Back with a vengence
The Grammarnator can’t resist returning when the Insider raises, on facing pages of the same issue, the perennial problem of how to punctuate a sentence containing “but.” I refer to the articles on obesity and on the coolness of Concord in the Mary Baker Eddy issue. The former has “all the money was originally going to the C.H.A.D. foundation but, now the money is going to a club member in need.” The latter presents “I was born in New...
City briefly
Complete this sentence: City Manager Tom Aspell . . . a. Writes a weekly memo. b. Likes long walks on the beach. c. Wears glasses. d. All of the above. If you guessed “d” you are correct! Well, we’re not positive if he likes long walks on the beach, but who wouldn’t enjoy that? Here are the highlights from this week’s memo: Be careful on the ice “Caution ice-skaters!!” Tom wrote. We know he means serious business due to the double...
Is it summer yet?
If you weren’t already yearning for warmer weather, check out this photo sent in by Lauren Smith, 16, of Pembroke. Lauren told us that she loves taking pictures and snapped this one in North Carolina at Sunset Beach. “It’s of my two sisters and me at sunrise,” she wrote. Sigh. It’s only December here in New Hampshire. When is winter going to be over? Or when is the Insider going to set up an office in Miami? We’ll still write about...
Where the Insider goes, nobody knows!
“My wife and I just came back from a Caribbean cruise with Holland America,” Ralph Nickerson of Chichester wrote. “This is a photo of me on the ship with Half Moon Cay in the background. The weather was great with temps in the 90s. We are ready to go again.” Planning a trip soon? Don’t forget to bring your trusty Insider with you. Send your travel pictures to news@theconcordinsider.com. Please tell us the first and last names of...
Furry friends
Mandi and Eric Kirsch sent in this photo of Braveheart (dog) and Truman. According to the Kirsches the duo loves to lounge around together. Isn’t that sweet? Does your cockatoo love your cockapoo? We won’t believe it until we see it. Send your pet pictures to news@theconcordinsider.com. Put “pet BFFs” in the subject line and tell us a little about your pals.
Book of the week
“Tea and Dog Biscuits” Barrie Hawkins 2009, 254 pages Nonfiction Barrie and Dorothy Hawkins decided to start a rescue of German shepherd dogs after losing their beloved dog, Elsa. They planned to start slowly, but while Dorothy is in the hospital, Barrie finds that the word is already out about their plan. Dorothy arrives home to not one new rescue dog, but two! One is a massive, energetic black dog from a homeless man,...
The Bulletin Board
Got love for stamps? The Merrimack County Stamp Collectors’ monthly meeting will be held at Bow Mills United Methodist Church, 505 South St., Bow, on Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m. All people interested in stamp collecting are invited to attend. For more information, contact Dan Day at 228-1154. – DAN DAY High school seniors, $1,000 could be yours The Faith, Hope and Love Foundation will be awarding its fourth annual $1,000 college...
Police log
On the dance floor On Nov. 26, Officer Eric Pichler was working security detail at Tandy’s Top Shelf. According to his report, at about 11:30 p.m., he was approached by several staff members about a man “getting too physical” on the dance floor. They said that the man was drunk, flailing around and knocking into customers. They asked Pichler if he could remove the man, the report said. Pichler approached the man, later identified as...
Who were these people anyway?
Christa McAuliffe, Abbot-Downing and Mill Brook. This whole naming process of the school district’s fancy new elementary schools got us wondering how some streets, schools and buildings in town got their names. And what do we do when we have a question, readers? That’s right, we go to you. We want you to tell us the stories behind these six folks who were apparently special enough to be commemorated by our fair city. A few sentences...
Exploring the Winant Park trails
The Winant Park trails of Concord are delightfully rugged, and the reward for reaching the top is a breathtaking panoramic view of the New Hampshire landscape, including the State House and the St. Paul’s School campus, with mountains on the far horizon. The rock-strewn picturesque pathways are what you would expect in a typical New England forest, and the rocks make good stepping stones. I began my hike at the trail entrance on Fisk...
This week in Concord history
– Dec. 14, 1955: A train conductor uncoupling an engine from the freight train in Concord gets his foot caught between the rail and guard rail and is then run over by the train and crushed to death, the Coos Republican reports. – Dec. 15, 1987: Just before noontime, Gary Hart and his wife Lee stroll onto the State House Plaza, where the media horde waits. After having dropped out in May because of highly publicized...
Remembering the princess restaurant . . .
Last week, we asked you to share memories of the Princess Restaurant. Here’s what you said: “From the l920s to the early l960s, an enterprising couple, Christ and Madeline Mamos, built a grocery store and filling station with tourist cabins on Fisherville Road (which links West Concord to Penacook). In the same area, over the years, they built a sandwich shop called The Red Rooster, a miniature golf course, and the Princess Ice Cream...
Detective remembered to chuckle
Not sweating the small stuff has helped Detective Sean Dougherty get through tough times at the Concord Police Department. “You see people at their worst. Sometimes you have to chuckle to get through it,” he said. And get through it he did – on Nov. 30 the Loudon resident retired after serving the department for 23 years. At only 45 years old, Dougherty is looking forward to a life with a lot less work and more time at home with his...
Where you can find art downtown
So many of my best Concord finds lately have been arts-related. It’s true, my interests and work naturally inhabit that sphere, but it’s also true that there’s some talented people running around this city. A recent welcome surprise was the Holiday Open Studio at T. Devaney Fine Arts and the Tricia Anderson Soule Studio. Tom and Tricia, the artists, inhabit studios across the hall from one another on the second floor at 3 Pleasant St....
Meet Ruven Dhungana, student and Bhutanese refugee
Twenty-one-year-old Ruven Dhungana of Bhutan arrived here last year with his immediate family. We asked him a few questions about his homeland and what it’s like to live in Concord. Where were you born? Bhutan, raised in a refugee camp in Nepal. What was life like in Nepal? It was difficult. My parents were farmers, so they grew the food that we ate. I went to school, but it was a hard environment to learn in. What was your first...
I’ve got some good names for your future schools
Drat – they picked names for those new elementary schools without asking me. But if they had, I would’ve chosen these: BeeGees Elementary. I know, I know, it’s off the beaten path, and they don’t have the same local connections as the prominent and accomplished inpiduals already on the list, but I think the authors of hits like “Jive Talkin’” and “Too Much Heaven” deserve some consideration. Or think of how much history these kids...
En garde! Fencing club emphasizes fun, skills
Tracy Nabstedt grew up the same way many little kids do: sword fighting with branches and broomsticks in the backyard. Most of those Saturday swashbucklers end up dropping the branches in favor of briefcases, but not Nabstedt. He’s the man behind the iron mask at the Concord Fencing Club, which he’s owned and operated since its inception in 1998, and he’s been able to make a career out of swordplay. “A lot of people are drawn to...
Corrections
Because we don’t want Mary Baker Eddy’s ghost haunting us, we have a few corrections to make on last week’s article about the Christian Science founder: – The title of Eddy’s book is “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” not “Science and Health with Key Elements to the Scriptures.” – At one point, Eddy’s Pleasant View property was a retirement home for Christian Science practitioners and nurses. We wrote...
