Paul Brogan: A Little Piece of Heaven!

We are all dealing with the current situation in a variety of ways. Despite the uncertainty of not knowing how long our lives will be facing the current challenges until a return to "normal" (???), I am in awe of the creative and enterprising way in which the people of Concord are filling their hours. No matter where I go, I see our locals practicing social distancing, wearing masks and not seeming to lose their sense of humor. Just like their ancestors and "Concordians" who came before us coped with the Great Depression in the 1930's, World War II and numerous other upheavals, the people of our community are showing a remarkable ability to cope.

I am filling many hours with work on two books. The first is a book about my longtime friend, Doris Day and will be entitled, More Than Freckles: The Amazing Life and Career of Doris Day.

It was the title of a series of classes I taught for OLLI at Granite State College, throughout New Hampshire during the past 8 years. The overwhelming response to those classes, made me realize that there was a story needing to be told. In fact, Doris once said to me, "You know more about me than I do..."

The other book will be called The Park. It's set around Concord's beloved White's Park during the 1962 Peanut Carnival. A body is found floating in the pond, the body of a well-known local figure and the surprising revelations fly fast and furiously as the Concord Police Department headed by Chief Walter Carlson, tries to solve the murder. A series of letters sent to notable locals threatening their lives, raises the possibility of more killings.

I am always amused by the passionate response of thousands whenever White's Park is talked or written about on social media. There is a faction and some historical documentation to support the name White Park. However, there is also at least an equal amount of history, oral and in writing, to support White's Park as the moniker.

Last year my book, The Concord Theatre and Concord's Love Affair with the Movies, was released. In January, Concord's "jewel" Gibson's Bookstore, noted that it had been their top-selling book in 2019 by a local author.

I would like to think that part of the reason for that success was due to the more than 1,835 hours I put into researching and writing the story. I wanted it to be as accurate as possible and to correctly bring to life a time long past. I am spending at least an equal amount of time researching the park, the time period and our community as it was in the early 1960's. While I was around and in grammar school at the time, it doesn't hurt to delve into events and situations that might have escaped the note of a youngster at the time.

My first visit to White's Park occurred in the 1950's and I was in a stroller. I can still recall, however, my excitement as we arrived in this beautiful haven of trees, a stone bridge, a pond with ducks and a genuine air of magic filling every inch of the grounds.

A few years later we moved to Academy Street and the park became a regular part of my life and the lives of thousands but especially those of us who lived in the area surrounding the park. To all of us it was "White's" and all you had to say was "I'll meet you at White's" and there was a promise of adventure.

At the park you could walk, ride your bike, swim, skate, sled, play ball, have a picnic, meet your friends or just hang out. We relished going to the park and it was an integral part of our routine.

The annual Peanut Carnival, held at the end of summer, right before our return to school (in those days we went back to school on the Wednesday after Labor Day), was both a signal that summer was waning and a great last opportunity to have "a blast" as we called it. The Peanut Carnival was the brainchild of several passionate locals including David Sayward and Betty Abbott.

Betty was a former professional entertainer and star and had settled in Concord in the 1950's. She became Director of Recreation and Parks (today it's known as Parks and Recreation). She remained in the position for more than two decades until 1980. On her business card she proudly noted that her office was located "...in beautiful White's Park"!!

While researching my book, I found hundreds of references in the Concord Room at our beautiful Public Library, in Concord Annual Reports to "White's Park" and expenditures and monies allocated by the City to White's Park. I also found an 1890's City map of Ward 4 with "White's Park" prominently featured.

Our neighbor on Academy Street when we first arrived was Judge Elwin Page. He lived on the corner of Academy and Cambridge. He was not only a Judge but a noted historian. Each day he would take a walk from his home to the park. As he passed our house, if we were playing in the yard, he'd tip his hat and say, "I'm off to White's..."

Interestingly it was his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Robertson Page, President of the Woman's Club in the early 80's, who completed the nominating form to get the Park included on the National Register of Historic Places. On the form she notes the name as "White Park" but also includes "and/or common: White's Park"

The debate will no doubt continue but in the book, it will be "White's Park" since that's what it was more commonly known as in 1962, the year in which the story begins.

White's Park" has always been a place that matters to me. During my four years at Bishop Brady High School, I took a shortcut through the park while walking back and forth to school. It's also a place to go and sit and meditate or contemplate or simply be. It's rare to have a week go by in which I don't walk through the park and during this current crisis, we're there several times each week.

Whether you call it White Park or White's Park, it is a place of magic and escape and a part of our community that we can be very proud of.