Discover Concord Winter 2020 Issue

Discover

CONCORD WINTER 2020

CONCORD’S

WINTER Wonderland

MARY MOODY EMERSON:

The Godmother of Transcendentalism

Thoreau in Winter

12

PLUS!

THINGS TO SEE & DO THIS WINTER

HOME:

EXPLORING THE LIFE & LEGACY OF LORING W. COLEMAN

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from the

© Jennifer Schünemann

FOUNDERS

Home for the Holidays

W

What a year! 2020 has certainly been challenging in many ways and yet the things that matter – the things that make the holidays so special – endure. The importance of family, friends, and neighbors remains, even if we can’t be together physically. Helping others has never been more important. And giving thanks has taken on new meanings this year as we struggle with challenges on personal, local, national, and global levels.

There is still much to celebrate – and many of our holiday traditions endure…if in a slightly different format.

The Concord Museum’s Annual Holiday House Tour, performances by the Concord Players and the Umbrella Arts Center, and even Thursday evening folk music at the Colonial Inn have all pivoted to become virtual experiences.

The Winter Market has come to town and now pairs individual artists with local shops and restaurants to enourage exploration. There is still much to see and do this winter in Concord, as we have outlined on page 10.

As many readers already know, the beloved West Concord 5 & 10 will close its doors on December 31st.

Maynard Forbes’ family has operated the 5 & 10 for close to 85 years and they will be sorely missed. Family-owned businesses are a cornerstone of Concord and in this issue, we talk with Scott Vanderhoof of Vanderhoof Hardware, a family-owned business that has been serving Concord since 1904. Celebrate with us in “Long Before Software, There Was Hardware…the Tale of Concord’s Vanderhoof Hardware Company” (p. 12).

Of course, Concord has long been home to extraordinary people and one of those was Mary Moody Emerson, the godmother of Transcendentalism. Learn how Mary, with no public platform of her own, influenced the thinking of generations to come (p. 26).

One of Concord’s greatest assets is its thriving community of artists. Throughout Concord and surrounding towns, the arts are celebrated by both those that create and those that appreciate art. In “Artist Spotlight,” we focus on two area artists whose work is well known in New England and beyond, Jonathan Macadam and Martha Wallace (p. 24). The article “Home: Exploring the Life & Legacy of Loring W. Coleman” delves into the world of this renowned painter whose work is currently on display at the Concord Museum (p. 52).

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| Winter 2020

Emma, the official mascot of Discover Concord

And finally, as you ponder that special something to send loved ones far and near for the upcoming holidays, can we ask that you please think of the Concord shops and restaurants who are still struggling in the COVID-19 pandemic? Please shop local as much as you can – you’ll be helping a local family every time you do. Grateful merchants are working hard to keep holiday shopping safe, fun, and festive. You can read more about it on page 46.

So, as we look toward the end of 2020 and a new year, let’s remember those things that endure. Cherish your family and friends. Care for your neighbors. Help a stranger. And remember that we can each make a difference. We wish you the happiest of holidays and a healthy and happy New Year!

Cynthia L. Baudendistel Co-Founder

Jennifer C. Schünemann Co-Founder

Wishing you a

Healthy Holiday Season!

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9 7 8 . 6 2 1 . 0 7 3 4 978.371.1234 - 48 Thoreau Street, Concord MA 01742

w w w . T h e A t t i a s G r o u p . c o m

p.28

p.12

contents

10 12

Top Things to See & Do in Concord This Winter

p.16

L ong Before Software, There was Hardware … The Tale of Vanderhoof Hardware Company

16 22 24

26

28 32

36 41

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Puritans, Witches & Kings and the Ousted Minister’s Flight to Concord Beyond the Holiday Box

Artist Spotlight ary Moody Emerson: The M Godmother of Transcendentalism From the House of Little Women

p.24 p.42

G regory Maguire Debuts A Wild Winter Swan Walking Maps of Concord New England May Run on Dunkin’- But This Local Family Keeps it Brewin’ in Concord Favorite New England Holiday Foods Contents Continued on Page 6

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| Winter 2020

Concord is safe and open again, just waiting for you to Shop, Explore, and More — From private tours to hiking trails, to take-out from wonderful restaurants, and private shopping, Concord is not just for summer and fall.

Call the Tourism Manager year round for help planning the perfect local day.

Need the perfect Holiday Gift?

Look no further! We have ornaments, mugs, t-shirts for adults, kids and babies, and more! Call the Visitor Center today 978-318-3061 or drop by.

Got family coming to visit?

Kids getting to much screen time?

Need a good Concord gift?

Want to know more about the town you love?

Visitor Center Information

Winter tours coming soon. Call for information, 978-318-3061.

We offer much more than maps!

Tourism Manager is a new full time role and in the office Monday through Friday all year long!

Clean, public bathrooms open year round 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Concord Visitor Center 58 Main Street Concord, MA 01742

978-318-3061 www.visitconcord.org Email: visitors@concordma.gov

Discover CONCORD discoverconcordma.com CO-FOUNDER

Cynthia L. Baudendistel CO-FOUNDER

Jennifer C. Schünemann ART DIRECTOR

Beth Pruett DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR

Wilson S. Schünemann

p.48

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR

Olga Gersh ADVISORY BOARD

p.60 p.52

Bobbi Benson

Alida Orzechowski

NORTH BRIDGE ANTIQUES

CONCORD TOUR COMPANY

Patricia Clarke

DEBRA’S NATURAL GOURMET

SARA CAMPBELL

Marie Foley REVOLUTIONARY CONCORD

Michael Glick CONCORD’S COLONIAL INN

Maria Madison THE ROBBINS HOUSE

Jennifer McGonigle JOY STREET LIFE + HOME

contents 46

48

52 54 56

Concord Holiday Shopping: Safe, Fun, and Festive T op Ten Tall Tales Told on Tours

Thoreau in Winter Dream Weddings Go Local

Carol Thistle CONCORD MUSEUM

Jan Turnquist LOUISA MAY ALCOTT’S ORCHARD HOUSE

Steve Verrill VERRILL FARM

Jerry Wedge THE UMBRELLA ARTS CENTER

Robert Munro

Jim White

THE ROBBINS HOUSE

MILLBROOK TARRY

COVER PHOTO:

p.56

60

Winter Comes to Concord

62 B ronson Alcott’s Search for

ome: Exploring the Life & H Legacy of Loring Coleman

Debra Stark

64 68 70 71

Eden: Fruitlands Concord Trivia Giving Back to Community Concord Coupons Advertiser Index

© 2020 Voyager Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISSN 2688-5204 (Print) ISSN 2688-5212 (Online)

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Assabet River at Damondale ©Dave Witherbee AUTHORS/CONTRIBUTORS:

Susan Bailey Cynthia Baudendistel Beverly Breton Carroll Pierre Chiha Victor Curran Beth van Duzer Jennifer Johnston Jaimee Leigh Joroff Erica Lome Alida Orzechowski Jennifer Schünemann Richard Smith Jan Turnquist Abby Gurall White Dave Witherbee PUBLISHED BY:

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12 Things to See & Do in Concord this Winter

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Concord Stories from Concord Free Public Library Special Collections is a new virtual series that features stories about Concord’s people and places from a variety of guests, including Concord residents, scholars, researchers, and curators. There are currently three presentations available online. Alexander von Humboldt and the United States is presented by Dr. Eleanor Harvey, Senior Curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This fascinating talk explores the relationships between the Concord Transcendentalists and Humboldt. A Hopeful Heart: Louisa May Alcott Before Little Women is presented by Deborah Noyes, author of a book by the same name. Local historian, 10

Discover CONCORD

| Winter 2020

Family Trees

author, and tour guide Victor Curran brings to life two extraordinary women in Emerson’s Muses: Mary Moody Emerson and Sarah Bradford Ripley. Listen to them all – you won’t be disappointed! concordlibrary.org

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Get outside and explore Concord’s living history! Even in winter, Concord Tour Company offers eight fascinating walking tours, ranging from classic history to fun and insightful experiences like “the Real Little Women” or “No Remedy for Love: Romance, Flirtation, and Scandal in 19th Century Concord.” There’s even a tour about beer and taverns! At just $25 per person, it’s a great way to get outside while learning something new. concordtourcompany.com

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This year you can enjoy the lights and decorations of the season from the warmth of your own home. The Concord Museum’s 10th Annual Holiday House Tour is going virtual and the Guild of Volunteers

©Concord Museum

25th Annual Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature takes place November 25, 2020 through January 3, 2021. Trees and wreaths of all shapes and sizes are decorated with charm and inspiration from acclaimed classic and contemporary children’s books.

One of Concord’s best-loved family events. concordmuseum.org/events/25thannual-family-trees-a-celebrationof-childrens-literature

invites you to join them for exclusive video tours of six Concord homes decorated for the holidays with boundless charm, creativity, and the joys of the season. There will even be bonus content including holiday decorating how-to’s, design inspiration, and more.

December 11-13. concordmuseum.org

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Many of us are working on home renovation projects this winter. If you’re doing this in anticipation of selling your home, you may want to listen in on the virtual seminar “Selling Your Home in a Pandemic” December 15th or January 13th.

Find out more at rebrand.ly/SellingWebinar

6

Winter Market Goes to Town The Umbrella is taking its annual Winter Market to town this year, pairing Umbrella artists with area businesses. You’ll find handcrafted artisanal gifts creatively displayed by area merchants throughout Concord Center, Thoreau Depot, Nine Acre Corner, and West Concord. This is the perfect opportunity to shop both the fabulous array of items carefully selected by our local shop keepers and the unique work of our area artists. theumbrellaarts.org/ studio-arts/winter-market-goes-town

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In winters past, locals have cozied up to the bar at the crowded Village Forge Pub at Concord’s Colonial Inn on Thursday evenings for live music and tall tales from their beloved “Fitz” (John Fitzsimmons). In a beautiful example of pivoting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, John has made sure that you can still enjoy his heartwarming folk music

John Fitzsimmons

on dark and snowy winter nights from the comfort of your own home. Pour yourself a glass of wine or make your favorite cocktail and tune into a Facebook Live Stream every Thursday at facebook.com/ johnfitzfolksinger. You can even request your favorite song in the comments!

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Concord Museum’s April 19, 1775 Galleries are now open. These three new permanent galleries chronicle the events of April 19, 1775 and their revolutionary effect on American history.

The oft-told story of the battle at Concord’s North Bridge comes to life in dramatic new and more inclusive ways to recount the fateful moment when the first shots were fired and the American Revolution began. concordmuseum.org/april-19-1775-exhibit

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Concord Players present a dramatic reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol December 18-24 on YouTube. Grab a cup of hot chocolate and curl up by the computer for this special event! While you’re there, you might also enjoy listening to

their recorded presentation Spellbound: A Conversation with Gregory Maguire, also available on YouTube. Concord Players is developing an exciting lineup of virtual events to keep us entertained this winter, so check their website for the latest news. concordplayers.org

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Concord Art will host a juried exhibition of paintings and sculptures January 14 – February 14, 2021.

Don’t miss your chance to see original work by some of our area’s finest artists. concordart.org

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Minute Man National Historical Park and The Umbrella Arts Center invite you to explore the beauty, history, and unique nature of the park through public art. Witnessing Winter is the first challenge in the One Revolution campaign. Visitors, both virtual and in person, are asked to interpret the beauty and the battles of the cold and quiet season at Minute Man by drawing, painting, or coloring one of the park’s eleven 1775 witness houses covered in clean, white snow. Learn more at theumbrellaarts.org/one-revolution

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Shop and dine locally this holiday and feel great finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list, while supporting your friends and neighbors. Our local shops and restaurants thank you!

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Long Before Software, There was Hardware…

the Tale of Concord’s Vanderhoof Hardware Company

S

Stepping across the threshold of Vanderhoof Hardware, you travel back in time. The soft jingle of the shopkeeper’s bell, the gentle creak of wooden floors that have witnessed customers coming and going for more than 115 years, the unassuming murmur of voices discussing home improvement projects, and the ring of a 1930’s telephone (yes, it still works), all let you know you are someplace special.

Scott Vanderhoof, the 4th generation of Vanderhoofs to run this charming old-school hardware store, greets me with a genuine smile and the relaxed demeanor of someone who is comfortable in his world. The iconic 12

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| Winter 2020

Photo courtesy of Vanderhoof Hardware, Co.

BY JENNIFER SCHÜNEMANN

yellow wall along one side of the shop showcases a delightful array of tools, parts, trinkets, gizmos, and bits to support any doit-yourself project around town. Downstairs, the lower level of one of the oldest buildings in Concord Center reveals a glass cutting station, and a workshop where lamps are restrung and a wide range of formerly broken items and small appliances are restored to their glory and sent home. Specialty tools also sharpen everything from knives, to garden tools, to scissors, to chainsaws!

“My great-grandfather, Albert, moved to Concord in 1904 – just at the time that indoor plumbing and electricity were

Circa early 1900s; from left to right: Albert Vanderhoof (founder), George Keith, Auton Saunders, Frank Vanderhoof, George Emmott, Philip Vanderhoof

becoming popular. He transitioned the focus from the old coal stoves to this ‘new’ technology here in Concord. In fact, the Fitchburg railroad station was one of the first jobs his shop took on when he opened,” said Scott.

Back in 1904, the shop mostly focused on coal stoves, kerosene lamps, copper wash boilers, plumbing, and heavy hardware. The upper floor was a specialty shop to make air ducts. You can still see the heavy iron

Photos on this page (c) Pierre Chiha Photography

basement door that slides out to the street where the coal stoves were loaded in and then raised to the upper floors via a handcranked lift.

Sons Frank and Phillip would go on to run the store until the mid-1960s, transitioning into housewares, white enamel cookware, saucepans, stockpots, and a wider range of hardware. Parker Vanderhoof (Scott’s father) would take over and run the shop until his retirement in 1995. Now Scott is the one guiding projects around town and equipping them with just the right supplies.

He is joined by his talented nephew, Thomas…the 5th generation of Vanderhoofs in this amazing place. Thomas brings an accounting degree and new insights into digitizing the inventory systems and creating a user-friendly web experience for customers. But the core Vanderhoof experience remains the same as it was 115 years ago – hands on learning, all the right tools and parts, plus approachable and friendly guides to help you figure it out.

A veritable “Hardware University” degree can be had at Vanderhoof’s. If you take the time to explain your project and then step back to listen, anyone can receive a highly satisfying crash course in the project at hand. That kind of range and expertise – from plumbing, to electric, to engineering - comes from a lifetime of living and breathing hardware and its application. This town is lucky to have one of the few true old-style hardware stores left in America, right in Concord Center. In fact, Vanderhoof Hardward, Co. was featured in the book “Old-Fashioned Hardware Stores” by Walter H. Olson in 2015. And before that, it

The iconic yellow wall - with every fastener or hinge a project could need.

Scott and Thomas Vanderhoof - the 4th and 5th generation continuing the tradition in Concord Center

was featured in The Reader’s Digest in 1977!

In a world of consumerism and waste, Vanderhoof hardware is a refreshing reminder that taking a moment to fix something can be both satisfying and good for your wallet. “I love it when a customer comes in looking for a referral for a plumber, only to realize that she can replace that toilet flapper tank ball herself. Or that a teenager can learn how to sand, prime, and paint a home project all on their own. We take all the time necessary to walk through the steps until our customers understand. I love the calls just to tell me about the little successes all over town,” said Scott. “People come through these doors with all kinds of projects – from ‘how do I fix a scratch on my car’ to ‘can you help me turn this bugle into a lamp’! We always want to encourage people to learn new skills and to experience the satisfaction of repairing something on their own. Especially this year, it’s been so rewarding to help so many folks stuck at home. Working on a project can go a long way towards relieving isolation and anxiety.”

Concordians have been particularly grateful for this gem during the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many people focused on home repairs, a newfound love of gardening, or rediscovering the art of outdoor grilling, Vanderhoof Hardware has been hopping.

For example, in a normal season, they would sell one or two gas grills. In 2020, they sold more than 70. Scott is grateful to Thomas – and to their helper, Alex Lee from Concord Academy - who put together each

and every one of those grills!

Akin to the West Concord 5&10, Vanderhoof’s also provides Concord Center with knick knacks ranging from Band-Aids to sewing kits to picture hangers – they even make keys. “With Maynard retiring and closing the 5&10, we are one of the last of the old-school retail anchors in town,” lamented Scott. “We will do our best to help fill the gap here in Concord Center, but we know everyone will miss the 5&10.”

Thankfully, the future of Vanderhoof Hardware is secure for another generation, with Thomas on board. As for who will run the store beyond that – who knows? While Scott’s two daughters chose other career paths (one in medicine and the other as a teacher), there are three grandkids out there…perhaps one of them will help carry the torch for the 6th generation? One thing is for sure, Scott Vanderhoof has no plans to leave anytime soon.

“This place means so much to me. There is so much history here – so many great stories flow through these doors every single day. I can’t image being anyplace else. I’m always awake and tinkering away in the workshop downstairs for hours before we open. This place is more than a store – it’s a place of possibility – a gathering place for our whole community.”

You can visit Vanderhoof Hardware at 28 Main Street in Concord Center. Bring along photos or parts for your next DIY project….and tell Scott and Thomas we said hello.

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Puritans, Witches & Kings and the Ousted Minister’s Flight to Concord

W Winter is here. Come in from the cold, sit by the fire, and let me tell you a story of an ousted Puritan who sailed across the ocean to what would become Concord, Massachusetts. His name was Peter Bulkeley and he traveled hither in the black garb of the Puritans, bearing with him his rigid beliefs in man’s inherent wickedness thrust for eternity upon them by the sins of Adam and Eve, and in a God whose mercy was reserved for only a chosen few. Tucked away in the back of his mind, were centuries of folklore and superstitions leached into the ground of old England, passed down by generations of storytellers.

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| Winter 2020

Hailing from Odell in County Bedfordshire, Bulkeley most likely knew the ancient tales of beautiful, shapeshifting women such as the swan bride with the magic golden necklace who enchanted a fine lord in the woods, married him, and was followed by a curse. Or stories of children who disobediently played in the churchyard, summoning the devil who seized and flew them high into the air before plunging them into a cavernous pit in the earth that swallowed them whole, leaving only one stone behind as a reminder of those who laughed at religion. And most likely, in the forefront of his mind, the Reverend Peter Bulkeley was aware of witches!

©istock.com/Carlosr

BY JAIMEE LEIGH JOROFF

600 years before, around 900 A.D. the Church had formally declared witchcraft, sorcery, and the like to be unreal, simply illusions imagined by those serving the devil instead of God. But, in the century before Bulkeley was born, German clergyman Heinrich Kramer wrote and published “The Malleus Maleficarum” (“The Hammer of the Witches”), declaring that witchcraft was indeed real. Witch hysteria began to spread across Europe, taking root in England around the time Peter Bulkeley was born in 1583.

A son of Odell’s Puritan minister, at age 16, Bulkeley entered Saint John’s College at Cambridge, England. Around that time, King James VI of Scotland wrote Daemonology,

© Jaimee Leigh Joroff

a manual for hunting and executing witches. Three years later, when Bulkeley was completing his studies, King James inherited the English throne, becoming King James I of England and the VI of Scotland.

As a book written by this now powerful King, Daemonology became well known and widely read by audiences that likely included scholars such as Bulkeley. But for Bulkeley, he would soon have a more pressing personal problem than witches at his doorstep.

In 1625, King James I/VI, died. By this time, Bulkeley had ascended his father’s pulpit in Odell and was preaching the rigid Puritan principles.

James’ son, King Charles I, ascended the throne. He shortly acquired a Catholic bride, bestowed upon himself religious sovereignty, and suspended parliament.

Charles surrounded himself with new additions to the Church of England including William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Together, Charles and Laud began a campaign of reforms, including instructing ministers to beautify their churches’ physical appearances.

Traditional Puritans, like Bulkeley, viewed these changes as wasteful “superstitious vanities”. They were also ordered to wear a surplice (a white overgarment) and perform the sign of the cross, which were viewed as more associated with Catholicism than Puritanism. Bulkeley refused to do both.

In 1634, Bulkeley’s lack of compliance came to the attention of Archbishop Laud who temporarily suspended Bulkeley from his pulpit. If there was a stirring of rage in Bulkeley at this, he would have been wise to feel an equal stirring of fear, for Archbishop Laud was growing increasingly powerful and merciless to Puritans who refused his bidding. Eyeing his future, Bulkeley began to consider relocating, and in the spring

of 1635, he boarded the The Susan & Ellen, and with his family motto “Nec temere, nec timide” (Neither rashly, nor timidly) in his mind, set sail for the Colonies. His escape from England was not a moment too soon, for not long after, Archbishop Laud’s cruelty to nonconforming Puritans escalated to the cutting off of ears and branding of faces.

The Susan & Ellen arrived in Boston in the summer of 1635. Bulkeley was introduced to Major Simon Willard, an explorer and fur trader who had been scouting out the inland areas of Massachusetts.

Willard had come across Musketaquid, an area 20 miles Inscription on marker stone in front of west of Boston previously Peter Bulkeley’s original homesite lived in by members of the A year later, Bulkeley and the other Pennacook tribe. The area Concord residents officially purchased had cleared fields and a river, perfect the town from the Pennacook. Early town for farming, fishing, and trade passage. records are lost, but one story says the Bulkeley, Willard, and several other treaty was signed under Jethro’s tree Colonists petitioned the Massachusetts (formerly located in Monument Square near General Court for permission to settle the traffic circle); another says the treaty in Musketaquid and to change the name was signed in Bulkeley’s house. to “Concord” (meaning “peace”). On A meeting house was built in the town September 12, 1635, permission was center and Bulkeley and Jones shared granted to establish a plantation of six religious duties, with Jones acting as square miles. That fall, with winter fast the town’s Reverend, and Bulkeley as approaching, Bulkeley, Willard, Reverend the esteemed religious teacher. Jones John Jones (another Puritan recently eventually moved to Connecticut, and driven out of England) and approximately Bulkeley assumed the role of Concord’s eleven other families moved to Concord Reverend. and hastily built houses along the area that Bulkeley died on March 9th, 1659, stretches from today’s Monument Square leaving behind a reputation as one of down Lexington Road to Merriam’s corner.

Massachusetts’ most devout Puritans, Bulkeley’s house was located on today’s and a long line of minister descendants Lowell road (a few doors down from the (including his 3rd-great-nephew, Ralph Colonial Inn).

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Public domain

Waldo Emerson). He also left behind several written works, including The Gospel Covenant derived from his Concord sermons. To his grave in the Old Hill Burying ground he carried the English folklore, superstitions, murmurs of witches, and the memories of kings and zealots who had driven him here. Those stories stayed in the ground with him until 1842 when writer Nathaniel Hawthorne arrived in Concord and set them loose with his pen.

Hawthorne was the great-greatgrandson of another Puritan minister whom history remembers as “the hanging judge” of the Salem Witch trials. In his rented house, the Old Manse on Monument Street, Hawthorne compiled and wrote Mosses from An Old Manse, a collection of short stories steeped in Puritan roots; full of witches, necromancers, shapeshifters, illusions, and fantasies, and the history of Old

England and New England. Indeed, Archbishop Laud, the very man who had driven Bulkeley to Concord, later appeared in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

We can only guess what Puritan Minister Peter Bulkeley would have thought of Hawthorne’s gothic writing, whose basis sprang more from the pages of Daemonology and The Hammer of the Witches than from Bulkeley’s Gospels of the Covenant. But there was no escaping it, for present in many of Hawthorne’s tales is the figure of the revered Puritan Minister, men like Peter Bulkeley, who followed their unyielding beliefs in whatever land they were destined to inhabit.

For complete source list, email barrowbookstore@gmail.com.

——————————————————————— A Concord native, Jaimee is the manager of the Barrow Bookstore in Concord Center which specializes in Concord history, Transcendentalism, and literary figures.

She has been an interpreter at most of Concord’s historic sites and is a licensed town guide.

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau

ISSN 0040-6406

Finding Thoreau in the North Maine Woods

by Jake McGinnis Two days after the close of the Annual Gathering last summer, a small group of Thoreauvians set out in canoes on Lobster Stream, from Millinocket, Maine. For an hour, maybe two, we worked our way upstream. In the days to come, we’d be traveling a part of

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Henry David Thoreau’s 1853 and 1857 routes down the West Branch of the Penobscot, paddling from Lobster Stream to Chesuncook Lake. From there, we’d turn south toward Caribou and Ripogenus Lakes, leaving the routes of “Chesuncook” and “Allegash and the East Branch” behind us as we headed for our takeout. On the West Branch, I would fasten a map of our route on the outside of my pack, and all day I’d glance down at it to track our path against what I remembered of Thoreau’s two trips down this same stretch of river. I had come to Maine to sort out some ideas for a dissertation chapter on The Maine Woods, and I had high hopes for a kind of epiphany, a better sense of Thoreau’s travels there. a wood and canvas canoe steered by Maine Guide Polly Mahoney, I wasn’t thinking about my map at all, or even about Thoreau.

Rather, I was looking up at the sky, my thoughts occupied by a dark gray cloud racing in from the north. Now uncomfortably far from the landing, we could hear thunder in the distance, and there was nowhere to go but further upstream.

Lobster Stream is a slow, winding river, its grassy banks lined with alders and dotted by a few weathered beaver lodges. Passing this way in 1853, Thoreau ascended the stream with George Thatcher and Joe Attean for about a mile and a half in search of moose. He wrote that when the West Branch ran high, the water backed up nearly to Lobster Lake, making for easy paddling. They might have camped on the lake if they’d found fresh tracks, but in the stream.1 Four years later in “Allegash and the East Branch,” a sudden thunderstorm came up as Thoreau again paddled by the mouth of Lobster Stream, and he and his companions had to duck for cover and make a hasty camp amidst the trees, a bit earlier than they might have otherwise. More than 150 years after those trips, it’s still an easy paddle, and you’re still liable to be “considerably molested by mosquitoes.”2 You’ll certainly have to keep an eye on the weather, too.

As we pressed on beyond the last curve of the stream and entered Lobster Lake, the wind became anxious and shifty. We turned south, hugging the shore of a shallow bay and casting

Courtesy Henrik Otterberg

Contents Finding Thoreau in the North Maine Woods . . . . . . . . 1 Rediscovering the Maine Woods:Thoreau’s Legacy in an Unsettled Land: A Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Other ‘Hermit’ of Thoreau’s Walden Pond: The Sojourn of Edmond Stuart Hotham: A Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 L’arpenteur vagabond. Cartes et cartographies dans l’œuvre de Henry

other canoes behind us, strung out like a line of young mergansers headed to roost. Ahead, we could see our campsite in the distance, a sandy beach on Ogden Point that promised stunning views of the coming sunset, with cozy little tent spots tucked in the cedars just

David Thoreau: A Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Teaching Thoreau: Exploring Place and Space in Online Teaching of A Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Walden Pond at Logan Airport . . . . . . . . . . . .

Additions to the Thoreau Bibliography . . . . . . . .

President’s Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2020 Thoreau Prize Announcement . . . . . . . . . .

Notes & Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . 9 . . . . . .

10 12 13 . 16 . 17 . 17

Become a member of the Thoreau Society at thoreausociety.org and receive a subscription to the quarterly Thoreau Society Bulletin and the annual Concord Saunterer. Visit us at the Shop at Walden Pond or eStore and receive 15% off your purchase when you use this code: HDT1817. Located at 915 Walden Street. Open year-round. Visit us at shopatwaldenpond.org. Call us at 978-287-5477.

We are here to help you discover Thoreau country.

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Beyond the Holiday Box

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BY ABBY GURALL WHITE

22

The winter months can be confining in New England – short days and longer periods of darkness set in from October through January. We tend to hunker down in our homes and spend more time inside, seeking warmth and safety. Festivities and gatherings around town have promised to give us a chance to connect and check-in, to be a part of a community. Over the years, Concord has dependably been a safe and vibrant place to spend the holidays.

This year, we will navigate the pandemic into the winter months — working, learning, and living more remotely. It is one thing to be home in comfort and another to be required to operate life from home. One reaction is to feel trapped or boxed up. The additional confinement is isolating. Loneliness is a real factor for all ages.

Coming into the holidays, I reflect on the times Concord felt hopeful and heartwarming. The times that defined living in a close-knit community of invested neighbors, shopkeepers, family, friends, and townspeople. I reached out to ask a few Concord natives - those who lived here over the past 50 years for any special memories they had of our town during the winter season.

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©istock.com/jenifoto

Sentiments of past seasons came in in a flurry: • Having an office on Main Street and getting to know the merchants who were always positive about the season • Sue, Helen, and Sandy waiting tables at Brigham’s (now Helen’s), giving a warm welcome to young kids • Merchants serving goodies (and some schnapps) on Concord Christmas shopping night • Anticipating the arrival of Santa along Main Street • Caroling around the tree and flagpole on Christmas Eve, Dave Frothingham leading with gusto • An annual neighborhood gift swap of fudge, fresh baked bread, and cookies • Visiting the gingerbread houses at the Colonial Inn • Seeing the book-themed Holiday Trees decorated at the Concord Museum • Holiday Chorus Concerts at Alcott School in the 80’s with Lynne Kwarsinski, who retired in 2020 This year the holidays will undoubtedly be different in town. The virus has us keeping our distance physically. We must limit gathering. Masks hide our smiles. In the next 30 years, how will generations remember this season?

Winter 2020-21 calls upon us to rethink the way we do things, to think outside of the box. We can still connect with small kind acts and neighbors helping neighbors. We can notice and acknowledge one another. Look up, unplug from media, and connect to a real live person. Call a shopkeeper or customer by name, make eye-contact and smile with your eyes.

Drop a note to someone and check in, shovel out a neighbor in need, share music, light a candle or tree with bulbs and unite with light. The excitement of opening the box is still there. Time to pull the ribbon and tear off the wrapping.

—————————————————————————————— Abby White is a Concord resident and a real estate consultant driven by a true passion for the town in which she lives.

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Spotlight

BY JENNIFER JOHNSTON

C

All photos ©Three Stones Gallery

Artist

Concord and surrounding towns like Acton, Maynard, Lexington, Lincoln, and Stow have a rich artistic culture. In Concord alone, we have The Umbrella Arts Center and Concord Art as well as the Artscape artist community operating out of the Bradford Mills Building in West Concord. We also have two excellent commercial galleries, Three Stones Gallery in West Concord, and the Lucy Lacoste Gallery in Concord Center. As well, Village Art Room in West Concord provides a wonderful gathering place offering projects and classes for art making and creative community outreach in our town. Concord has several artistic facets and tributaries permeating and enriching our entire community.

MARTHA WALLACE JONATHAN MACADAM Martha Wallace (known as Marty) Three Stones Gallery has been came to ceramics later in her life after representing painter Jonathan receiving an MBA from Harvard Business Macadam for five years and I have been School and working in the tech industry privileged to witness Jon’s evolution as a in the ‘80s. Marty then raised her children painter. Jon was born in England and came with her husband in Concord and volunteered on several boards to the United States at 10 years old. He attended Concordboth in Boston and Pennsylvania. Ten years ago, Marty took her Carlisle High School and then lived in Beverly, MA for fifteen first ceramics class at (then named) Emerson Umbrella and she’s years. It was on Boston’s North Shore that Jon really fell in love never looked back. One of the first things I noticed about Marty’s with the marshes, rivers, inlets, and ocean that are so typical ceramics is that they are definitely not cookie cutter shapes, of the New England coastline. He travels often throughout patterns, or glazes. As Marty says, “I’m not interested in doing New England creating his oil paintings and then returning to the same thing over and over,” and she finds it interesting to the North Shore, his ’home turf’. Following college, Jon lived in experiment with many different ideas. She’s a ‘ceramic explorer’ Orvieto, Italy studying the art of the Italian Renaissance where yet as I was arranging her work in Three Stones, I realized there is he learned the skill of layering glazes with oils creating what I definitely an over-riding Marty style. Her work strikes a very fine like to call, ‘the Macadam Glow’. Jon’s paintings have a unique balance between functionality and daily use with a keen, beautiful inner glow radiating from his skies and water brought alive by his aesthetic. I am always eager to see what Marty will be pulling from appreciable skills as a painter. The emotional and even spiritual her kiln at her next firing. impact of his paintings is serene, palpable, and powerful.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Jennifer Johnston is a fine art photographer and mixed media artist who has lived in Concord for twenty years with her two daughters.

She is the owner of Three Stones Gallery in Concord, Ma. and Rockport, Ma. She has an MA in Expressive Therapy from Leslie University.

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Mary Moody Emerson: The Godmother of Transcendentalism

BY VICTOR CURRAN

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The Marquis de Lafayette visited Portland, Maine during a grand tour of the United States in 1825. When Mary Moody Emerson—fifty years old at the time— was introduced to the aging hero of the American Revolution, she told him she was “‘in arms’ at the Concord Fight.”1 It was a joke, but as always, her wit had an edge of truth. She was indeed present for the “shot heard ’round the world,” but the “arms” she was in were her those of her mother, clutching eight-month-old Mary as the battle raged 150 yards from her window at the Old Manse.

That battle set both America and Mary Emerson on steep paths to independence.

The next year, Mary’s father, Rev. William Emerson, died while serving as an Army

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chaplain and her mother, Phebe Bliss Emerson, suddenly found herself a widow with five children. Overwhelmed, she sent two-year-old Mary to live with relatives in Malden, Massachusetts, a time the little girl would recall as her “infant exile” and “invariably gloomy.”2 The family lived in the shadow of poverty, and Mary was put to work as what historian Robert Gross calls a “domestic drudge.”3 One of her chores “was to watch for the approach of the deputy-sheriff, who might come to confiscate the spoons or arrest the uncle for debt.”4 This hard-luck childhood formed her selfreliant character. Her nephew Ralph Waldo Emerson would later write, “Destitution is the muse of her genius,”5 but she learned to

N.C. Wyeth painting of Mary sitting with an admiring young Henry Thoreau. Created to illustrate the book Men of Concord, published

by Houghton Mifflin in 1936.

Courtesy Concord Free Public Library

read, and in books she escaped to a world of inspiration and imagination.

As a teenager, Mary was called back to Concord, but her mother—now remarried and raising a new family—set Mary to work at what she called “duties which tried me.” She found respite in Concord’s new Charitable Library, co-founded by her stepfather, Reverend Ezra Ripley.

There she began to discover “a religion of rational proof and . . . understanding the physical universe as a revelation of God.” She believed God was both “good and knowable.”6 A decade before her nephew Ralph Waldo Emerson was born, she was envisioning transcendentalism.

Mary wrote down her thoughts, at first in a journal she called her Almanack, and later in a literary magazine, the Monthly Anthology, that her brother William published while he served as minister of Boston’s First Parish. Inspired by books like Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women and Germaine de Staël’s The Influence of Literature on Society, she stressed the importance of nature and imagination in ways that anticipated both transcendentalism and Romantic literature.

In the religious debates of the early 1800s, Mary allied herself with neither side. She blended the intuitive, enthusiastic religious experience of her Calvinist ancestors with the benevolent, forgiving God and appeal to reason of the cool-headed Unitarians. In her own words, “I danced to the music of my own imajanation.”7 When her brother William died in 1811, Mary stepped in to help care for his children, including seven-year-old Ralph Waldo. Over the years that followed, “Emerson derived much of his character from his aunt,”8 according to Elizabeth Peabody (who also helped guide Waldo on the road to transcendentalism).

Her next protégé was Sarah Alden Bradford, who would later marry Mary’s half-brother Samuel Ripley and become a respected scholar herself. Sarah recalled that

Courtesy Concord Free Public Library

MS Am 2982 (84) Houghton Library, Harvard University

Courtesy Concord Free Public Library

Wax bas-relief of Rev. William Emerson, the father of Mary Moody Emerson

Photo of Mary Moody Emerson taken shortly after her death

1846 daguerreotype of Ralph Waldo Emerson by Alfred Sands Southworth

Mary “sought me out . . . [and] enchained me entirely in her magic circle.”9 In the 1820s, as Waldo Emerson was studying at Harvard for the ministry that he would later abandon, Mary offered him a vision of faith with no church at all: “In entire solitude, minds . . . find in the uniform and constant miracle of nature, revelation, altar, and priest.” Those at odds with the church, she said, could “desert openly and form a novel religion.”10 After his ordination, Waldo continued his correspondence with Mary, often weaving her ideas into his sermons.

After he left the ministry, Waldo settled in Concord and wrote Nature, the essay that would launch his literary career and inspire the Transcendentalist movement. Mary’s biographer Phyllis Cole writes that “Waldo incorporated more of what he had learned from Mary in Nature than in any other single published work of his career.”11 In 1830s Concord, Mary’s religious fervor found an earthly mission in the campaign to abolish slavery. Mary was as eager to end slavery as her father had been to defeat the tyranny of King George.

She attended speeches by leading abolitionists and formed alliances with others including Mary Merrick Brooks, a founder of the Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society. Mary Emerson and Mary Brooks conspired with Emerson’s wife Lidian to enlist her charismatic husband in support of the cause. It took them seven years to convince him that his faith in the essential goodness of humanity compelled him to action for social justice. At last, in 1844, he spoke out at the Concord courthouse on the tenth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies.

As if lighting the fires of transcendentalism and anti-slavery in Emerson weren’t enough, Mary nurtured Thoreau’s free spirit and search for meaning in nature. Thoreau biographer Laura Dassow Walls shares Henry’s impression of Mary: “‘The wittiest and most vivacious woman that I know’ Thoreau wrote . . . the ‘least frivolous’ and the surest to provoke you to ‘good conversation’ . . . Mary enjoyed his company and Henry admired her genius . . . He preferred the company of women who took on leadership

roles, like his own mother and sister—all bold, smart, well read, and outspoken.”12 Ever fearless, Mary seemed to taunt death. As Waldo Emerson remembered, “she had her bed made in the form of a coffin” and had a dress made in the style of a burial shroud. She “wore it as a nightgown, or a day-gown [and even] went out to ride in it, on horseback.”13 She was ready for death long before it came. She died 1863, at the age of 88.

Having witnessed the start of the war for American freedom in 1775, she lived to see the Emancipation Proclamation.

Mary Moody Emerson lived in a society that denied women a public platform, but by imparting her wisdom to her nephew and his associates, she passed her vision on to generations of readers.

——————————————————————— Victor Curran writes and leads tours of historic Concord and is an interpreter at the Concord Museum. He teaches courses and writes articles about the men and women who made Concord the home of American independence and imagination.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Amita,” lecture for the Boston Women’s Club, 1869; 2Phyllis Cole. Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism. Oxford University Press, 1998; 3Robert Gross. The Transcendentalists and Their World. Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, (In press, scheduled publication November 2021); 4 Emerson, op. cit.; 5Ibid; 6Cole, op. cit.; 7 Ibid; 8Elizabeth Peabody, March 9, 1869, quoted by Harriet Hanson Robinson in Papers of Harriet Hanson Robinson and Jane Harrison Robinson, Schleisinger; 9 Joan Goodwin. The Remarkable Mrs. Ripley: The Life of Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley. Northeastern University Press, 1998; 10 Nancy Craig Simmons, ed., Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson, Univ. of Georgia Press, 1993; 11 Cole, op. cit. 12Laura Walls. Henry David Thoreau: A Life. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2017; 13 Emerson, op. cit.

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Little Women

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BY JAN TURNQUIST

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents, grumbled Jo . . .” The irony — the beautiful irony — of Louisa May Alcott’s opening words in Little Women is striking, as the ultimate message of the book is quite the opposite of its iconic opening line. Readers of Little Women simply begin a journey that leads to a boldly empowering expansion of the heart.

We follow along with the March sisters as they learn to care for others, even while struggling with their own desires and disappointments, and we identify with their experiences. Whether enacting a play for an audience in their parlor, or preparing to give their Christmas breakfast feast to a needy family, our mind’s eye envisions the girls’ widening realization that caring 28

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for something other than self and sharing what gifts they possess are far more fulfilling than receiving presents.

Looking at life through a Little Women lens, we broaden our scope to see that the March sisters truly yearn and strive for personal agency in order to become the best version of themselves, regardless of the opinion of others, and often despite their own flaws and struggles. Tomboy Jo March defies the conventions of her day, which would have her act “proper” and “lady-like,” by instead exuberantly being herself. For more than 150 years, people of all cultures and circumstances have taken heart from the lessons of Little Women and found encouragement to embrace their own uniqueness and live their own story.

Over the course of 108 years, millions of visitors from all over the world have come to regard Orchard House as a place of inspiration as well as an authentically preserved historic home. While many visitors are interested in the accuracy and authenticity of our guided tour experience, they are awestruck by the rare opportunity to see the modest desk where Louisa May Alcott penned a beloved novel set in this very house. The desk itself, built by A. Bronson Alcott for his daughter, is inspiring in its simplicity and as a symbol of a father’s encouragement of his daughter’s talent.

No matter how many times they return, however, visitors often comment that what draws them back - often repeatedly - isn’t an artifact as much as it is the palpable sense of

©Trey Powers

tt’s Orchard House

From The House of

Courtesy of Louisa May Alco

Orchard House in Winter

Desk in Louisa May Alcott’s bedchamber within Orchard House, where Little Women was written and set in 1868

inspiration and aspiration contained within Orchard House. The Alcotts, who served as the real-life models for the Marches of Little Women, seem to still somehow be present in every room. Being surrounded by their possessions only reinforces the unshakable feeling that they may be back at any moment. Perhaps it is more that we carry them within us. Although words fail to adequately describe these intangibles, they are what make it both an honor and a pleasure to interpret and preserve Orchard House for our visitors.

On March 13, 2020, however, after becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of COVID-19, we made the difficult decision to close, as our very small rooms make it impossible to comply with social distancing protocols. I readily admit that this was particularly frustrating, given that 2020 held the promise of being the best year ever for Orchard House, with an anticipated 350% increase in visitation fueled by the success of SONY Pictures’ Little Women movie. We hired and trained new guides, created innovative touring strategies, and stocked our Museum Store plentifully. This was to be “our moment,” and our staff was ready to meet it with resilience and joy.

Undaunted, I began to host weekly Facebook Live events, affectionately named

“Hope, and Keep Busy” broadcasts, as they are inspired by this beautiful Alcott motto. Thousands tune in on Sundays at 2:00 pm EST as we explore wide-ranging themes with some surprises along the way.

Mini-tours of Orchard House, our beautiful gardens and accessible pathways, and occasional virtual guest interviews have become popular components of these broadcasts. We endeavor to uplift our audiences despite being unable to welcome them inside the house. We continue to hear of their enduring connections to this home of remarkable authenticity and touching stories. We are proud to be a vital portal to understanding one of the most important chapters of American history.

We adapted many in-person programs and events to a virtual format such as our annual Benefit Walk/Run, summer youth workshops, and adult education presentations. We augmented our website resources to include more digital artifact discoveries, educational materials, and a living history tour. Our online Museum Store now features “Hope, and Keep Busy” inspired merchandise. As I write this, all Concord second graders are experiencing a virtual field trip to Orchard House and lively interaction with our living history portrayers, as we continue our decades-

Courtesy of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House

©Trey Powers

Over the course of 108 years, millions of visitors from all over the world have come to regard Orchard House as a place of inspiration…

Scene from SONY Pictures’ Little Women

long partnership with our public school local history curriculum.

As much as we have enjoyed the challenge to our creativity and resourcefulness that virtually presenting Orchard House requires, we know nothing can replace the indescribable joy our visitors express when physically present inside. We keenly feel this loss, too, having worked so hard to prepare for a completely different 2020 experience. We know that many non-profits and businesses are suffering now as are we, but also like so many others we are full of gratitude! Our entire staff is healthy and as enthusiastic as ever. Our supporters stand with us as we look forward to welcoming them inside Orchard House with bright smiles and big hearts. Until then we continue to “Hope, and Keep Busy!” louisamayalcott.org ———————————————————————— Since 1999, as Executive Director of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, Jan Turnquist has also shared the Alcott legacy in internationally acclaimed Alcott living history portrayals and an Emmy-winning documentary, now airing on PBS, Orchard House, Home of Little Women, which she wrote and directed. Please consider supporting Orchard House with a donation at louisamayalcott.org

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Join us for this New Museum Experience!

The Concord Museum has opened three dramatic new permanent galleries focused on April 19, 1775, a watershed moment in American history.

Timed-entry tickets available online now.

www.concordmuseum.org

Image: Lantern, one of the two used as a signal April 18, 1775, Concord Museum

Gregory Maguire Debuts

A Wild Winter Swan

BY CYNTHIA BAUDENDISTEL

©Helen Newman

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Concord, Massachusetts can claim many famous sons and daughters, including writers, philosophers, revolutionaries, and educators. Among that august group stands Gregory Maguire – author, educator, philanthropist, and champion for literacy and literature education.

He is best known as the author of more than 40 children’s books, short stories, novels for adults, and non-fiction works. From the international best-seller and Broadway hit Wicked, to Egg and Spoon, Gregory’s works have captured the imagination of readers around the world.

His newest book, A Wild Winter Swan, takes us into the world of Laura, a lonely young girl whose brother’s death and mother’s emotional breakdown have left her living with her grandparents in Manhattan. When a swan boy lands on her roof with a broken wing, Laura is determined to keep him hidden as she builds a new wing so he can fly home. As with many of Gregory’s books, A Wild Winter Swan explores themes common to us all, including loneliness, family, and the magic – and pain – of growing up.

Gregory and his husband, the celebrated artist Andy Newman, make their home in Concord and it is here that they’ve raised their three children, creating a safe, secure, and magical place for them all. We sat down with Gregory and Andy last year to talk about their lives, their family, and what makes Concord so special to them. You can read more about them in the Winter 2019 issue of Discover Concord available online at discoverconcordma.com.

A Wild Winter Swan can be found at The Concord Bookshop and at the Concord Free Public Library.

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Happy Retirement,

For close to 85 years, children and adults alike

MAYNARD!

have delighted in the unique treasures of the

We will miss you!

West Concord 5 & 10.

On December 31st, this cherished place will close forever. Please stop by to wish Maynard Forbes a happy (and well-deserved!) retirement.

While you are there, stock up on everything from rubber duckies and kites, to West Concord 5&10 hats, to sewing supplies, to hardware, clothing, to seasonal products, and of

A little bit of everything in 4000 sq. ft.!

Fall Fun, T CONCORD S E candy at the counter!

W Halloween Supplies, Thanksgiving Come in one last time to Decorations, experience the nostalgia and 106 Commonwealth Ave.Commonwealth | 978.369.9011 | westconcordfiveandten.com 106 Ave. and More! delight of this shop that has 978.369.9011 course – the infamous penny

been open since 1935.

Made Here!

& 510

OPEN THROUGH DECEMBER 31ST! Monday - Saturday 9amuntil - 6pm Open Monday through Saturday 9-6 | Open 8pm on Thursdays Next to Debra’s Natural Gourmet Like Bonus Sunday hours the last two Sundays before Christmas Us On (December 13 and 20) westconcordfiveandten.com

T CONCORD S E W

Exceptional Results Require Exceptional Efforts James Peltier has been delivering exceptional results for his clients for more than 25 years. He brings his extensive corporate experience and ability to empower clients through accountability, his attention to detail, and an uncompromising and continuous pursuit of excellence to his clients’ real estate needs.

Originally from Rhode Island, James now resides in Concord with his partner Alyssa whose family are long-time residents of Concord. Having originally settled in the area over 100 years ago, the family established a working farm in 1885 that is still providing fresh produce to residents. James fell in love with the community and is looking forward to helping you find your new home.

Life’s taking you places.

We’ll help you get there.

Office: 978.341.5400 | Direct: 857.500.0564 james.peltier@evrealestate.com www.jamespeltier.evrealestate.com

& Surrounding Areas CONCORD rrounding Areas WHERE TO STAY

Concord Center

cord

ern Inn by Marriott

Concord’s Colonial Inn 740 Elm St Hawthorne Inn 320Bridge Baker Inn Ave North

West Concord 48 Monument Sq 462 Lexington Rd 21 Monument Sq

Best Western Residence Inn by Marriott

740 Elm St 320 Baker Ave

WHERE TO SHOP Concord Center

ncord

Knees eels refly ower Shop utfitters Natural Gourmet e Life + Home f ents s nes Gallery ncord 5 & 10 cord Wine & Spirits

Albright Art Supply 107Jewelry Commonwealth Ave Artinian 23 Way Commonwealth Ave Artisans Commonwealth Ave Barrow33Bookstore 135Goods Commonwealth Ave Blue Dry 113 Commonwealth Ave Brine Sporting Goods Commonwealth Cheese98Shop of Concord Ave 45 Commonwealth Ave Comina 49Bookshop Commonwealth Ave Concord 74Lamp Commonwealth Concord and Shade Ave 33 Bradford Concord Market St 101 Commonwealth Ave The Concord Toy Box 115 Commonwealth Ave Copper Penny Flowers 106 Commonwealth Ave The Dotted i 1215 Main StGoldsmiths Fairbank and Perry

FatFace Footstock Fritz & Gigi French Lessons Center George Vassel Jewelry Main Gräem55 Nuts andStChocolate 33 Main St Grasshopper Shop Colonial Inn 48 Monument Square Irresistables Cucina 24 Walden St J McLaughlin ee Walden St Jack &12 Toba staurant 17 MainGallery St Lucy Lacoste ets Market & Café MainArt St Louise42 Arnold s Bakery & Food Shop Lyn Evans 73 Main St Cafe 97 Lowell Rd Nesting North Bridge Antiques Depot Patina Green u 80Candy Thoreau St Priscilla Shop rms Ice Cream 68 Thoreau St Revolutionary Concord Restaurant 10 Concord Sara Campbell LtdCrossing Thoreau St Tess &117 Carlos lian Market Café Thistle26 HillConcord Crossing ncord Asian Fusion 105 Antiques Thoreau St Thoreauly on Style Pizza 71 Thoreau St Vanderhoof Hardware Brick Oven Pizzeria 58 Thoreau St Viola Lovely 159 Sudbury Rd Walden Liquors

WHERE TO EAT

ncord

afé eacakes zina & Pizzeria

rook Bakery o Be Cheerful chen alian Kitchen l Table

Walden Street Antiques

West Concord 32 Main St 39 Main St 18 Walden St 79 Main St 16 Walden St 69 Main St 29 Walden St 9 Walden St 65 Main St 21 Walden St 77 Lowell Rd 32 Main St 9 Independence Court 1 Walden St 32 Main St 4 Walden St 46 Main St 79 Main St 8 Walden St 40 Main St 49 Main St 36 Main St 16 Walden St 14 Walden St 17 Walden St 25 Main St 40 Stow St 29 Main St 44 Main St 28 Walden St 59 Main St 19 Walden St 32 Main St 41 Main St 81 Main St 13 Walden St 25 Walden St 28 Main St 38 Main St 18 Walden St 23 Walden St

1200 Corner Main St Nine Acre

Commonwealth Ave *Verrill20 Farm 59 Commonwealth Ave 1135Depot Main St Thoreau 1191 Main St ATA Cycles 152Optical Commonwealth Ave Concord 110Provisions Commonwealth Ave Concord 84 Commonwealth Ave Frame-ables Juju 92 Commonwealth Ave Commonwealth Period 24 Furniture HardwareAve

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11 Wheeler Rd

93 Thoreau St 80 Thoreau St 75 Thoreau St 111 Thoreau St 82 Thoreau St 113 Thoreau St.

The Bees Knees Belle on Heels Concord Firefly Concord Flower Shop Concord Outfitters *Debra’s Natural Gourmet Forever Tile Joy Street Life + Home A New Leaf Rare Elements Reflections Three Stones Gallery *West Concord 5 & 10 West Concord Wine & Spirits

107 Commonwealth Ave 23 Commonwealth Ave 33 Commonwealth Ave 135 Commonwealth Ave 113 Commonwealth Ave 98 Commonwealth Ave 45 Commonwealth Ave 49 Commonwealth Ave 74 Commonwealth Ave 33 Bradford St 101 Commonwealth Ave 115 Commonwealth Ave 106 Commonwealth Ave 1215 Main St

WHERE TO EAT Concord Center Caffè Nero Comella’s Concord’s Colonial Inn *Fiorella’s Cucina Haute Coffee Helen’s Restaurant Main Streets Market & Café Sally Ann’s Bakery & Food Shop Trail’s End Cafe

55 Main St 33 Main St 48 Monument Square 24 Walden St 12 Walden St 17 Main St 42 Main St 73 Main St 97 Lowell Rd

Thoreau Depot 80 Thoreau Bedford Farms Ice Cream Chang An Restaurant Dunkin’ Farfalle Italian Market Café Karma Concord Asian Fusion New London Style Pizza Sorrento’s Brick Oven Pizzeria Starbucks

80 Thoreau St 68 Thoreau St 10 Concord Crossing 117 Thoreau St 26 Concord Crossing 105 Thoreau St 71 Thoreau St 58 Thoreau St 159 Sudbury Rd

West Concord Adelita Club Car Café Concord Teacakes Dino’s Kouzina & Pizzeria Dunkin’ Nashoba Brook Bakery Reasons to Be Cheerful Saltbox Kitchen Walden Italian Kitchen Woods Hill Table

1200 Main St 20 Commonwealth Ave 59 Commonwealth Ave 1135 Main St 1191 Main St 152 Commonwealth Ave 110 Commonwealth Ave 84 Commonwealth Ave 92 Commonwealth Ave 24 Commonwealth Ave

* Discover CONCORD

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& Authors Ridge 120 Bedford St L South Burying Ground Main St & Keyes Rd M The Umbrella Arts Center 40 Stow St N Walden Pond State Reservation 915 Walden St The Wayside O 455 Lexington Rd

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William Raveis Real Estate

Sara Cambell

Patina Green

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THOREAU DEPOT

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90 Thoreau St

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35 Beharrell St

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Commonwealth Ave & Main St

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A New Leaf

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Adelita

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Belle on Heels 6 Concord Flower Shop 7 8 Concord Teacakes *Debra’s Natural Gourmet 9 10

Joy Street Life + Home 11 Lincoln Physicians

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“Wonderful to work with!

The Chip and Joanna of Concord”

Design Build Interior Design Kitchen Cabinets Vanities Custom Built-ins Renovations

“So convenient!

One stop shopping for All your renovation needs”

Visit our showroom in West Concord!

51 Commonwealth Ave

appletondesgingroup.com 978.369.3322

Tino Fazio Contractor Builder Carpenter

Owners

Nathalie Appleton Interior Designer Kitchen & Furniture Designer

Treasures from the Past

Bobbi Benson Antiques – 18th and 19th Century Ceramics and Estate Jewelry

FEATURING THE COLLECTIONS OF: JLS Art & Antiques

Lee Thurston – Country Items and Vintage Fabric Accessories

Beautiful antiques from these collections are on display alongside treasures from all of our North Bridge dealers. Please come visit us!

978-371-1442 | 28 Walden St. | Concord, MA 01742

TASTEFUL | TIMELESS | MADE IN USA

Casual Curiosities for the Heart & Home 44 Main St. Concord, MA 978-369-4133

41 MAIN STREET, CONCORD (978) 369-3223 WWW.SARACAMPBELL.COM | @SARACAMPELLLTD

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© Pierre Chiha Photography

New England May Run on Dunkin’ But This Local Family Keeps It Brewin’ in Concord

N

New Englanders have an ongoing love affair with their beloved, and ubiquitous, “Dunks.” The morning coffee (hot or iced – even in the depth of winter!), pastry, or breakfast sandwich has long been a part of our morning ritual. Dunkin’ is synonymous with the early risers, Megan and Mark the hard-working set, the sports fans, and Pesce with their the pursuit of the American Dream. two sons at the Mark and Megan Pesce personify that Thoreau Street Dunkin’ dream, right here in Concord. In addition to raising their two boys (13 and 16), they UberEats – so that friends and neighbors are the hard-working owner-operators of (including homebound students) don’t miss all four local Dunkin’ locations – Thoreau out on their daily Dunk’s.

St., Concord Turnpike, Sudbury Rd., and “It’s a small thing, but keeping some of our Main St. in West Concord. daily ritual in place helps people to keep going.

Mark’s father opened his first Dunkin’ We are also hanging in there – but we really Donuts shop in West Medford in 1988. miss the personal, local, traditions that make Mark grew up in the business, working our community so special,” said Megan. “We there all through high school and college take pride in supporting our local community – - included making donuts by hand back in everything from the high school sports teams, the day! Today, after close to 31 years in The team at Dunkin’ to important charity efforts like Kicks for Cancer the business, he and his wife Megan own supporting Kicks for Cancer or the Mighty Moose. Every year, we donate and operate the four locations in Concord Photo courtesy of Dunkin’ more than 2000 cups of hot chocolate for the – they do everything from mop the floors Christmas tree lighting, we give donuts to school activities, and to brew and serve the coffee, plus oversee the day to day operations. we love giving our local kids a job! Being such a part of the fabric It’s a lot of hard work – especially in the midst of a pandemic. of Concord is what makes all the hard work so worth it – this is a “When COVID hit, we had to pivot hard to stay open and keep wonderful town.” our amazing employees supported,” said Mark. “Revenues were “The worst part is waking up every day not knowing if there will down by as much as 60% in the early part of the pandemic. But be another shut down,” said Mark. “So many people depend on us we just couldn’t close our stores – there are literally single moms for their livelihood. It’s just so hard right now. We’ve learned a lot depending on that paycheck, and we weren’t going to let them – and when we get through this, we’ll be better for it. But the only down. We also jumped right in to help with efforts like Fuel the way to get there is to have the support of our community.”

Fight and Concord Together - to help our friends and neighbors.”

So the next time you grab a cup of Dunk’s, you can feel good Megan and Mark have worked hard to keep customers and knowing that you’re supporting a Concord family - and our friends their team safe and healthy. Plexiglass barriers and new cleaning and neighbors who are working hard to keep the coffee brewing procedures are in place, with a focus on high touch areas (iced or hot!) until we can all gather together once more to enjoy throughout the day. So is curbside delivery (you can order from the many traditions that make Concord so very special. your app in your car), as well as delivery through GrubHub and

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Favorite New England Holiday Foods

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BY CYNTHIA BAUDENDISTEL

One of the best things about

the holidays is the food. From that first bite of turkey to the last slice of pie, gathering

around the table with family and friends – and good food – makes this time of year special. We

may not be able to gather this

year as we have in the past, so we are bringing you seasonal

treats and even a few recipes

from some of Concord’s favorite chefs to make your holidays

special. Whether you choose to cater for a small group,

dine-in, or take out, Concord’s shops and restaurants have perfect holiday meal.

Saltbox Kitchen

VERRILL FARM 11 Wheeler Road verrillfarm.com Joan Verrill tells us that she has been married for 61 years and this is the only stuffing recipe she uses. It must be good!

Bread Stuffing (for a 12 lb. turkey) 12 cups freshly torn breadcrumbs (Stuffing bread used to be available but is hard to find now. Do not use bread which is noticeably sweet. White bread is best for this recipe.)

1 cup butter (or 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of shortening) 3/4 cup minced onion 1 1/2 cups chopped celery 1 tbs salt – can be adjusted later 1 tsp pepper 2 tbs mixed, crumbled dried herbs 42

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| Winter 2020

(I usually use thyme, sage, and savory along with the packaged poultry seasoning. Be generous with the herbs as they will help to flavor the juices for gravy.)

Melt the butter in a large stockpot and cook the onion until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to mix. Taste for salt.

I make this stuffing a day or two before using and refrigerate. Take out of the refrigerator an hour before stuffing the bird so it won’t be too cold and hard to use. Stuff the bird from both ends and secure with skewers or stuffing pins. It is perfectly safe to stuff the turkey this way. Do not stuff the bird and let it sit with stuffing in it for several days. This is a moist stuffing, not a crisp, baked one. For more instructions on roasting the bird, go to verrillfarm.com.

SALTBOX KITCHEN 84 Commonwealth Avenue saltboxkitchen.com Chef Ben Elliott recommends their honey-mustard herb crusted pork loin with thyme, rosemary, and lemon accompanied by a roasted beet and Roquefort salad with orange, red onion, pistachios, and baby arugula. Enjoy this memorable dinner at the restaurant or order it to go for a perfect evening at home. They also have extraordinary meal packages for two to four people that include items such as duck fat roasted smashed potatoes, duck confit, and classic Boeuf Bourguignon. No need to cook – Chef Ben has it covered.

©Saltbox Kitchen

everything you need for that

This year, think outside the box and INSIDE the basket!

The Cheese Shop of Concord is busy assembling custom gourmet gift baskets, from elfin to Santa-sized.

In addition to cheese, you can choose from thousands of quality food items to include, from pasta to petit fours.

Or, choose one of our six themed gift baskets, like Tea Time, Charcuterie, or The Munchies.

Let our staff assist you in creating the perfect basket – online, by phone, or in person at the store (where we bend over backwards to ensure that our customers remain safe and healthy).

We ship anywhere in New England!

29 Walden Street | Concord Center, MA | 978-369-5778 | www.concordcheeseshop.com

D I N I N G I N | CU RBSI D E PI C K U P

$10 OFF (see coupon section) 24 Walden Street, Concord, MA | 978.341.9999 | fiorellascucina.com Discover CONCORD

| discoverconcordma.com

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Fiorella’s Cucina Lasagna

DEBRA’S NATURAL GOURMET 98 Commonwealth Avenue debrasnaturalgourmet.com Debra Stark says “I love pies but don’t have the patience to deal with making crust. Around the holidays, this is my go-to kind of fruit dessert. And I love maple syrup with fruit! I do use only organic fruit. I remember my mother telling me how heavily cranberries and apples and pears are sprayed. I want us all to be healthier and live happy longer.”

CONCORD MARKET 77 Lowell Road theconcordmarket.com From Concord Market, treat your family and friends to their amazing Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies. Housemade peppermint butter-fluff filling is sandwiched between decadent chocolate cakes. Better get extras, these are sure to become a holiday favorite!

Concord Market’s Chocolate Peppermint Whoopie Pies

©Debra’s Natural Gourmet

©Fiorella’s Cucina

FIORELLA’S CUCINA 24 Walden Street fiorellascucina.com Pasta is the perfect dish for a cold winter evening and Fiorella’s lasagna is just what we’re craving. Four layers of fresh pasta, Bolognese sauce, and a mix of ricotta, mozzarella, and pecorino romano cheese baked to perfection and topped with Fiorella’s signature marinara sauce. Yes, please!

Cranberry-Pear Apple Crisp with Spices Serves 12 6 medium pears, peeled and sliced 6 medium apples, peeled and sliced 2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen) 1 cup maple syrup 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp minced fresh ginger 1/2 tsp ground cardamom In a large bowl, toss fruit with the ingredients above.

Spoon into a greased 9” x 13” baking pan. / cup whole wheat pastry or einkorn flour / cup rolled oats or sesame seeds 1/2 cup butter, coconut oil, or extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup maple syrup or coconut sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 3 4 3 4

©Concord Market

CONCORD’S COLONIAL INN 48 Monument Square concordscolonialinn.com The chef at Concord’s Colonial Inn tells us that their Butternut Squash & Mascarpone Cheese Stuffed Ravioli is one of their most popular winter dishes, and we can see why. Pillowy butternut squash ravioli, creamy mascarpone cheese, sage, maple cream, dried cranberries, and crumbled goat cheese. It sounds perfect!

Drop by and enjoy this signature dish.

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For topping, combine the ingredients above and mix lightly with your hands so mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle over fruit mixture. Don’t worry if your topping leaves some fruit exposed. If you like a lot of topping, feel free to double the topping ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until topping is golden brown and fruit is tender. Serve hot, warm, or cold. This is delish and could be served with whipped cream or ice cream, too!

Experience sustainable farm to table cuisine right here in Experience sustainable farm to table cuisine right here in West Concord. Choose from fine dining at Woods Hill Table West Concord. Choose from fine dining at Woods Hill Table or relaxed, casual Mexican cuisine at Adelita! or relaxed, casual Mexican cuisine at Adelita!

For more information, or to make a reservation, visit: For more information, or to make a reservation, visit: www.woodshilltable.com www.adelitaconcord.com www.woodshilltable.com www.adelitaconcord.com 978.254.1435 978.254.0710 978.254.1435 978.254.0710 We hope to see you soon!

We hope to see you soon!

Inside dining and curbside takeout available.

What’s easier than a wine run?

Staying home.

Same day wine, beer, and liquor delivery means you can stay home and relax. It’s also one less item on your to do list.

We even offer no-contact curbside pickup for phone or online orders.

Order online at www.westconcordwine.com or give us a call at 978.369.3872 1216 Main St. Concord, MA 01742 (Near Adelita Restaurant)

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CONCORD Holiday Shopping

Safe, Fun, and Festive

S

BY JENNIFER SCHÜNEMANN

So much is different about the holidays this year. With dear friends and family far away, gift giving takes on a whole new meaning. Channeling that effort locally is a great way to also support the friends and neighbors who run our local shops and restaurants. That support means so much to them – and they are showing the love right back, by working hard to make shopping local both safe and fun this holiday season.

Concord shops and restaurants have put in place several measures to make shopping and dining safe, fun, and festive this holiday season. Plexiglass barriers, hand sanitizing stations, and new configurations to ensure social distancing give customers space and reassurance.

The Town of Concord created a rebate program to help businesses purchase high grade air filters – adding a breath of fresh air to the shopping and dining experience.

“We work hard to keep our customers, and our team, safe and healthy here at the store,” said Jen McGonigle of Joy Street Life + Home. “We also keep the fun factor high – with lots of funny and thoughtful presents, music that makes you tap your feet, and gift options for everyone on your list. For those who prefer to peruse at home, our new website offers an easy shopping experience too!”

A festive and fun atmosphere can be found all around town. Verrill Farm’s “Christmas Nook” and the Colonial Gardens greenhouses offer a haven of holiday greenery and delectable seasonal scents. Revolutionary Concord and The Concord Toy Box are all about sparkle and holiday fun - you can count on seeing owner Marie Foley wearing anything from an elfin headband, to a Santa beard mask, to a full-on princess dress! Nesting features a wonderland of

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The winter wonderland at Nesting

magical holiday décor. Debra’s Natural Gourmet’s window displays and festive sparkle invite you in to discover organic and fair-trade delights. And the West Concord 5&10 may be closing at the end of the year, but until then, they are absolutely “Stocking Stuffer Headquarters” – with everything from penny candy, to finger puppets, to rubber duckies, to gizmos and gadgets that everyone will love this holiday. And those are just a few of the many creative and unusual shops you’ll find around town!

When families are hungry after a day of exploring the town greenery and shopping locally, our delicious restaurants are ready to offer socially distanced dining (also with extra air filtration), as well as curbside pickup, and even some delivery options.

So please shop locally this season. Not only will you find the perfect gift for everyone on your list at our charming and unique shops, you’ll be supporting a friend and neighbor who needs you more than ever. Wondering where to get started? If you haven’t seen our Discover Concord 2020 Guide to Holiday Gift Giving, it’s available in many shops around town, on our website for free, or just scan this QR Code with your mobile device to get started. On behalf of all the shops and restaurants in Concord, thank you – and happy holidays!

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Tall Tales Told on Tours (PART I)

Paul Revere’s Ride

A COLLABORATIVE WORK BY ALIDA V. ORZECHOWSKI, BETH VAN DUZER, AND RICHARD SMITH OF CONCORD TOUR COMPANY

1 | The British are coming! The British are coming!

Every American school-aged student knows these legendary words, but if you haven’t heard the story in a while, it goes a little something like this: On the night of April 18th, 1775, a politically radicalized silversmith with a fondness for taverns and tea parties hung two lanterns in a church tower in Boston and snuck out of the city.

In a slow-motion version of an 18th c. emergency text alert, he then proceeded to thunder across the Massachusetts countryside on horseback, hollering his head off about an impending British invasion.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow certainly agreed it made a great story but it’s partly due to his enduring poetic license in The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere that many of us have come away with the mistaken impression that Mr. Revere was on a solo mission, and that he made it all the way to Concord (he wasn’t and he didn’t).

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More importantly, what Revere actually told people wasn’t that ‘The British are coming!’, but that the ‘regulars’ or ‘redcoats’ were out, which referred to the regular standing British Army. And while the urgency was the same, the message is actually quite different. English landowners, who made up the vast majority of colonists, considered themselves full British citizens so this unnecessary distinction would never have been used to describe the Royal Army.

If today’s National Guard were deployed in Concord, no doubt we would shout lots of things but “The Americans are coming!” almost certainly wouldn’t be one of them.

2 | The Bloody Finger Speaking of King George’s Army, have you heard the tall tale of Major Pitcairn and his little finger? Well, after the British marched into Concord as per Mr. Revere’s accurate warning, Pitcairn engaged in a bit of a scuffle with a tavern owner - near what is now South Burial Ground - who was hiding

some cannon in his yard. This part we know is true, along with an account of the Major then calmly eating, drinking, and politely paying his bill at the tavern after having wrestled with its owner.

But here’s where it gets murky. As the story is often told, Pitcairn left that tavern and proceeded to another (because searching for hidden munitions in rebel villages is incredibly thirsty work) and by the time he arrived at Wright’s Tavern, he was allegedly bleeding from the little finger injured in the aforementioned cannon melee. Pitcairn ordered a drink - brandy seems to be the most common libation given in the retelling, or sometimes rum but was too impatient to await a spoon with which to mix it. So, of course, he did what any of us would do, and swirled his bleeding finger around in his glass while declaring, “And so I hope to stir the damned Yankee blood ‘ere nightfall!” <insert evil laugh here> We love this story. Everyone loves this story. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to

Public domain

TOP TEN

©Alida Orzechowski

find a version of Concord’s history or a retelling of the Battles of Lexington and Concord without it, but lacking an actual first source or reliable citation, it’s an historian’s worst nightmare. In all the eye-witness accounts and official reports about April 19th, 1775 (and there are many) that we’ve so far been able to peruse, this narrative doesn’t make a single appearance. The first written account of Pitcairn’s now indelible phrase doesn’t show up until 1835 in Lemuel Shattuck’s, A History of the Town of Concord, in which Shattuck also fails to provide any first source for the origin of this most enduring but tallest of tales.

3 | Target Practice on Old Hill or, Why the Bad Guys are Always Bad Shots When the British Redcoats arrived in Concord on the morning of April 19, 1775, they immediately began to search the town for military weapons and supplies. Over the last 245 years a story has evolved that, while in Concord, those nasty British had the audacity to use the gravestones in the Old Hill Burying Ground for target practice.

While this anecdote is certainly effective in riling up public perception of how evil and uncaring the Redcoats were, it’s a tale that is untrue.

In fact, the British Regulars were on their best behavior on the midnight march out to Concord; they were looking for military supplies and were under strict orders to harm no civilians or private property. Any decision by the soldiers to start taking potshots at gravestones would have been against orders AND been sternly dealt with by their officers! And besides, none of the gravestones in Old Hill seem to have musket ball damage, so either the Redcoats were REALLY bad shots, or it never happened.

4 | Elisha Jones and the Bullet Hole House Near the Old North Bridge there is a large yellow house that is said to contain a bullet hole from the first battle in the American Revolutionary War. As the Royal Army was retreating back to Boston on the morning of April 19th, the owner of the house, Elisha Jones, was watching the extraordinary

A grave stone in Old Hill Burial ground and one possible source of the incorrect target practice rumors

events unfold from the doorway of his shed.

Not liking the look of Jones or his shed one bit, a Redcoat decided to demonstrate his disapproval in the form of a shot fired off from his musket, and the ball, which thankfully missed Jones, instead pierced the wood near the door.

John Shepard Keyes, who years later would become the now legendary home’s new owner, wrote a book about it called, Story of an Old House. In it he shares the events as recalled by Jones’ daughter Mary, who would have been four at the time.

So did it really happen? According to the Park Service (and their awesome series Witness House Wednesdays), the hole has been measured on two different occasions and found to be within range of the size of a typical British musket ball - somewhere around .69 inches for the curious - though perhaps a bit on the small side. However, being ‘in range’ is a far cry from being proof.

Therefore, despite its descriptive moniker, the final word on the Bullet Hole House is probably best summed up by these words from Jim Hollister at Minute Man National Historical Park, “What I can tell you is that it IS a hole. In an old house.”

5 | Cutting it Close In Special Collections at the Concord Free Public Library there is housed a pair of scissors that date back to the American Revolution, which of course, have a tale attached to them. Before April 19th, an officer from the Regular Army allegedly

ventured out to Concord. This officer spoke to a young Millicent Barrett about how the Redcoats were making cartridges (where a musket ball and measured gunpowder are stored in a paper tube). This young lady somehow persuaded the officer to teach her how to make cartridges, after which the lass then taught everyone she could, including colonial forces. Once again, while fun to tell, this tall tale has been romanticised and the majority of it is not verifiable.

First, the story did not appear until 1875, when a descendant of Millicent Barrett revealed the chronicle of the scissors when donating them to the town.

Secondly, the tale was then fictionalized

by Harriet Lothrop in her 1898 work Little Maid of Concord: A Romance of the American Revolution. Finally, Minute Man National Historical Park did some research and believes that while Millicent Barrett and other individuals most definitely made cartridges to support the war effort, the idea that an officer visiting Concord taught young Millicent a new trick is unfounded.

If one looks through historical records, one can see that cartridge boxes had been ordered previous to the officer’s arrival.

So while it might be safe to say the scissors in question were used in cartridge making, that they were definitively the first pair in Concord to do so on account of a loquacious British soldier, should be smartly snipped from the story.

Join us in the next issue of Discover Concord for Part II and more enticing tidbits including, That Time Thoreau Went to Jail and His BFF Didn’t Visit, A Naughty Nothingburger of an Affair, and Louisa May Alcott Takes on Women’s Journal.

——————————————————————— Concord Tour Company (CTC) is a womenowned and operated, independent micro business that has been providing fun and unique tours and historical reenactments in Concord, MA for over a decade.

CTC is proud to offer highly engaging and entertaining tours while never compromising on historic accuracy. Our guides are all experts and scholars in their fields who delight in sharing Concord’s history to all ages and interest levels.

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Spectral Barn, 1995 Home, 2003

New England Classic, 1985

Home: Exploring the Life & Legacy of Loring W. Coleman

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BY ERICA LOME, Peggy N. Gerry Curatorial Associate at the Concord Museum

On a cold winter’s day in 1982, Loring Wilkins Coleman (1918-2015) embarked on one of his favorite activities: driving around Massachusetts to look at old barns and houses. On the recommendation of his son Andrew, Coleman went to the town of Sterling in search of a “superb grouping of buildings,” and struck gold. “It was indeed one of the most handsome New England farms I had ever seen,” recalled Coleman.

It took ten days to complete a detailed pencil drawing of the farm buildings, but it wasn’t until 2003 that Coleman finished his painting of the view. By that point, all but one of the original buildings had been demolished and Coleman used his imagination to color in the details he remembered. He called the painting Home.

“The title speaks for itself, for the painting 52

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represents the old farmhouses that still remain in New England and in my thoughts,” wrote Coleman in his autobiography, published only a few years before his death in 2015. Coleman’s paintings reflect a fascination with, and a sadness over, the changing landscape and ephemeral architecture of an agrarian Massachusetts.

In 2017, the Concord Museum received an anonymous gift of forty-seven works of art by Loring Coleman. A selection of the works is now on display in a new exhibition, Home: Paintings by Loring W. Coleman, which will run through January 31, 2021.

This exhibition celebrates the work of an accomplished artist who had a strong Concord connection and who explored New England with a sense of wonder and authenticity.

Loring Coleman spent most of his childhood in Chicago, but some of his fondest memories were of his grandmother, who lived in Concord. Her house, Tanglewood, was on 200 acres overlooking the Sudbury River. When he was thirteen, Coleman moved to Concord and began attending Middlesex School, where he showed great promise as an aspiring artist. At Middlesex, Coleman found a teacher and mentor in Russell Kettell, who taught his students to keep an open mind when it came to art that was not strictly “traditional.” Kettell, a national authority on American antiques, was integral to the 1930 building project that put the Concord Museum on the map as a destination for history lovers.

After graduating from Middlesex in 1938, Coleman continued to train as an artist

All photos courtesy of Concord Museum Collection; Permissions Courtesy of the Family of Loring W. Coleman.

and began teaching classes in Vermont and Boston. During his service in World War II, he eventually became head of the art department at Fort Lee, producing training aids and other visual materials for the U.S. Army. After the war, Coleman returned to Concord to resume his teaching and painting. He taught for 27 years at Middlesex School while exhibiting his work across the country. During this time, he was also an Academician of the National Academy of Design and a member of the American Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, Guild of Boston Artists, New England Watercolor Society, and Salmagundi Club.

Loring Coleman’s paintings reward close looking. Drawn from real-life subjects in and around Massachusetts, they are often monumental in size and incredibly detailed.

Though he trained in oil painting, Coleman primarily worked in watercolor, a technique he taught himself. Watercolors let him play with tone, texture, and abstraction; they also required precision and speed.

When he could, Coleman painted plein air, or outdoors, capturing his subjects at different times of day and under diverse weather conditions. As with many an artist before him, direct observation of nature was preferable to the camera’s lens.

Inside the studio, he consulted sketches and preliminary watercolors when putting together the final artwork.

Coleman’s paintings are composites of familiar subjects, including old barns, houses, or roads, set within dramatically scaled, and even haunting, compositions.

Dilapidated buildings, bare trees, peeling paint, and rusted vehicles are common features. Yet there is beauty amidst the wreckage. The passage of time is an ever-present theme in his work, and this ephemerality is reflected in his art. Take, for example, Coleman’s description of Spectral Barn (1995).

“As I began my drawing, a light drizzle soon changed to a very fine snow, almost like salt. The effect was startling. The barn gradually began to fade away, enveloped by the grey mist, so that the sky and barn became the same color. Only the faintest

outline of the barn remained, accented by a few barn windows. I wondered at the value change in the grey-green stone wall as it receded. The ground was covered with frozen leaves. They too receded, lightened and disappeared in the distance. Only the striking dark tree and the black opening of the shed doors seemed to hold the composition together.”

Coleman’s paintings are also love letters to the people and places he cherished as a young man, and which no longer remain.

On his painting New England Classic (1985), Coleman recounts a “quintessential New The Four Winds Are the Ringmaster

England farm” in Groton, Massachusetts, whose owners would come outside each day to watch him sketch. But no humans are represented in the painting, only a German Shepherd (“from quite another farmyard”).

Instead, the house appears lonely and abandoned within the snowy landscape.

Hugh Fortmiller, editor of Coleman’s autobiography, praised the artist’s ability to conjure striking contrasts: “sunlight and shade, lights and darks, summer and winter, sun and snow, life and death, idealism and realism, sentiment and pragmatism...”

These juxtapositions are evident in the works on view in this exhibition, which strike a balance between the mundanity of his subjects and the beauty of their depiction. For art historian Henry Adams,

his most vivid memories of Coleman were from the art classes he took at Middlesex School in the 1960s. Coleman taught his students the fundamentals of drawing and painting, but he also showed them how to appreciate art and enjoy the process of creation for its own sake. “Mr. Coleman made students feel that somehow, somewhere inside themselves, they had a touch of the miraculous,” recalled Adams in his foreword to Coleman’s book.

Coleman’s other legacy is with the Concord Art Association, where he was on the Board of Directors for over 25 years.

Founded by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts (whose paintings are also in the collection of the Concord Museum), the CAA was the first place Coleman ever exhibited: in 1936, when he was eighteen, he submitted two small oil paintings. Today, visitors can view works of art at Concord Art, just up Lexington Road from the Concord Museum, in their “Loring W. Coleman Gallery.”

Loring Coleman continued to paint while working a full-time job, teaching on the weekends, and raising a family. His last work was completed in 2008 before a hemorrhage in his right eye forced him to put down his brush. This incident prompted Coleman to record his life’s story and rekindle the memories which inspired his craft, all of which is recounted in Loring W. Coleman: Living and Painting in a Changing New England Landscape, published by Hard Press Editions in 2011. Even with his diagnosis, Coleman remained optimistic that he would paint again, for he believed that making art was his life’s purpose.

Home: Paintings by Loring W. Coleman opened November 6th at the Concord Museum. The Concord Museum is grateful to the sponsors of the exhibition: Middlesex Savings Bank; Elise and Pierce Browne; Kate and Robert Chartener; Middlesex School; Powers Gallery; Three Stones Gallery.

——————————————————————— Erica Lome is a museum and public history professional, currently serving as the Peggy N. Gerry Curatorial Associate, sponsored by the Decorative Arts Trust at the Concord Museum. She recently completed her PhD in history at the University of Delaware.

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Thoreau in

Winter

W

BY RICHARD SMITH

Winters in New England can be harsh and unforgiving with days, or even weeks, of below-freezing temperatures and with snowfalls that are often measured in feet.

It’s a season when all but the heartiest of New Englanders hunker down, put on a few extra layers of flannel, crank the thermostat, and stay cozy and warm at home.

One Concordian who enjoyed the winter, though, was Henry David Thoreau. He would happily go on his daily walk “in all seasons” and a wintery landscape held just as much promise for an exciting excursion as did the fields and forests in July.

In fact, one of the first essays that Thoreau published was called A Winter Walk, which first appeared in the October 1843 issue of The Dial. From the very beginning of the piece, Thoreau graphically and romantically describes a walk around 54

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a snow-covered Concord on a bitterly cold morning. You can almost smell the woodsmoke and feel the cold biting at your nose as Thoreau traverses the winter landscape.

“The snow lies warm as cotton or down upon the window-sill; the broadened sash and frosted panes admit a dim and private light, which enhances the snug cheer within. The stillness of the morning is impressive. The floor creaks under our feet as we move toward the window to look abroad through some clear space over the fields. We see the roofs stand under their snow burden. From the eaves and fences hang stalactites of snow, and in the yard stand stalagmites covering some concealed core. The trees and shrubs rear white arms to the sky on every side; and where were walls and fences, we see

fantastic forms stretching in frolic gambols across the dusky landscape, as if Nature had strewn her fresh designs over the fields by night as models for man’s art.”

Thoreau would continue to record his love of winter eleven years later with the publication of Walden. Of the eighteen chapters that make up the book, four of them specifically deal with the winter months, from “House Warming” (where he chronicles the building of his chimney) to “Winter Visitors” and “Winter Animals” to finally “The Pond in Winter.” In that last chapter, Thoreau describes the daily activities around, and on top of, a frozen Walden Pond; ice fishing by locals, ice cutting by gangs of Irish laborers, and Thoreau’s daily battle with axe and pail to obtain water, are all described in great detail, as is the ice of the Pond itself.

©istock.com/leonid Ikan

©Richard Smith

“Like the water, the Walden ice, seen near at hand, has a green tint, but at a distance is beautifully blue, and you can easily tell it from the white ice of the river, or the merely greenish ice of some ponds, a quarter of a mile off.”

At one point, as he was surveying the Pond, Thoreau recorded the ice of Walden to be 16 inches think! As he cut holes in the ice to measure the depth of the Pond it was, he wrote, “somewhat like cutting a hole in the bottom of a ship to let the water out.”

Some of Thoreau’s most romantic and beautiful winter passages are in his Journals.

He loved being outdoors and couldn’t understand why his fellow Concordians didn’t feel the same way. “Why do you flee so soon, sir, to the theaters, lecture-rooms, and museums of the city?” he wrote. “If you will stay here awhile, I will promise you strange sights. You shall walk on water; all these brooks and rivers and ponds shall be your highway. You shall see the whole earth covered a foot or more deep with purest white crystals . . . and all the trees and stubble glittering in icy armor.”

Thoreau knew well, though, the harshness and danger of winter in the 19th-century. Even the almost daily chore of collecting or chopping firewood could mean the difference between life and death. It’s

©Richard Smith

Walden Pond in Winter

Replica of Thoreau’s Cabin at Walden Pond

no wonder that Thoreau would write, “Every man looks at his wood-pile with a kind of affection. I love to have mine before my window, and the more chips the better to remind me of my pleasing work.”

Like all of us, Thoreau knew that winter would not last. As much as he enjoyed winter, like all New Englanders he always had one eye turned to spring. While he may wistfully ask his Journal, “Is not January the hardest month to get through?” he knew that the cold was only temporary, and he always held on to the expectation for an end to the winter months as he sought to understand and accept the cycles of nature. “To us snow and cold seem a mere

delaying of spring. How far we are from understanding the value of these things in the economy of Nature.”

Yet, while Thoreau loved winter, summer was never far from his thoughts. As he wrote in his essay A Winter Walk, “A healthy man, indeed, is the complement of the seasons, and in winter, summer is in his heart.”

——————————————————————— Richard Smith has worked as a public historian in Concord for 21 years, specializing in Henry David Thoreau, the Transcendentalists, the Anti-Slavery movement, and the Civil War. He has written six books for Applewood Books and is a tour guide for Concord Tour Company.

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©Channing Johnson Photography

Dream Weddings Go Local

T

There’s no stopping love. World-wide pandemic or not, we are living love with our family, friends, and community. We are taking care of ourselves and helping others in whatever ways that we can. We might be staying local and keeping six feet apart, but we’re grabbing those lemons, making lemonade, and embracing the surprising sweetnesses of this time.

And there’s no stopping weddings.

Because we are falling in love! Although family gatherings may look different this year, the winter holiday season remains a perfect time to get engaged, share the news, and start planning the wedding day.

Social gatherings are a whole new universe. With no true sense of when life may get back to the way we knew it, there may be limits on travel, size, or venue, but there are no limits on creativity. And, 56

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happily, we live in one of the most beautiful – and creative – places in the world.

Area couples are rising to the challenge, discovering everything this area has to offer, and planning micro weddings and minimonies to treasure for a lifetime.

Jennifer Eaton, owner of locally-owned Copper Penny Flowers floral and event boutique, remembers the first bride that had to rework all her wedding plans because of the pandemic. “At the last minute, we had to change our pre-wedding appointment to Zoom which meant I had to scramble to figure out how to meet with the bride using my computer. I put the sample centerpiece we had made for her wedding—a blush and burgundy design with peonies and lisianthus—in front of my computer screen, and the bride burst into tears! I think she already realized she

couldn’t do the wedding as she’d planned.

Within four days, her original wedding was cancelled.” But the story didn’t end there.

The bride scaled back and celebrated a once-in-a-lifetime event at her original location, a nearby historic mansion.

There may have been fewer than two dozen guests, all socially distanced, but her wedding was as magical as she had hoped. A highlight? “The most gorgeous flowers I’ve ever seen at my ceremony-only wedding!”

©Jenny Edwards Photography

BY BEVERLY BRETON CARROLL

©ColeandKieraPhotography

©Aleksandr Verbetsky Photography

consider a few important questions. Will this be the only ceremony? Will the bride wear her wedding dress? Will there be a bridal party? Who will attend?

What venue is feasible with unpredictable or tighter time frames?

Then dance outside any traditional wedding boxes and plan this personally unique day. At a farm where goats can pad the guest list? The outdoor patio at a favorite restaurant? In the garden at an area mansion or historic inn? By the river or in a park? Or why not that backyard?

Add box lunches, a food truck, a cookout, or a formal catered meal. Order a mini wedding cake, make s’mores, or walk guests down the street to the local ice cream stand.

©Aleksandr Verbetsky Photography

©Family photo

©Metzger Studios

Another 2020 bride and groom who were married at a family member’s property in Carlisle included a birch arbor festooned with blooms for their ceremony and posed for photos with the chickens. A highlight?

Drinks served on ice in a canoe!

A local engaged couple who aren’t so local anymore—they are both active military serving in Hawaii—were highly motivated to create a new event plan. Unable to change the date due to family commitments, they discovered the family backyard could be transformed to host their wedding in style.

And with the outdoor venue, they could still have a number of family and friends join them. 2020 didn’t stop these heroes.

A highlight? They became Mr. and Mrs. right on schedule!

We may be planning smaller, socially distanced events for some time to come.

So before planning your dream wedding

What? What was that about not being able to plan the wedding of your dreams?

There’s no stopping love. And there’s no stopping creating a dream wedding in our beautiful piece of the world.

——————————————————————— Beverly Breton Carroll has written for numerous regional and national newspapers and magazines, specializing in travel and lifestyle articles. She is happily embracing her 24th year of living in New England.

Floral designs by Copper Penny Flowers.

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BARRED OWL For some, winter is a time to chill out, fluff up, and take a nap.

WINTER Comes to Concord STORY AND PHOTOS BY DAVE WITHERBEE

FAIRHAVEN BAY The glows reflecting off ice at the shoreline are enchanting.

GREAT MEADOWS When we want to take a walk after sitting by a warm fire, we can find an afternoon glow like this one at Great Meadows.

WINTERING BLUEBIRD When we need something to brighten up our day, a wintering bluebird can often help.

BLACK SQUIRREL Black squirrels are morphs of gray squirrels and are fun to see, especially in the snowy winter.

They know how to use a good blanket to stay warm.

HERON If the ice is not hiding his lunch, he is fine in the winter months.

Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough!

CEDAR WAXWING This handsome guy is fullfilling his name.

He is dining on cedar berries.

ASSABET RIVER Winter provides us with wonderful contrasts of light, dark, and warm colors if we get out to view them. I hope you all can do so.

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Bronson Alcott’s Search for Eden:

I

Fruitlands STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUSAN BAILEY

In September of 1837, as criticism of his Temple School grew, Transcendentalist philosopher and educator Amos Bronson Alcott received a lifeline: a lengthy correspondence from an English admirer.

Having learned of Bronson’s grand experiment through the reading of Record of a School (written by Bronson’s assistant, Elizabeth Peabody), James Pierrepont Greaves had created his own Temple School, naming it Alcott House. Following the closure of his Temple School in 1841, Bronson traveled to London in 1842 to visit Alcott House, returning six months later with a partnership and a vision. While in England, Alcott met Charles Lane, an English Transcendentalist, disciple of James Pierrepont Greaves, and admirer of Bronson Alcott. Together, the two men founded their utopian community in America, beginning 62

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in Concord in October 1842. Nine months later, the group moved to the Wyman Farm in Harvard, purchased by Lane. Alcott, his wife and four girls along with Lane and his son, joined a handful of followers at Fruitlands on June 1, 1843.

Alcott and Lane’s goal was to facilitate the return to the Garden of Eden through diet and high-minded ideals, this according to Richard Francis, the author of Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia.

Such ideals had to address societal wrongs, especially slavery. Francis described Fruitlands as “a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of cities, with their consequent social injustice, poverty, and environmental deterioration.”1 In response, the Fruitlands community removed themselves from the general public in order to create a new and perfect society.

Members of Fruitlands were considered a part of a “consociate” family based on like-mindedness rather than blood relations.

Seeking a higher form of life in the Spirit necessitated a radical examination of the nuclear family, which created bonds undermining the interests of the consociate.

Lane believed that future generations would be perfected by the absence of such ties.

Eden therefore would be reclaimed through an austere manner of living, eating, and thinking, all leading to man’s restoration with nature, and communion with God. By abstaining from conjugal relations and the use of any materials produced by slave labor; and, by replacing meat, dairy products, tea, coffee, and alcohol with raw fruit, vegetables, coarse grains, and water, the Garden could be reinstated, injustices addressed, and people would, in turn, be perfected.2

Fruitlands was essentially a drama in which a particular group of people interacted with each other, intellectually and emotionally.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alcott’s closest friend, proved prophetic after visiting Fruitlands writing, “They look well in July, we will see them in December.”3 Once boasting thirteen members, Fruitlands would last just seven months, leaving Lane, his son, and the Alcott family destitute. In the end, the lofty goals would succumb to the existential conflict of human relationships: between husband and wife; parents and children; friends and allies; individuals and the community.4 Francis concluded that “Fruitlands was essentially a drama in which a particular group of people interacted with each other, intellectually and emotionally.

It is that interaction which gives the experiment its fullest significance.”5 That struggle would have a lasting effect on then ten-year-old Louisa May Alcott. She responded thirty years later with satirical humor in Transcendental Wild Oats. The trauma of Fruitlands seared into Louisa the purpose for which she would live out her life: taking care of her family (especially her mother), providing for them materially, and giving them financial security. It was an unlikely outcome of an experiment based on the renunciation of commerce and materialism, byproducts of an industrial society. Thanks to the merits of her hard work (especially the best-selling Little Women), Louisa would provide her own version of utopia to her immediate family within the confines of a fine antique home in Concord known as Orchard House.

—————————————————————— Susan Bailey is the author of two books (Louisa May Alcott: Illuminated by The Message and River of Grace) and webmaster for the Louisa May Alcott is My Passion blog at louisamayalcottismypassion.com. She is a correspondent for the Catholic Free Press and contributes regularly to BookTrib.com.

Master bedroom

The library

The attic

Richard Francis, Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and

1

Their Search for Utopia (Yale University Press, October 25, 2011), pg. 3; 2Ibid, pgs. 2-6; 3Ibid, pg.

191; 4 Ibid, pgs. 8-9; 5 Ibid, pg. 11

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Barrow Bookstore Presents:

Q 1

On Christmas Eve of 1854, 22-year-old Louisa May Alcott placed what she called her “first born” into her mother’s Christmas stocking as a gift. What was this “first born” and what was it called?

2

In his essay “Wild Apples”, Henry David Thoreau wrote about an old English custom practiced on New Year’s Eve when groups of boys would gather in apple orchards, encircle the apple trees, and repeat a chant encouraging the trees to grow strong through the winter. What was the name of this custom? Was it: a) Bough lifting b) Apple howling c) The Ritual of Rootimus Profundus d) Muggle incanting

3

In the Colonial era, residents of Concord depended upon candlelight to light their houses and break the night’s darkness. The most common material from which candles were made was: a) Duck fat b) Beeswax c) Tallow d) Tree syrup boiled to wax 64

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4

In 1776, upper class merchants in England may have still been a little mad at the Colonists for dumping their tea into the Boston harbor during the Boston Tea Party of 1773, but they may also have felt some satisfaction in knowing a new English invention - not yet in America would guarantee that their house interiors would be kept in better condition than those of the annoying Colonists. Was this new invention a: a) Mechanical rug beater b) Pewter lined waste can c) Candle douter d) Goose down draft stopper e) Gold chamber pot

5

A Christmas kindness. In 1881, a poor woman in Illinois wrote to a Concord author and asked the author to help fill-in for Santa Claus (who was not available that year). The Concord author jumped in to help and mailed gifts to the woman and her family. Who was the Concord author?

6

True or False. In 1930, you could meet friends in Concord at the Colonial Inn, sit in the tavern, and buy a beer.

7

In the 1800s, a particular dessert (such as one Louisa May Alcott read about in her favorite book, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol) was often made in a copper pot, doused in alcohol, and garnished with a sprig of holly. If the copper pot had not been properly maintained, copper might leach into the dessert causing consumers to experience unfortunate gastrointestinal distress and feelings of lack of friendship towards the cook. What was the dessert called?

©istock.com/Nickyp2

Trivia

©istock.com/Avdeev_80

CONCORD

A

1) “The frolic architecture of the snow” 2) “The path is snowed up” 3) “a snowdrift swept by the cottage with a sound like the trailing of a garment” 4) “the sun glittered on the everlasting snow”

1. Louisa’s first book, Flower Fables.

Written when Louisa was sixteen years old, Flower Fables was a collection of short stories Louisa wrote for Ralph Waldo Emerson’s youngest daughter, Ellen. Years later, the book was published just in time for Louisa to place the finished novel into her mother’s stocking on Christmas eve. In the accompanying letter to her mother, Louisa wrote, “I hope to pass in time from fairies and fables to men and realities.”

©istock.com/Animaflora

2. B. Apple howling. Standing in circles around the apple trees, the boys would chant, “Stand fast, root! Bear well, top!

Pray God send us a good howling crop: Every twig, apples big; Every bough, apples enow!”

9

One of the earliest newspaper reports of Christmas trees in the United States described “an interesting festival, a Christmas tree,” in Concord with all the children of the town participating and someone dressed as St. Nicholas distributing presents. What year did this interesting festival occur? a) 1833 b) 1843 c) 1853 d) 1863

10

A riddle: Proud and true, high as a church spire, I preside in Concord Center. Directed by the wind, I look East, West, North, South; sometimes I rest, and sometimes I bow in honor. Below me stands a liberty tree on a grass plot circled by feet seeking routes to peace, and vehicles following one unchanging path. Who/what am I?

3. C. Tallow. Made from the raw fat of animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs, tallow was cheap and easily available.

To prepare it for candle making, the fat would be placed in a cauldron of boiling water and melted. The melted fat was then skimmed off the top and placed into a dipping pot for candle making.

Combinations of cow and sheep tallow produced a tolerable smell, while pig tallow (more readily available to the poorest citizen) produced an odor likely to encourage social distancing of at least six feet.

4. C. Candle douter. Best known in modern day as “candle snuffers,” douters were invented in England in 1776 by Christopher Pinchbeck the Younger.

Made of metal, they looked like short scissors with a small bowl attached to the tip. Using the douter, burning candles could be extinguished by snipping the wick and letting it fall into the bowl.

This reduced the need for blowing out a candle and, as frequently happened, blowing hot wax or soot on the walls or furniture, and reduced the chance of fire by neatly catching any hot embers.

5. Louisa May Alcott. Louisa wrote Little Women in 1868 and her writing career had

successfully continued from there. By 1881, she was well known and a public figure, and although the woman was a stranger, Louisa was more than happy to help.

6. FALSE. You could meet your friends in the Colonial Inn (officially opened in 1889), but you could not buy alcohol.

A result of the Temperance movement, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enacted Prohibition.

From 19201933, it was prohibited to produce, transport, or sell alcohol. In 1933, the 21st Amendment lifted Prohibition, and on April 7, 1933, Massachusetts approved the sale of beer.

©istock.com/alex57111

8

Who said it? Match the Concord Author to their description of a pile of snow. a) Louisa May Alcott b) Ralph Waldo Emerson c) Nathaniel Hawthorne d) Henry David Thoreau

7. Christmas pudding. No matter the after-effects, you would just hope people remembered it was the thought that counted.

8. A. 4. “the sun glittered on the everlasting snow”, Louisa May Alcott, Journal Entry, 1865 B. 1. “The frolic architecture of the snow”, Emerson, “The Snow-Storm”.

C. 3. “a snowdrift swept by the cottage” Hawthorne, “The Gentle Boy” D. 2. “The path is snowed up”, Thoreau Journal entry, January 10, 1856 9. C. 1853. Individual Christmas trees were reported in Concord as early as the mid-1830s, including in the home of Harvard College professor Charles Follen, an immigrant from Germany who became a member of the abolitionist movement.

10. The American flag, located in the traffic circle at Monument Square.

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65 3

Come Home to Concord!

Cathy Folts | Realtor® 85 Main Street | Concord | MA 01742 email: Cathy.Folts@raveis.com website: CathyFolts.raveis.com Cell: 978-201-9537

In this season of giving, please consider supporting the Annual Campaign. All gifts directly support local non-profit human service organizations serving Concord and Carlisle residents in need.

Your one donation makes a big impact.

Comina Home WAYS TO GIVE: ONLINE: www.cccommunitychest.org TEXT: NEIGHBOR to 707070 CALL: 978-369-5250 MAIL:19 Main Street, Suite 2, Concord, MA 01742

THANK YOU! 66

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H

O

M

E

9 Walden St • Concord • 978-341-0091 • Instagram @comina.inc

“ ‘Tis the good reader that makes the good book.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Barrow Bookstore RARE AND GENTLY READ BOOKS

Specializing in Concord Authors and History; Transcendentalism; Revolutionary War, American, and Military History; Children’s Literature; and a wide selection for the eclectic reader.

Literary-themed gifts, postcards, and beeswax candles.

79 Main Street, Concord, MA (behind Fritz and Gigi) | www.barrowbookstore.com | 978-369-6084

Take a Stroll With Us Through Living History Unique and Fun Walking Tours for All Ages Bring History Alive for your Kids Reenactments & Living History Featuring: The Rude Bridge Tour The Real Little Women African American History in Concord Wide Awake in Sleepy Hollow And many more!

For more information about our safe, socially distanced, and fascinating outdoor tours, please visit us online or call 978.399.8229 | concordtourcompany.com

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Giving Back to

©Jim Coutre Photography

COMMUNITY

Concord Free Public Library

Non-profit groups are at the core of Concord’s beloved cultural and historic heritage. They preserve our history, foster our creativity, educate, inform, and even feed our community. This year, in particular, has been challenging for so many groups as performances had to be cancelled, historic sites closed, and employees and volunteers furloughed. So please remember to include Concord’s non-profit organizations in your holiday giving.

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Potter at work at The Umbrella Arts Center

GENERAL PHILANTHROPY

51 Walden www.51walden.org

Concord Players www.concordplayers.org

Concord Art www.concordart.org

Concord Youth Theatre www.concordyouththeatre.org

Concord Band www.concordband.org

Dance Prism www.danceprism.com/index.htm

Concord Chorus www.concordchorus.org

The Thoreau Society www.thoreausociety.org

Concord Conservatory of Music www.concordconservatory.org

The Umbrella Arts Center www.theumbrellaarts.org

Concord Orchestra www.concordorchestra.com/co

Village Art Room www.villageartroom.com ©Gaining Ground

©Nick Warchol

THE ARTS

Gaining Ground seasonal food donations

Concord-Carlisle Community Chest www.cccommunitychest.org Gaining Ground www.gainingground.org Ivy Child International www.ivychild.org Open Table www.opentable.org The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle www.thescholarshipfundofcc.org

THE ENVIRONMENT Concord Land Conservation Trust www.concordland.org

©Richard Smith

The Walden Woods Project www.walden.org

MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES, AND HISTORIC SITES Concord Free Public Library www.concordlibrary.org

Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House www.louisamayalcott.org

Concord Museum www.concordmuseum.org

The Old Manse/Trustees of Reservations www.thetrustees.org/place/the-old-manse

Save Our Heritage www.saveourheritage.com

Ralph Waldo Emerson House www.ralphwaldoemersonhouse.org

Friends of Sleepy Hollow www.friendsofsleepyhollow.org

The Robbins House www.robbinshouse.org

These are just some of the many Concord organizations supported by charitable giving.

Visit www.guidestar.org for a more complete list.

A replica of Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond

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Alcohol excluded.

Expires 3/1/21

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10% OFF $20 PURCHASE 15% OFF $35 PURCHASE

106 Commonwealth Ave. West Concord

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Buy any Verrill Farm house made entree and get one of the following entrees at 1/2 price: Jumbo Cheese Ravioli, Chicken Stroganoff, Cheese Lasagna, Jambalaya, Vegetable Lo Mein, Lemon Artichoke Chicken.

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To include your business in our next edition, please contact Jennifer C. Schünemann: jennifer@voyager-publishing.com or 978.435.2266

Christmas Centerpieces, Poinsettias, Boxwood Trees, and More!

Delivery or Curbside Pickup Available Store Hours Mon-Fri 9-5:30 Sat 9-3

135 Commonwealth Ave. in West Concord | www.concordflowershop.com | 978-369-2404

WOMEN’S CONSIGNMENT BOUTIQUE 101 Commonwealth Ave West Concord www.ReflectionsConcord.com Facebook/Instagram: @ReflectionsConcord

Caring for you safely in West Concord

80 Beharrell Street | 781-259-9292 | www.LincolnPhysicians.org

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Winter 2020

Advertiser Index

ANTIQUES 40 North Bridge Antiques ARTS, GUITARS & ART SUPPLIES 59 Albright Art Supply 58 Louise Arnold Art 58 Minuteman Guitars 58 Three Stones Gallery BOOKSHOPS & MAGAZINES 67 Barrow Bookstore 58 Discover Concord gift subscription CATERING, RESTAURANTS, AND SPECIALITY FOOD & WINE SHOPS 45 Adelita 43 The Cheese Shop 45 Concord Teacakes 74 *Debra’s Natural Gourmet 41 Dunkin’ 43 *Fiorella’s Cucina 59 *Verrill Farm 45 West Concord Wine & Spirits 45 Woods Hill Table CHARITABLE GIVING 66 Concord Carlisle

Community Chest

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES 70 Reflections 40 Sara Campbell EXPERIENTIAL 31, 51 Concord Museum 25 Concord Players 67 Concord Tour Company 5 Concord Visitor Center 50 Pierre Chiha Photographers 18 Thoreau Society 33 *West Concord 5 & 10 FINANCIAL PLANNING 7 Oliver Capital Management FLORISTS 70 Concord Flower Shop 47 Copper Penny Flowers HOME FURNISHINGS, DÉCOR & UNIQUE GIFTS 70 Artisans Way 47 The Bee’s Knees 47 Belle on Heels 66 Comina 19 Joy Street Life + Home 40 Nesting 59 A New Leaf 14 Patina Green 59 Revolutionary Concord

HEALTH & MEDICAL 70 Lincoln Physicians HOTELS & INNS 51 Hawthorne Inn INTERIOR DESIGN & ARCHITECTURE 39 Appleton Design Group 66 Inkstone Architects JEWELERS 25 Artinian Jewelers 47 Merlin’s Silver Star REAL ESTATE & CUSTOM BUILDERS 3 The Attias Group 1, 72 Barrett Sotheby’s International 30 Carleton-Willard Village 20 Coldwell Banker: The Senkler Team 8, 15 Compass Realty 34 Engel & Völkers 23 LandVest Real Estate 73 Platt Builders 66 William Raveis Real Estate:

Cathy Folts TOYS 59 The Concord Toy Box *Money Saving Coupon on page 70

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New year

photography by Greg Premru

new dreams

Let us help make yours come true.

Bathroom renovations are among our most requested projects. In almost thirty years of building them, we’ve compiled scores of thoughtful and beautiful solutions to create the oasis of your dreams.

Let’s work together.

PLATTBUILDERS.COM | 978.448.9963

Winter Holiday Menu 2020 TO ORDER: Circle what you’d like on the page and drop it off at Debra's Natural Gourmet, 98 Commonwealth Avenue, Concord, MA. Questions? Call us at 978-371-7573 and ask for the kitchen.

Something S omething S Special pecial

Of course you can pick up orders in the shop. We're happy, too, to bring them out to your car curbside.

Appetizers & Savory sides Quinoa Cakes with Caper Dill Remoulade Sauce

Pies & Cakes (specify whole wheat of nongluten)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $40. / 2 dz

Original Pecan Pie With Maple Syrup @ $26.

Roasted Shrimp with Herbed Pesto (dairy, nut free)

Chocolate Lovers Pecan Pie With Maple Syrup

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $45. / 2 dz

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $26.

Vibrant Cultured Beet Dip w Rainbow Vegetables Serves 8-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $36.

Assorted Dressed Eggs – Mix & Match; Herbed, BLT or Harissa w/Scallions . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $36. / 2 dz Roasted Root Vegetables (parsnips, yams, beets) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $10. /lb Quinoa With Apricots And Pistachios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $13. /lb Butternut Squash (mashed with or without butter) . . . . @ $10. /lb Hearty Party (yams, black beans, cilantro & cumin) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $10. /lb Golden Beet Salad w/Walnuts, Feta & Kale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $14. /lb

Sauces Raw Organic Cranberry Sauce, Pumpkinseed Tomatillo Dip or Caper Dill Remoulade Sauce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pint @ $12.

Quiche Veggie, Florentine, Lorraine (whole wheat or nongluten) 9” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $27.

Wild Blueberry Pie With Maple Syrup @ $28.

Best Ever Sweet Potato Pie With Maple Syrup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $24.

Coconut Custard Pie . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $24.

Buche de Noel (W/W cake filled with vanilla mascarpone, topped with ganache) 10" Yule Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @60.

Organic Flourless Chocolate Torte (only N/G) 6” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ 29.

Organic Chocolate Mousse . . . . . . . . @ $14. /lb Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Lemon Cashew Frosting (Moist and delicious, vegan too!)

12 mini cupcakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $26.

9” round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $45.

Coconut Manna Chocolate Mousse Bites Platter (N/G & vegan too!)

24 bite size pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $24.

Pumpkin Maple Cake W Cream Cheese Frosting.

12 mini whoopie pies . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $24.

12 mini cupcakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $26.

8” round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . @ $45.

Your Name: Phone: Email: Before placing your order, please let us know if you or a person in your party has a food allergy. Our food is made in a facility that handles tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, eggs, wheat, shellfish and soy.

98 Commonwealth Avenue West Concord , MA 01742 978-371-7573