Nov. 29, 1866: Fire damages the Penacook mills. with total losses 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. 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, 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, 1999: Conant School parents say they've been discouraged from supporting teachers in their contract negotiations after back-to-school night and an evening holiday concert are canceled. “Parents want to support the teachers,” says parent Ann Lanney, “but there could have been better ways.
Dec. 1, 1848: Edward E. Sturtevant, a Concord printer, writes to his parents in Keene:
“The Shakers are having a trial before a legislative committee, which excites some curiosity among the people of this town . . . A petition is presented for a law against parents and guardians binding children to them, alleging that they (the children) are taught to disregard all friendship for father and mother and brothers and sisters – to know no God except the Elders of the Shaker Society – and accusing the Shakers of abusing them and killing them. The petitioners have brought forward some 20 who have been Shakers but left them who testify strongly in favor of the petitioners. It is amusing to hear these backsliders swear down the religion of Anna Lee.”
Dec. 1, 2001: With a weekend of spontaneous and rehearsed music, the Concord Community Music School celebrates a milestone: the grand opening of a $1.5 million addition that more than doubles the space for the school.
Dec. 2, 1991: A fire consumes Souther's Market on Liberty Street.
Dec. 3, 1847: For $1,000, Edward H. Rollins buys R.C. Osgood's drugstore on Main Street opposite the State House. Rollins will become a leading Republican, and the back room of the store will be his political headquarters, where policies are crafted and candidates made.
Dec. 3, 1934: Orchestra leader Guy Lombardo plays to a sell-out audience at the Concord City Auditorium. The group arrived the night before and checked into the old Eagle Hotel. After an early afternoon press conference, Guy put together a touch football game on nearby Higgins Field.
Dec. 3, 1985: Louis Cartier walks into Concord High School with a loaded shotgun. After Cartier holds a student hostage and the police at bay, a police officer shoots and kills Cartier.
Dec. 5, 1866: The Monitor reports: “A man who had assisted to empty several bottles of wine afterward took a walk. The pavement was quite icy, and he exclaimed, 'Very singular, whenever water freezes, it freezes with the slippery side up.' “
Dec. 5, 1999: A fire breaks out at South Congregational Church in Concord 45 minutes before a scheduled performance of Handel's Messiah. After about 80 singers and musicians in formal attire gather on Pleasant Street, they head for nearby St. Paul's Church, where about 200 people are treated to an impromptu rendition of the oratorio's most famous section.
Dec. 5, 2001: The Concord High School wrestling team opens its season at Bishop Guertin, heading home with a 54-12 win.
