By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
Drug overdoses, cuts, and other maladies sent 26 people to the hospital when Concord celebrated the 200th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 1975.
Fifty years later, local officials hope to avoid similar problems.
“That’s what we want to be in the business of preventing,” said Concord250 public safety organizer Fred Ryan in a recent interview. “We don’t want anybody getting injured.”
Concord events on April 19 will span most of the day and could draw more than 100,000 people. Ryan and other leaders say they’re confident about plans to deal with crowds, protesters, weather, and anything else the commemoration brings.
A pre-event onslaught
As they finalize preparations, Ryan said officials have been consulting after-action reports from 1975, when between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters descended on Concord beginning the day before the bicentennial.
In an excerpt of a report that Ryan shared with The Concord Bridge, local officials said most injuries happened near the Buttrick Hillside at Old North Bridge, where protesters camped the night before the festivities. Drug and alcohol overdoses caused the most problems. People also suffered sprains as they navigated the darkened terrain.
Authorities estimated that 287 people received first aid treatment. Ambulances brought 26 people to Emerson Hospital, including 16 from the hillside.
Di Clymer, Concord’s 2019 Honored Citizen, remembers the 1975 protests as “very visible.” Though there were issues — and arrests — she said the left-wing People’s Bicentennial Commission that organized the demonstrations “didn’t feel threatening.”
Longtime resident Joe Palumbo described trying to glimpse President Gerald Ford while his motorcade passed through Monument Square. He said protesters loomed large before the event as chatter spread about their presence.
“That really stood out in my mind,” he said.
‘Beards and sandals’
Former Select Board chair Henry Dane also remembers the protesters. He lived on Elm Street at the time and said he saw a “large crowd marching on the street with beards and sandals” on their way to a demonstration.
Zannah Noe, who is helping organize a planned Concord250 block party on April 19, recalled riding her bike down closed streets in 1975. She didn’t notice protesters, but remarked on the event’s “somber” atmosphere as Ford took the microphone and addressed the masses.
A public safety lens
After more recent and more violent incidents including the September 11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing, Ryan said officials have studied 1975 documents through a new public safety lens.
“It would be irresponsible to not learn from what occurred back then,” he said.
Though many praise the town and other agencies for managing challenges in 1975, Ryan said this year’s events will benefit from a better working relationship between municipal staff and the National Park Service.
Agencies have prioritized working together to prepare for protests, counterprotests, and any other threats.
Beyond sharing information, Ryan said local police, the NPS, and other agencies are ready to share resources as issues arise on April 19.
Officials decided to begin soft road closures at 6 p.m. on April 18 to discourage the overnight camping that took place in 1975, Ryan told attendees of an April 1 question and answer session.
In addition to staying safe, Ryan hopes visitors will abide by a town-wide on-street parking ban — and avoid a repeat of the bicentennial, when a convoy of tow trucks brought illegally parked cars to the town dump.
Ryan flipped through 1975 after-action reports while he spoke with The Bridge. He said he’s read the documents “top to bottom.”
“I’ve learned a lot,” he said.
