Jan. 7, 1942: Concord starts a three-day spell of bitterly cold weather with a low temperature of 15 below zero. The next day it’ll be 25 below, and the day after that, the temperature will fall to 22 below.
Jan. 7, 1965: Construction workers in Concord use doors from a dozen demolished houses to form a barrier to close the sidewalk along Pleasant and South streets, where the new $3.5 million federal building is under construction.
Jan. 8, 1878: A temperature of 35 below zero is recorded in Concord, an all-time record cold reading for the city that will stand for more than 65 years.
Jan. 8, 1895: The Supreme Court and State Library buildings are dedicated in Concord.
Jan. 9, 2002: The state Supreme Court set aside claims that the Legislature has already done enough to fix New Hampshire’s school system, and maintained jurisdiction over its landmark education ruling, the Monitor reports. The court said it will determine whether the state needs performance standards to show that the education offered at each public school is adequate, and then decide whether the state’s existing accountability rules are sufficient.
Jan. 9, 1974: Twenty-five people brave a snowstorm to gather at the State House to pray in support of beleaguered President Richard Nixon. “God Loves Nixon,” reads one banner.
Jan. 9, 1997: Jeanne Shaheen is inaugurated, becoming New Hampshire’s first woman governor.
Jan. 10, 1942: City aldermen approve a $400,000 expansion of Concord Airport. The city appropriation for the project is $30,000.
Jan. 10, 1985: Gov. John Sununu announces his support of plans to change the state’s method of execution from hanging to lethal injection. “If you’re going to have a death penalty that has some credibility, you have to have it in a form that is acceptable to the public,” he says. The Legislature will concur.
Jan. 11, 1860: The Governor’s Horse Guard is organized. Its members are all fine horsemen, but its purpose is as much “promoting social intercourse” as it is military. Former president Franklin Pierce and U.S. Sen. John P. Hale are among its members.
Jan. 11, 1993: A fire forces nine nuns out of the Carmelite monastery on Pleasant Street.
Jan. 12, 1989: Concord Sen. Susan McLane proposes a ban on jet skis on every lake in the state. “A jet ski is like a noisy buzz saw going in mindless circles,” she says. “It’s driving people crazy. This is a problem that isn’t going to go away.” No overall ban is imposed. Instead, lakes are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Jan. 12, 1952: The Monitor reports on plans to make Main and State streets one way, with one going north and the other going south. The idea is to relieve traffic congestion. (It’s never approved.)
Jan. 12, 1960: Concord teachers request a 15 percent pay raise. If it is granted, the starting pay for teachers will have doubled since 1947, when it was $2,000. The teachers want a contract granting them a pay range of $4,025 to $5,865.
Jan. 13, 1943: Responding to the governor’s call for Victory gardens and home farming, Concord Mayor Charles McKee says: “Concord citizens can keep pigs and chickens in their backyards if they want to. There is no city ordinance to stop them.”
Jan. 13, 1944: In an unprecedented ceremony at Representatives Hall, Lt. Chester Wheeler of Concord is awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. At the battle of Attu Island in the Aleutians the previous May, Wheeler led his platoon forward again and again against attacking Japanese units. He was severely wounded in the hip and is recuperating. Among those in attendance at the State House ceremony is Gov. Robert O. Blood, who himself won the Distinguished Service Cross during World War I.
Jan. 13, 1891: Concord’s board of aldermen and common council appropriate $20,000 “for a Soldiers’ Memorial to commemorate the men of Concord who served their country on land or sea, in the several wars to establish, defend and maintain the unity of the Republic.” It is planned for White Park, then city hall, then the county building. It will be eight years before the Memorial Arch is finally dedicated in front of the State House.
