This Week in Concord History
Dec. 22, 1964: Sen. Norris Cotton criticizes the GOP for its complacency. “We Republicans have felt for too long we had New Hampshire in our pockets. It’s been quite a few years since the Republicans in a campaign did any real work.” He says the job has become tougher with an influx of new residents from Massachusetts. “We’re glad to have them, but the large majority of them are fundamentally Democrats.” Dec. 23, 1865: Home at last...
The Bulletin Board
‘The Priest’ is now available for viewing The latest film by Concord’s Pedro Pimentel, The Priest, is now available for online viewing. Shot at the Kimball-Jenkins Mansion in Concord, The Priest was shown at the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival this year. To view the short film, visit youtube.com/watch?v=b5vPwF0QTcQ. Pedro Pimentel CATCH Neighborhood Housing receives grant CATCH Neighborhood Housing has received a $10,000 grant...
Book of the Week: ‘The White Shepherd’
The White Shepherd: An Oxford Dogwalkers’ Mystery Annie Dalton 2015, 249 pages Fiction Anna Hopkins is a loner, and she has a very good reason to be one. Years ago something terrible happened to her family. But recently Anna adopted a beautiful white shepherd, a rescue dog, named Bonnie. When she and Bonnie find the body of a beautiful acquaintance stabbed to death in the park, a series of events is set in motion. Two other women help...
We scoured the streets to find the best light and decoration displays
It’s not officially the Christmas season until the neighborhood becomes aglow in lights. Well, it’s now officially that time, as evidenced by all these photos taken in Concord and Penacook.
Adventure shopping, holiday edition
Since Ocean State Job Lot’s slogan is ‘Adventure Shopping,’ we decided to head down to see what kind of holiday decorations, lights and accessories we could find this year.
Downtown is quite festive thanks to all these decorated windows
For the second year in a row, Intown Concord issued a challenge to all the downtown businesses: Decorate your window for a chance to earn bragging rights for a year. So as you may have noticed, the downtown area is quite festive this year thanks in part to 41 retailers and restaurants taking part in the second annual Window Decorations Contest. Prior to Midnight Merriment, a panel of judges strolled all around downtown searching for...
The Food Snob hits up Vibes Gourmet Burgers
If there’s one thing we like to do around here, it’s eat food. Lots of food. Good food. Luckily, we were able to do just that last week at the new burger joint downtown, Vibes Gourmet Burgers. We’d been anxiously awaiting the opening for months, and for a little while there we were afraid we might never get to taste one of these gourmet burgers. But after a lot of red-tape hopping, paperwork and waiting, Vibes finally opened to the...
‘Nutcracker,’ Rockin’ Daddios on tap
Wednesday Looking to hear some blues in the middle of the week while snacking on some nachos? Then look no further than Hermanos, where Kid Pinky will be playing. “Accompanied by three highly talented bluesmen from the New Hampshire area, Kid Pinky is a throwback to the future, paying homage to the blues from the 40s and 50s while simultaneously crafting a modern, completely original sound,” says the band’s website. Gotta love the ol’...
You’ll learn a lot about N.H. at this Historical Society exhibit
The New Hampshire Historical Society is home to all kinds of photos, objects and books that make up the history of the Granite State. And understandably, the society likes to show it off. The Discovering N.H. exhibit opened in early November and will be on display at the Park Street headquarters for at least two years. From Nancy Sununu’s inaugural gown and jacket to a real live snowmobile, this surely touches upon all aspects of...
Meet David Morgan, the N.H. Association for the Blind’s new boss
David Morgan was recently brought on as the new president and CEO of the N.H. Association for the Blind after 10 years at Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts. So we caught up with Morgan last week to ask him a few questions and see if he meets the Insider approval. And, of course, he did. What has it been like since you joined the association as president and CEO? It’s been really exciting. I didn’t have a lot of chance to...
Send Concord 250 out with a bang at the New Year’s Eve Gala
We know, there’s still 10 days till Christmas, but as you are more than aware of, we’re in the business of planning. So despite the fact that the biggest holiday in December is more than a week away, it’s time to start thinking about plans for the final day of 2015. Yes, we’re talking about New Year’s Eve and have we got an idea for you. If you can think back to Dec. 31, 2014, (and we know that’s not easy) Concord 250 and the Concord...
Sing traditional carols at United Baptist
Christmas is the time of year for spreading joy, giving thanks and generally being merry and jolly. One way of spreading joy while being merry and jolly is to sing your heart out with a group of others doing the same thing. And thanks to United Baptist Church, there’s a venue for you to do just that. The church invites anyone who wants to sing classic Christmas songs with a group of others to come down for the second annual Christmas...
Follow the 12 Days of Mindfulness for a more enjoyable holiday
The holiday season is upon us. For many, this means we are busier and more stressed than ever trying to get everything done. This year, try to make the season a less stressful and more enjoyable one. The 12 Days of Mindfulness can help us keep a healthy perspective. It offers a friendly reminder for each day in order for us to continue feeling festive. On the 1st day of mindfulness my Rolfer said to me… 1. Pause within your busy day...
Bulletin Board
Music school student performs at nationals Concord Community Music School voice student Nathan Smith was selected to perform in the National Association for Music Education All-National Honor Choir in Nashville, Tenn., following a nationally competitive audition process. The choir performed in a gala concert celebrating music education and the arts at the historic Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Oct. 28, as part of the 2015 NAfME...
City Briefly
Last week, City Manager Tom Aspell spent some extra hours in the office hanging Christmas lights and other holiday decor for all passers-by to see. And to show just how festive he is this year, Aspell used his extra lights to spell out this week’s city memo, which we’ve transcribed to a more readable format. Java with an officer The Concord Police Department will host “Coffee with a Cop” on Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. at True Brew...
Book of the Week: ‘A Library Book for Bear’
A Library Book for Bear Bonny Becker 2014, 32 pages Fiction In this children’s book, Bear is sure that his seven “very nice books” are all the books that he would ever need. But his friend Mouse is insistent that they visit the library. Bear had promised, so he reluctantly takes Mouse to the library and says that “There are far too many books in there” . . . “Most excessive!” But Mouse persists, and while in the library Bear makes an...
Saying goodbye to the Sewalls Falls Bridge after 100 years together
If you’ve been to the Insider’s neck of the woods lately, you’ve probably noticed that it hasn’t been the easiest part of town to get around since the end of last year. Not because East Concord is the epicenter of the traffic universe, but because the 100-year-old Sewalls Falls Bridge has been out of commission. The 660-foot steel bridge that was built in the summer of 1915 saw its last commuter Nov. 31, 2014, and it’s made getting...
The Bow Garden Club put together fine-smelling wreaths and swags
The Bow Garden Club was busy this weekend making wreaths and swags at the Old Town Hall. Poinsettias were also prepared to be delivered to people’s homes. Power was out in the morning, but that didn’t stop the garden club members from making it all happen.
Why make just a house when you can build a gingerbread village?
So we had this grand plan. We were going to bake our own gingerbread, whip up our own frosting and create snowmen, Santas, trees and wreaths from scratch using whatever tasty treats we could put together. But like many things we do at the Insider, things didn’t quite go as we had hoped. The gingerbread failed miserably, the frosting had its own issues and we kind of just abandoned the whole creating holiday cheer out of fear of...
A look at nature through the lens of photographer Roger Irwin
If you couldn’t tell, photographer Roger Irwin sure does seem to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time when it comes to capturing some of nature’s greatest moments. That or more likely he spends a lot of time sitting around in the woods just waiting for something cool to walk by. Irwin’s work is currently showing at the Audubon’s McLane Center through Dec. 31.
At Concord High, seniors call the shots
There are lots of shows to see in Concord if you’re looking for an entertaining night out. Everyone knows about the cool movies at Red River Theatres, the fun plays at the Concord City Auditorium, the big productions at the Capitol Center for the Arts and the local music at pretty much all of the restaurants and bars. But you might not know much about the hidden gem that is Concord High School’s Senior Directed One Acts. The annual...
We found some tasty looking competition at Presidential Oaks
Presidential Oaks held its Gingerbread House Competition again this year, and all nine entries in the adult and youth categories were judged during the annual Christmas Fair on Saturday. Unfortunately, Insider Land (read more about it on page 10) didn’t bring home the grand prize, but at least we didn’t finish in last. But as you can see, we were up against some pretty tasty looking competition. The top adult took home $250 and the...
Take a look at the past – and future – of the Sewalls Falls Bridge
We found some old photos of the Sewalls Falls Bridge lying around the office taken by former “Monitor” photographer Ken Williams. We also found a rendering of what the new bridge will look like on the Sewalls Falls Bridge project’s official website. It only made sense, then, that we show you the past and future of “The Most Courteous Bridge in the World.”
You should go check out the Kimball Jenkins student show
If you’ve been keeping track, this marks the 16th year in a row that Kimball Jenkins has used the month of December to show off its students work. The annual student exhibition features over 100 pieces and since you can see that less than a tenth of those are shown on these two pages, there’s a lot more to see. And you’re in luck ’cause the show will be on display in the Carolyn Jenkins Gallery through Jan. 3.
CRTC competition leads to lots of cool stuff for Toys for Tots
You probably never knew this, but there’s some healthy competition among the students at the Concord Regional Technical Center. Oh yeah, throughout the course of the school year there’s quite a few spirit challenges, which we can only assume that a win results in some pretty serious bragging rights. So when the powers that be at the CRTC decided to collect toys and change for Toys for Tots, the students stepped it up a notch. “This...
Learn what it’s like to make a movie and take in ‘The Nutcracker’
Tuesday There will be an interfaith service from 6 to 7 p.m. at Blossom Hill Cemetery. This service will focus on the approaching season of winter, its gifts and challenges as well as its comforts and constraints in Perkins Chapel. Wednesday Concord’s own Pedro Pimentel will be the guest speaker at this month’s Wednesdays Wisdom event at Kimball Jenkins at 6 p.m. The topic of discussion will center around the process and plight of a...
