Fifty Years for Minutemen, and a Film Series

Here we are, at January dark thirty, still closer to the beginning of winter than the end, the days growing longer by the tiniest of increments, the late afternoons still dark and cold. What’s a body to do?

If you’re the Concord Minutemen, you get together and celebrate 50 years of hanging around together, reenacting the long-ago battle that began our fight for independence. The group celebrated last Saturday night over at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury: 50 years of dressing up and representing Massachusetts at events around the world and overseas.

Jack Chisholm is one of the original members. He was born here in Concord and, in fact, still lives in the house where he came into this world. The house itself has moved, as part of a roads project – it was originally on Lexington Road – and he has moved with it.

Jack told me that he has always been interested in Concord history, and so when the Concord Minutemen began back in 1963, he wanted to be part of it. He reminded me that the original Minutemen who arrived on the bridge in April of 1775 went as loyal British subjects, sworn to uphold the dignity and life of King George. Their beef was with the British soldiers and Parliament; they were fed up with paying for wars they had nothing to do with, and having to buy goods through English importers.

He’s done a fair amount of traveling with the Minutemen: The group has represented the state of Massachusetts at a number of inaugural parades, as well as Bowl games and Disney World. The group has gone as far Paris in 1983 to celebrate the Treaty of Versailles and Edinburgh for the Festival, and as close as the surrounding towns of Acton, Lexington and Boxborough.

At one time, around the Bicentennial, the group had 200 members. Now, membership is down, and there are about 20 men involved. But it’s clear they are proud of what they do, and Jack told me they had a wonderful time on Saturday, celebrating 50 years as Concord Minutemen. Very nice indeed.

Winter Entertainment

Those of you looking to get out yourselves and escape the winter doldrums, especially those of you who are film aficionados, will be happy to know that the Friday Flicks@Fowler film series is starting up again.

Yes, this very popular film series is back, bringing unique, critically acclaimed foreign films to the Fowler Branch of the Concord Free Public Library, for your viewing pleasure.

The nice thing about these films, aside from the fact that they are free, is that they are not easily seen other places. The volunteers who run this event work hard to find interesting, meaningful films, and occasionally have to work a little magic to get the rights so that you can have access to them. Pretty impressive.

The series starts tomorrow night, January 18, and will run through the end of March. There are only six films, and even though some of them are unrated, they are all primarily for adults:

• Ushpizin (Israel) on Jan. 18
• The First Grader (UK) on Jan. 25
• Still Walking (Japan) on Feb. 8
• The Overture (Thailand) on Feb. 22
• The Sea Inside (Spain) on March 8
• Dor (India) on March 22

Each movie starts at 7 p.m., but the doors open at 6:30, and I hear you need to get there early to ensure getting a seat. After all, how many other things are there to do on a cold winter’s night?

For more information on this program go to Friends of the Concord Free Public Library Inc. on Facebook.

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at stefanieac@comcast.net and I will be happy to help you spread the good news. And follow me on Twitter: @stefanie3131