Brogan: What Constitutes a Concord 'Legend'?

By Paul Brogan

The newly published book, “Legendary Locals of Concord,” pays deserved tribute to many who have helped to make Concord the amazing community it has always been. Perusing the pages is to understand how we got to where we are and why we seem poised to continue this fascinating journey. This Friday, July 10, at Concord’s beloved Gibson’s, the author of the book will sign copies beginning at 7 p.m.

Making decisions as to who should be included was, I am sure, not an easy task. There are certainly many deserved names from our past as well as those who continue to lend their skills and talents to enrich our lives, who were not included in the final cut. There are also some names that will have you scratching your head as to why they were included as “Legends” although they may well be legends in their own mind and their self-aggrandizing is legendary.

Many of the names, however, conjure up wonderful memories for their invaluable contributions in making Concord the best place you would ever want to grow up in.

The contributions of M.T. Menino live on at the Capitol Center for the Arts. Barry Steelman, who deserves the title “Mr. Movie,” continues to make valuable contributions to our community and Michael Herrmann has made Gibson’s a local landmark that other cities would love to emulate.

There are names, however, that truly deserve a spot in the book and their exclusion boggles the mind. James MacKay continues to represent our city as he has for many years in the NH Legislature. Beyond that, his skill as a Therapist has helped hundreds of locals find their way back from the darkness of despair. “Jim” as he is affectionately known, served on our City Council for many years and was Mayor of Concord, guiding the city through those fragile and painful days after the Challenger disaster with his warmth and strength.

And what of Minnie Proud, a soldier in the Salvation Army for more than 63 years and the face of the Salvation Army to many in Concord. During the City’s 1965 Bicentennial year, Minnie, at 85, remained at her station outside of the Concord National Bank Building, ringing her bell and smiling and nodding to those who walked by, proud to be a part of our local landscape. Composer/Conductor John Adams is renowned all over the world and was a Concord High graduate and grew up on Mountain Road in Concord.

Where is Mayor Charles Davie or the Makris family whose name has been synonymous with great food and a wonderful dining experience for well over 60 years?

Who can forget Betty Abbott who gave up a professional performing career to move to Concord where, as director of Parks and Recreation as it was known in those days, helped create enduring events like the annual Ski and Skate Sale while alternately giving some of the most consummate performances in Community Players history. And speaking of the Players, where is Bob Stuart who on and off the stage leaves an historic legacy of community theatre. How many of us bought our first pair at skis from Ozzie Waite?

Another a name I was shocked to not find in the collection – a name probably not readily familiar to many was Theresa Cantin. For more than six decades she helped to bring us a rich tapestry of motion picture entertainment. Long before there was a Cinema 93 or a Red River Theatre, there was Theresa Cantin and her beloved Concord Theatre. To this date, no other woman ever ran an independent first-run movie theatre in this country longer than Theresa.

For sixty-one years – from 1933 until 1994, Theresa worked seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, never taking a vacation and always striving to provide “my people” as she fondly referred to her customers, with the best in movies that she was able to obtain. She even scheduled chemotherapy for early in the day so that she could be sitting in her customary seat at the box-office when the doors opened at 6:30 p.m.

In the 1930s, 40s and 50s, women who worked in movie theatres generally sold tickets, sold concession items or did the bookkeeping. Theresa did all that but she was also a partner in the ownership of the theatre and in 1947 bought out the other partner and becoming in the process the sole owner, film booker as well as the person who designed the ads that ran in the local newspaper, while maintaining a very low profile. In fact there is only one known instance of the Concord Monitor printing a picture of Theresa in all those years.

She fought to show the best product on her screen while struggling to earn grudging respect from the sales personnel and film company executives who tried to dismiss a woman suddenly thrown into their midst. When the Maine and New Hampshire Theaters, owned by Joseph P. Kennedy, tried to monopolize the local film market (They owned the Capitol and Star Theatres in Concord), she took them to court and the playing field was ultimately more evened.

A look at the listing of the thousands of films she showed after taking over sole ownership is a veritable cross-section of some of the best, award-winning movies and audience favorites of the late 1940s through the early 1990s. Even in the last year of the theatre’s existence, the screen flickered with such Oscar winners as “The Piano” and “The Crying Game.”

When told by a rep from Universal, who’d worked in the business for decades, that she had run an independent, first-run movie theatre longer than any other woman in the United States, Theresa, in her typical manner told him that all she cared about was “…putting something watchable on the screen for my people……” The hundreds of thousands who walked down the lengthy theatre lobby to be greeted by Theresa each night were her family and to them, she was a legend.

Paul Brogan is the author of “Was That A Name I Dropped?”