Thank You, Stephen Winship

The recent passing of journalist and historian Stephen Winship deserves notice for his invaluable contributions to reporting, sharing and maintaining a history of the area that is second to none.

Winship’s name has been familiar to me since childhood and I followed his writings with an insatiable desire to know more about the city of Concord. He provided an education to this youngster with his real, down to earth and always accessible way of making those lessons real.

In 1965, Concord marked its bicentennial and 46 years later I remember every detail of that memorable year.

It was a year marked with celebrations including a parade that, I felt, rivaled Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade for excitement. There were dozens of floats, countless bands and just about everyone in Town showed up to celebrate. I got to ride on the Friends of the float, showing off the Library’s new earphones that had recently been installed in the “Listening Room.” It was a great time to be a member of the Concord Community.

To me as a young teenager, however, the jewel in the crown of that celebratory year was the release of Winship’s book, “At the Bend in the River,” a story detailing the history of Concord.

I purchased a copy at the Apple Tree Bookstore on Warren Street, going immediately around the corner to the Puritan Restaurant where I sat and perused every page of a book that would become one of my all-time favorites. I still have my copy and frequently take it out and re-read certain passages. Winship’s obvious love for the community was evidenced on every page.

Until six years ago, Winship continued to write about a subject he loved and his inspired writings were always highpoints of any issue of the Concord Monitor that contained them.

Winship leaves behind a rich legacy that all of us can fortunately access whenever we want to understand why Concord continues to be a unique and inspiring place to live.

Thank you, Stephen Winship, for sharing your gifts with all of us.