When Sophia Peabody met Nathaniel Hawthorne at her home in Salem, Massachusetts, he had little to offer but his Byronic good looks. He had published two books, but they brought him neither fame nor fortune, and at age 33, he had run out of ideas and motivation.
Dedicated in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial has become a cultural icon and a gathering place for some of the most significant and symbolic events of the past 100 years. It has become an almost sacred space for civic expression focusing on race relations and human rights.
Winters can be long and harsh in New England, but at least we have hope every year that, soon enough, spring and then summer will make their return. But what if warmer weather never returned? That’s exactly what happened in 1816, The Year Without a Summer.
This is a story of insanity, and it begins in ancient Ireland, where legend says there once lived the powerful Tuatha de Danann. They were Kings, Queens, Druids, and those possessed with magic arts long since forgotten or explained away by modern science. Among them was Cailleach (translation, “Old Hag”), the Witch Queen of Winter.
Chanukah will once again be celebrated by the Town of Concord and Temple Kerem Shalom at Rideout Park on December 21st. Families will enjoy the blessing (and lighting) of the menorah, music, games, stories, and delicious latkes from Debra’s Natural Gourmet. And another beloved tradition will also take place this winter. The stunning display of menorahs in the window of Debra’s Natural Gourmet will be there for people to admire and enjoy all December long.
The first onstage lesbian kiss in the United States took place at the Apollo Theater in 1923 in the play God of Vengeance by Polish-born Jewish playwright Sholem Asch. Obscene, indecent, and immoral were words New York theater-goers used to describe the production. So incensed were the “moral” authorities of the time that the entire cast and the producer were arrested and convicted for indecency. This over a story that the playwright called “a little Jewish play,” one that had been staged in countries throughout Europe for a decade without incident.
Concord transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about life being full of circles. And this year, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, Concord, Massachusetts, once again finds itself full circle back in a world tied to a King Charles; this time, King Charles III.
In the late nineteenth century, Currier and Ives made beautiful and iconic engravings of New England winter scenes. They depicted gleeful children sledding, or skating on frozen ponds, surrounded by a snowy landscape. Fast forward 150 years or so, and you can still do those things, and more, in Concord during the winter. Let’s look at how you can have your own Currier and Ives adventure in Concord, with all the rich winter sports opportunities we have today!
There’s a joke that goes: “What are the four seasons in New England? Winter, still winter, and three months of bad sledding.” Any shrewd Yankee – or wise visitor – chuckles at this saying but knows it just ain’t true. Rather, winter in the northeast is a wonderland of opportunity. As the sage Henry David Thoreau observed, “a healthy man, indeed, is the complement of the seasons, and in winter, summer is in his heart.” And in Concord, where Thoreau tread across snowy dells and meadows blanketed in white, hearts are “warm and cheery, like cottages under drifts, whose windows and doors are half concealed, but from whose chimneys the smoke cheerfully ascends.”
The William Munroe Special Collection’s mission is to understand and appreciate Concord’s history and culture. One unique collection administered by Special Collections is the Renee Garrelick Oral History Program (also known as the Concord Oral History Program). Its recordings and transcripts add a unique voice to Concord’s storied past.
Under the direction of Marjorie Garrard, in 1976, the Town of Concord’s Historical Commission established an oral history sub-committee “to coordinate and carry out a program for the collection of an oral history of the Town. A large number of residents of diverse backgrounds and interests will eventually be contacted and asked to respond to this program by recording their recollections of the Town as it was.” By 1977, local historian Renee Garrelick had already recorded 30 interviews, which the Commission reported, “are highly professional and the beginning of fulfilling a longtime goal of the Commission and other local historians.”
For me, the change of seasons from fall to winter is about memories of holidays with loved ones and the sweet and savory family favorite recipes that we can’t help but love year after year. The flavors of apple and caramel were a tradition at my grandmother’s home over the holidays. Each year she’d set out traditional southern dishes alongside New England favorites.
The Spiced Candied Apple cocktail pairs well with cured meats, cornbread stuffing, rich mac and cheese, roasted veggies, and savory dishes. Or enjoy it for dessert.
“I will take another walk to the Cliff, another row on the river, another skate on the meadow, be out in the first snow, and associate with the winter birds. Here I am at home. In the bare and bleached crust of the earth
I recognize my friend.”
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