Dec. 7, 2003: Mother Nature dumps 4 inches of snow on the ground, after giving central New Hampshire 12 inches the day before. The endless frozen shower leaves Department of Transportation road crews in a constant state of motion, keeping roads clear for those who ventured out in the storm.
Dec. 7, 2002: The Monitor reports that the public will get access to thousands of pages of church personnel records if the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester agrees to settle the state’s criminal investigation. The attorney general’s office has been investigating whether the church failed to protect children from abusive priests.
Dec. 8, 1979: Concord City Manager Jim Smith rescinds the fire department’s ban on live Christmas trees in public buildings.
Dec. 8, 1999: More than 150 New London residents attending a forum to discuss the statewide property tax say the state should instead pay for public education with an income tax. Gov. Jeanne Shaheen drops in on the meeting and indicates she is no longer committed to vetoing an income tax if one should happen to reach her desk.
Dec. 8, 1998: The federal government holds a hearing in Concord to discuss removing the peregrine falcon from the nation’s endangered species list. The raptor has made a remarkable comeback in New Hampshire, which boasts 12 nesting pairs.
Dec. 8, 1732: A royal grant establishes the township that will one day be Boscawen, although the name will not be bestowed for 28 years. In 1760, Royal Gov. Benning Wentworth will name the town for a British admiral, Sir Edward Boscawen.
Dec. 9, 2001: Franconia’s Bode Miller wins his first World Cup victory, a giant slalom. He’s the first American man to do so since 1983.
Dec. 9, 1991: At the depths of a recession, Gov. Judd Gregg announces the federal government will provide the state with $117 million in Medicaid money. The grant will help stave off a giant budget deficit. Wild spending, however, will not ensue. “We will not be able to loosen dramatically the need to be fiscally restrained,” Gregg says.
Dec. 10, 2002: The Diocese of Manchester admits that it has harmed children over the last 40 years by knowingly shuffling priests accused of sexual misconduct from parish to parish. The admission, part of a deal with the state, means the church will avoid unprecedented criminal charges of child endangerment. As part of the agreement, the church agreed to no longer handle sexual abuse complaints in the secrecy it has for decades.
Dec. 10, 1883: Nervous customers make a run on the China Savings Bank of Suncook. “The bank had heretofore borne a reputation of soundness, but of late there has been some acknowledged mistakes in the management of the institution,” the Weekly Union of Manchester reports. The presence of state bank commissioners makes depositors nervous, and by 10 a.m. 200 are waiting in line, demanding their savings in full. “Their deposits range from small sums up to $2,000. The total deposits of the bank aggregate nearly $200,000,” the Union reports.
Dec. 10, 2001: For the first time in the state’s history, a group of Concord-area agencies is trying to cooperate on transportation, the Monitor reports. After nearly two years of talks, CAT and some members of the Community Providers Network of Central New Hampshire, a group of 23 human service agencies, are on the brink of pooling their assets.
Dec. 10, 1968: Hannah Hardaway is born. She will pitch a perfect game in softball for Moultonborough Academy but gain even more acclaim for her freestyle skiing. She will overcome a serious knee injury to win the national championship in moguls and dual moguls. Her first World Cup victory will come in January 2001.
Dec. 11, 1979: In Washington, the House votes to allow states to decide for themselves whether to spend Medicaid money on abortions. New Hampshire’s congressmen split their votes: Democrat Norm D’Amours votes yes; Republican Jim Cleveland votes no.
Dec. 11, 2000: An early-morning fire at the Royal Garden Apartments in Concord leaves 37 people homeless. The community will respond with offers of clothing, shelter, even Christmas gifts for the kids.
Dec. 12, 2003: The Monitor reports that the state is running low on flu vaccine. With stories of children dying from the flu coming out of Colorado and Massachusetts, area residents have jammed clinics and swamped doctors’ offices, hospitals and organizations like the VNA with frantic phone calls hoping to get vaccines for themselves and their children.
Dec. 12, 2001: After a community outpouring of support, bringing the project from being broke to a $25,000 surplus in less than two weeks, Operation Santa Claus concludes a successful season. The State Employees Association, which runs the charitable project, ships 3,281 bags of gifts to needy kids.
Dec. 13, 1979: Gov. Hugh Gallen presents papers to the Secretary of State to officially put President Carter’s name on the New Hampshire primary ballot. In a chat with reporters, Gallen downplays his candidate’s expectations in New Hampshire. “I look on the president as being in Kennedy country in New Hampshire, so I think he has a hard job on his hands,” Gallen says. But he predicts that Carter will win renomination.
Dec. 13, 1999: A move by the Clinton administration to permanently restrict new logging roads on federally owned forests, including the White Mountains, gets an icy reception at two hearings in Concord. Loggers, off-road vehicle enthusiasts and environmentalists all join in the criticism, fearing a reduction in local decision-making power.
Dec. 13, 1774: Paul Revere gallops into Portsmouth to urge dissidents there to guard their arms and gunpowder because of Parliament’s recently passed ban on the export of munitions to the American colonies. His warning leads to a false rumor that British troops are marching north to guard the arsenal in Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth Harbor.
Dec. 13, 1976: The New York City traffic department says New Hampshire residents owe about $1.3 million in overdue parking fines for more than 34,600 tickets. Safety Commissioner Dick Flynn says the number seems “extremely high” to him.
Dec. 13, 1776: Washington, New Hampshire, becomes the first town named after the general.
Dec. 13, 1978: Attorney General Warren Rudman calls on the Legislature to pass a bill reinstating capital punishment in New Hampshire. Chuck Douglas, legal counsel to Gov. Mel Thomson, echoes the attorney general.
Dec. 14, 2002: Nearly 30 years after Patricia Immen worked as a bookmobile clerk for the Concord Public Library, she’s appointed as the library’s new director, the Monitor reports.
Dec. 14, 2001: William King, former chairman of the state Republican Party, a state delegate and manager of Merrill Lynch on Main Street, dies at the age of 90.
Dec. 14, 2000: About 5 inches of snow falls in Concord, the first of the white stuff for the season. Several ski areas farther north report between 6 and 8 inches.
Dec. 14, 1999: For the first time in more than a decade, the Concord teachers union authorizes its leadership to call for a strike vote if a settlement on a new three-year contract is not reached within the week.
