Well, it’s been quite a week in Somersworth this past week. For the first time in 23 years, the Somersworth High School Football team brought home the state championship. They were treated to a champions’ welcome as they arrived back in Somersworth on Saturday evening when they were met by our first responders who escorted them for a victory lap around the city. Congratulations to all the team members, coaches and parents that worked so hard to make the championship dream a reality.
Talking of champions, we have a community champion who reached a huge milestone in his career. That champion has been a member of the Somersworth Police Department for the past 40 years. His name is Capt. Russ Timmons and if you are from Somersworth, it’s likely that you have heard the name or met him at some point.
Capt. Timmons is well-known for his sharp sense of humor and one of my favorite stories I love to share about him is this.
I was attending a round able at Stewarts Ambulance (American Ambulance at the time) with then Governor Chris Christie. The purpose of the roundtable was to discuss the opioid crisis and as you can imagine the conversation and atmosphere got heavy as the evening went on. That was until Capt. Timmons took his turn in the conversation. He began by welcoming Governor Christie to Somersworth which was also known as the cultural center of the universe. The heavy mood was immediately broken as the room erupted into laughter and I have never allowed the Captain to forget that moment. So I hope that if you see Capt. Timmons you will thank him for his service.
While there was no parade for Capt. Timmons, there is going to be a Christmas Parade here in the city. On Saturday Dec. 4, get ready to be downtown for 1 p.m. The Christmas tree will be lit at 1 p.m and the parade will step off from the Berwick side of the bridge at 1:30 p.m. This is a great way to kick off the festive season in earnest. If you can’t make it in person and I hope you will, you can watch it on Channel 22. As in previous years, I will be commenting with my co-host Carly Garvin and letting you know who is passing by.
This year’s theme is “Joy to the World” and let’s face it, we could all do with a little joy in our life right now.
Also on Dec. 4, the Somersworth Festival Association will hold its last craft fair of the year at the high school. The fair runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offers a great opportunity to get some Christmas shopping done before the parade starts at 1:30 p.m.
If you have watched any of the City Council meetings of late, you will have heard some impassioned pleas from Councilor Marty Pepin regarding blue lights. Councilor Pepin wants us all to show our support for our men and women in blue by placing a blue light in a window. As he puts it, this is a small token to simply show our support for what is a difficult job. So let’s make Somersworth windows, Hilltopper blue this festive season.
Setting the record straight
If you saw last week’s column you will already know that it was about the Heberts store which was an institution back in the day. It seems that some of the information I had was wrong and I want to put the record straight.
Heberts was started by Roland who incidentally was mayor of the city in 1967. Overtime, he would be joined by his brothers Raymond and Donald and their father Louis as the store expanded. The business was sold in 1985 not as I stated last week to Gregoire Hardware, but to Phil Crosier who would rebrand the store to “Hardware and More.”
Unfortunately, he was unable to make a go of the store thanks in part to the big box stores that were starting to populate the city back in the ‘80s and he would lose the entire corner lot to foreclosure.
The lot would then be purchased by Frank Cassidy who at the time owned Care Pharmacy in Rochester. The store would for sometime be known as “Off Price Outlet” before being sold to CVS which as we know it remains to this day.
Thanks to all those who wrote and helped me correct my errors, I appreciate it.
That’s all I have this week so until next week, please be kind to one other as you never truly know what someone else may be going through.