July 26, 1927: His tour stop over, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and his “Spirit of St. Louis” take off from Concord Airport at 11:50 a.m. There is a report that he passed over Claremont at 1:20 p.m. on his way to Springfield, Mass.
July 26, 1965: Trains carrying 71-foot laminated wooden arches arrive in Concord. Shipped from Oregon, they will become rafters for the new Everett Arena.
July 27, 1927: The police report more evidence of the pickpockets who worked the crowd during Col. Charles A. Lindbergh’s visit to Concord two days before. Two young boys have found 20 more pocketbooks in a hole covered with paper behind the airport hangar. The number of people robbed now totals at least 36.
July 27, 2000: A Massachusetts company presents preliminary plans for a 300,000-square-foot retail development on 53 acres between South Main and Hall streets in Concord. The project will meet with significant opposition from residents of the South End.
July 28, 1827: Othello is performed at the Eagle Coffee House in Concord. Crowds are sparse.
July 28, 1855: The Concord city council registers its approval of the state’s new anti-drinking law. “Resolved that the late act for the suppression of intemperance in this state meets with our entire approbation. Therefore, resolved that the city marshal and his assistants are requested to prosecute, with promptness and energy, all violations and infringements of said law.”
July 29, 1927: Police Chief A.S. Kimball orders the Lapp carnival on the Bridge Street fairgrounds to close “forthwith.” The shutdown follows the arrest of two men who work for the carnival on gambling charges. Both are convicted and fined $50. The chief investigated after receiving reports of gambling and indecent shows at the fair, including one show to which only men were admitted. The sponsoring Elks Club will argue in vain for a reversal of Kimball’s closure order.
July 29, 1988: Developers announce plans for an eight-story office and retail building at the corner of Main and Bridge streets in Concord. (It won’t happen.)
July 29, 2001: The New York Post runs a first-person essay by Concord’s Adam Young about the experience of trying to make the New York Giants’ roster. “I think I have a different perspective than a lot of guys,” Young writes. “You appreciate the things that come to you after having to battle your way through the ranks.”
July 30, 1777: After riding all night from Exeter, Lt. Col. Gordon Hutchins, Concord’s legislative representative, bursts into the Sunday service at Concord’s meeting house to say that Gen. John Stark is marching west but needs more men. “Those of you who are willing to go had better go at once,” Rev. Timothy Walker tells his congregation. All men present leave.
July 30, 2003: According to documents that are unsealed in Concord District Court, Manuel Gehring told investigators that he shot his children Sarah, 14, and Philip, 11, on the side of a road, 30 to 45 minutes from Concord. Hundreds of miles later, he said a prayer over their bodies before leaving them in a shallow grave with crosses made from duct tape on the chests.
July 31, 1947: The Monitor is inundated with letters to the editor urging the city to build a swimming pool. One resident, Hazel M. Stiles, writes: “Oh yes, we have Bear Brook if you have a car and someone to take you over. Most parents are working daytimes and cannot take the children. Yes, we have a bus at the cost of 35 cents each way, making 70 cents and an admission fee when you get there. How many times can a child afford to go there?”
July 31, 2001: Massachusetts authorities arrest Gary L. Sampson in Vermont and accuse him of murdering three men, one of them former Concord city councilor Robert “Eli” Whitney. Sampson will also be charged with killing a 19-year-old college student from Kingston, Mass., and a 69-year-old retiree from Marshfield, Mass.
July 31, 2003: The Granite State Little Blue wins a 20-10 victory in the Senior Babe Ruth League New England Regional title game in Stamford, Conn. With the win, the Concord-based team will go on to the Senior Babe Ruth 16-year-old World Series in Jamestown, N.Y.
Aug. 1, 1848: The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad opens its line to Meredith Bridge (Laconia).
Aug. 1, 2001: The Concord Planning Board votes unanimously against a developer’s proposal to build a grocery store and shopping center in the South End. The developer will respond with a lawsuit challenging the decision.
Aug. 2, 1830: The Rev. Roger C. Hatch rides from Hopkinton to Concord to make the first deposit in the New Hampshire Savings Bank. The amount is $100. The bank’s quarters at 214 N. Main St. are now the offices of the Gallagher, Callahan and Gartrell law firm.
Aug. 2, 1927: Granite cutters from Concord join others from throughout New England in appealing for a five-day week with a $9-a-day wage. They currently work 5½ days a week at $8 per day.
Aug. 2, 2001: The last sheets of fiber used for heel cups roll through Penacook Fibre Co. The company is shutting down after more than 60 years in business.
