A crowd at Heritage Heights in Concord peppers the Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. John Sununu and Sen. Bob Smith, with questions ranging from how to expand affordable housing to whether the United States should invade Iraq.
