Walkers share what ignites their passions
Jo Bunten Team: Brave Hearts What ignites your passion for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer? The Brave Hearts team will be participating on Oct. 14 to honor and remember those we have lost, support those currently in treatment and those who have survived. This year we walk in honor of Sue Auerbach, Dottie Bozek, Connie Collins, Winifred Harty, Judith Houle, Lorraine Kreamer, Jean Boisvert, Pauline Ouellette, Hilary Morrison Roman,...
Book: The power of thought
The Institute By Stephen King (557 pages, fiction, 2019) When we meet Tim Jamieson he is bargaining with a flight attendant who needs to bump a passenger off a flight to acquire an extra seat. Tim bargains to a net gain of $2,000, gets off the plane and hitchhikes north. He decides to stay a while in the small town of DuPray, South Carolina and we leave him there to begin our second storyline. Twelve-year-old Luke Ellis awakens...
Concord Making Strides event is a celebration of survivorship
Survivor. One is a survivor the day of diagnosis. It is one word with so much meaning. When one thinks of this word others come to mind: Strong. Resilient. Fighter. Honest. Unwilling to give up. Positive. Mental toughness. Hope. The American Cancer Society Making Strides against Breast Cancer event is all about awareness and fundraising to provide support services as well as fund important research to find the cure to put an end to...
Poem: Gently along
This brook does babble, as it flows gently along, a very soothing melody, in the pine forest like a song. Where has it been, where will it go, this babbling brook in the pine forest, I do not know. I visit here often, as the shadows grow long, this brook does babble, as it flows gently along. James W. Spain
Volunteer Tina Smith recognized with Sandra C. Labaree Award
The American Cancer Society brings together volunteers and staff to fulfill one dream and one purpose — healthier communities with less cancer. In fact, the only way the American Cancer Society can achieve their mission of creating a world without cancer is one community at a time.As the largest voluntary health organization in the world, volunteers are the engine of the American Cancer Society. Volunteers drive patients to treatment,...
Business showcase joins virtual realm
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce invites its members and the public to the 29th annual Business Showcase on Thursday, July 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. via Zoom. Presented by Merrimack County Savings Bank and Unitil, this popular networking event features the products and services of Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce members from a variety of industries in a virtual trade show atmosphere. With your safety in mind, this year the...
Insight on navigating your cancer journey
Many times this journey starts before you receive your cancer diagnosis. You are scheduled for some type of diagnostic procedure, a mammogram, breast ultrasound, MRI, a biopsy – fine needle aspiration, core needle, stereotactic core needle biopsy. You are starting to learn the language of cancer. Just like high school French class, you will have to do your homework. Knowledge is power – it can help quiet some of your fear. The...
Strawberry picking season
The first fruits of summer have arrived in New Hampshire: strawberries. Delicious all on there own or boiled into jam or baked into pie. Get some fresh air and go pick your own at a local farm. Be prepared to take COVID-19 precautions, such as mask-wearing and washing your hands before picking. Check with individual farms on the practices they are implementing. The N.H. Department of Agriculture list of pick-your-own farms has these...
The American Cancer Society is in the business of saving, improving lives
The American Cancer Society’s mission is to save lives, celebrate lives and lead the fight for a world without cancer. Here are some examples of the work we are doing to help save lives from breast cancer: Finding breast cancer’s causes and cures More than $62 million currently invested in breast cancer grants. Additionally, 235 grants relating to all cancers are currently being funded. Helping patients and survivors Cancer.org had...
City newsletter: Councilor statement, drought conditions
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Friday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Drought conditions Drought conditions are developing across the nation due to lack of recent rainfall and snowpack from this winter. As of June 25, Concord is experiencing moderate drought conditions. Precipitation for Concord is about...
Author Bernie Lambek to present his book ‘Uncivil Liberties’ at Gibson’s Bookstore
Author Bernie Lambek will roll in to Gibson’s Bookstore on Wednesday to share his legal whodunnit, Uncivil Liberties. After a high school student is found dead at the bottom of a rock ledge on the outskirts of Montpelier, Vt., the community confronts its conflicting beliefs and values. The book explores hate speech and free speech, cyberbullying and privacy, religious and sexual freedom, and a community’s many faces of love and...
Perform small acts with great love
What do you think a Philadelphia nun, the famous musician Jon Bon Jovi and a 12 year old boy from New Hampshire all have in common? I will tell you. It’s easy to be concerned about a problem in the world and post on social media about it, which a lot of people do. But how many of us can honestly say that when we are concerned about an issue we actually take action in our lives to try and make a difference? This week’s Kindness Column...
Entertainment: Hatbox Theatre, Concord City Auditorium busy with shows this weekend
Space is tight, so no movie listings this week. Music Tuesday Dan Weiner at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday Lester Hirsh at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Open mic at Area 23 at 7 p.m. Thursday Will Hatch at Hermanos at 6:30 p.m. Mike Gallant at The Common Man at 7 p.m. The Hoot at Penuche’s at 9 p.m. $3 cover. Friday Stuck in Time Band at Makris Lobster & Steak House at 8 p.m. Dirty Looks at Pit Road Lounge at 8 p.m. The...
In book, flu wipes out most humans
The Dog Stars By Peter Heller (319 pages, fiction, 2012) “The Dog Stars” by Peter Heller was on my “Want to Read” list for ages. After reading a series of “just ok” books I was looking for a sure thing. I’m drawn to survival stories and this is a survival story. I’m also a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction and this is post-apocalyptic fiction. Could I do this right now? Could I read a post-apocalyptic novel in the midst of a global...
CYPN: Jared Reynolds loves downtown, Hermanos
The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s Concord Young Professionals Network (CYPN) introduces you to our “Young Professional of the Month,” Jared Reynolds. Each month the CYPN Steering Committee recommends a young professional in the community it thinks readers would enjoy getting to know better.How old are you? 32.Where do you live? Concord.Where do you currently work? I work on the Community and Economic Development team at the...
Looking back: Journeying with the time traveler
There are memories we hold close to our heart; we experience such joy at an innocent age before our minds are tainted by society and we file away the thoughts. We hold these sacred memories and revisit them as we age with increasing frequency. My story is born of an age of innocence many years ago. Some of my earliest memories date back to the 1960s when I was young and impressionable. I spent many days with my grandfather during this...
This Week in Concord History
Oct. 9, 1992: In the first Gile concert of the season, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra play to a full house at the Concord City Auditorium. Oct. 10, 1774: Reacting to the Intolerable Acts and Britain’s closing of Boston Harbor, a special town meeting in Portsmouth votes to send 200 pounds to Boston for poor relief. The amount is four times Portsmouth’s annual province tax. Other New Hampshire towns, including...
Poem: There was a young man
There was a young man, we don’t talk about him anymore, left to serve his country, marched off to war. He lived in our town, went to school too, had a paper route and played ball, the things boys do. I remember him still, his name now on the Vietnam Wall, we spent our childhood together, I recall how much he liked fall. He was a good soldier, dedicated to every tour, there was a young man, we don’t talk about him anymore. James...
On the Job: I got out of the office and tried a few random jobs around Concord
I love my job here at the Insider. After all, what’s not to love? I get to spend my days talking to interesting people in the community, writing about concerts and other fun family events, and I even get to eat good food and drink nice beers every once in a while. But, like anything else you’ve done for weeks and months and years on end, it loses some of the excitement factor after a little while. That’s why I decided to get out of...
This week in Concord history
July 2, 1941: Joe DiMaggio hits a line drive home run over the head of Ted Williams in left field to break Wee Willie Keeler’s record 44-game hitting streak. On base when he hits it is Yankee third baseman Red Rolfe of Penacook. July 2, 1976: Gov. Mel Thomson orders a full investigation into what happened to 1,500 pounds of chicken that never made it to a state worker picnic at New Hampshire Hospital. The birds, worth $780,...
Author and musician Robert Hunter to play, discuss book at Gibson’s Bookstore
Gibson’s Bookstore is no stranger to hosting author events – the independent bookseller usually never even goes a week without having an author in to talk about his or her work.But it’s rare to have a 2-in-1 show there, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen next Tuesday (Oct. 9) when Robert Hunter comes to town.Hunter is a musician from Nashville who has also written a novel. He’s in the middle of a 50-state tour (he’s already...
Shoulder press
While gyms are beginning to open at lower occupancy numbers and at least some social distancing precautions expected to continue through the summer, it might be hard to keep up the routines you are used to doing. However, it is still important to stay active for a healthy body and mind. Instructors from 43 Degrees North will be sharing quick exercises with the Insider that you can do at home. Standing Shoulder Press Start with your...
NHTI to host Manhattan Short Film Festival this weekend
This weekend – Friday through Sunday – NHTI, Concord’s Community College, will join venues around the globe in hosting the 21st Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival, a worldwide competition to select the best short films of 2018. Throughout the week, theaters in more than 350 cinemas across six continents will be screening the nine finalists in this yearlong competition. Every viewer will have the opportunity to rate the nine films,...
Book of the week: Plan for retirement
Get What’s Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security By Laurence J. Kotlikoff (Nonfiction, 384 pages, 2016) A must read for anyone who is planning on taking their Social Security benefits soon. This book is full of all the things no one tells you. It walks you through all the wonky government math, so you can get the biggest check possible. Everyone’s fear is that their Social Security will run out before their time...
Centerpoint Church to celebrate 200 years in Concord with block party
Ever since Concord celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2015, it seems like there’s always some group or institution that has a big milestone celebration every time you turn around. This weekend, it’s Centerpoint Church’s turn – the downtown staple will turn 200 this weekend, and everyone’s invited to the party. Centerpoint Church is the one right across from the YMCA on North State Street. It’s been around since 1818, and it doesn’t...
Read about reading
Clarence’s Big Secret By Roy MacGregor & Christine MacGregor Cation, Illustrated by Mathilde Ting-Mars (Tumblebooks) Clarence has a big secret he doesn’t want anyone to know. He can’t read. The very first day of school children laugh at him so he leaves and never returns. Soon after leaving school Clarence’s Dad becomes blind in an accident and he takes over the family farm. Clarence goes on to become a logger, miner and...
Entertainment: All the live music, theater and movies we could find
In the week ahead, there are some concerts here and there as well as a selection of films at Red River Theatres. Also, a play recounting Orson Welles’s famous stunt in 1938, called Invasion From Mars!, will make its Hatbox Theatre debut this weekend. Here’s what we found: Music Tuesday Scott Solsky at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana at 6:30 p.m. Open Mic Comedy at Area 23 at 9 p.m., sign-ups start at 8:30. Wednesday Joel Cage at...
Instagram: Check out social-distance-friendly fun
It’s been a while since we’ve shared an Instagram post from the community, so we’ve decided to do two this week. The first is a shot of a mom and mom-to-be squad at White Park that was shared by the Funky Bump (@funkybump), which will be holding their first workout of the summer on Saturday, June 27, at 9:30 a.m. A full body pre- and postnatal combo fitness class will be led by Coach Antonia and Coach Kieran They ask that you register...
Bulletin Board: Concord Community Concert Association to kick off 88th year
Retirement: The Next Chapter Contemplating retirement or looking to re-energize your retirement plans? Check out the four-week Retirement: The Next Chapter program at Center for Health Promotion in Concord. Sessions are held Oct. 2, 16, 30 and Nov. 30 – from 6 to 7:30 p.m. – at 43 S. Main St. The price for the four-part series is $75 for AARP members and $90 for non-members. Registration is required by calling 230-7300. All workshops...
Symphony N.H. announces schedule
Music, particularly live music, brings a community together and connects people in a way like no other. Symphony N.H., like other cultural organizations, realizes this and understands the important role music plays in daily life. In keeping with New Hampshire state guidelines issued by Gov. Chris Sununu and the specific public health recommendations issued by the CDC, Symphony N.H. has announced its plans for moving forward with a...
