A week before Thanksgiving 1917, the Concord Enterprise printed a letter from a young Maynard man named Hugh Connors. The United States had entered the First World War seven months earlier, and Connors had shipped out with New England Sawmill Unit No. 3, a team of American lumbermen stationed in Scotland.1 “I am writing this letter in bed,” he wrote, “as I have been laid up for a week with the grippe. Over here they call it influenza,” he added, as if translating a foreign word. “I am not at the hospital, but have engaged a room about five minutes’ ride by bicycle, from our camp.”2
Concord has always been a very special place. The people who call this town home have never shied away from a challenge, nor have they hesitated to do the right thing in trying times. From mustering the courage to fire the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” to creating a space which fostered a generation of literary legends, to standing up to fight for the abolition of slavery, Concordians are steadfast in the face of adversity.
It’s that time of year, when Concord bids farewell to pumpkin spice as our homes fill with the aroma of pine boughs and gingerbread. These smells evoke images of the distant past, but our colonial forbearers might be surprised—if not downright scandalized—to see the “profane and superstitious customs” that we enjoy at midwinter.
We all know the old adage, “Behind every great man there is a great woman.” In fact, throughout history many women have distinguished themselves just as much as their men. Women such as Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Eleanore Roosevelt, or Jackie Kennedy were a force to be reckoned with in their own right, their place in history assured. Here in Concord, our “Two Revolutions” revolved around the names Ripley, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau. But these great men were surrounded by equally impressive and influential women, who also played a pivotal role in our nation’s history. We would like to share a few of their stories here…
The Concord Museum is unveiling a portion of its newly renovated and redesigned galleries on October 11, 2019. This is the first part of a multi-phased project that traces the lives of the people of Concord for over 10,000 years, beginning with the people of Musketaquid. The new galleries will also chronicle other key moments in Concord’s history –igniting the war for our nation’s independence, the blossoming in the American literary renaissance, and debates over slavery and women’s rights.
What does a life of freedom and fortune mean to you? And what would you do to attain it?
To find that life, two men from different backgrounds joined the British Army, one as a foot soldier, the other as a commissioned officer. While their upbringings and choices differed, their lives crossed one fiery day in Concord, Massachusetts.
