Old Home Day honors 300 years
Every year Londonderry throws a big party. and in 2022, that celebration included community spirit and a lot of history.
The annual Old Home Day festivities took place in August with several days full of music, a parade, food, booths on the Town Common while also showcasing rich traditions and history dating back three centuries.
Londonderry’s incorporation as a town was officially in 1722 — 300 years ago — and this year’s Old Home Day paid special tribute to that distinct milestone.
Community bids Reed Clark farewell
It was a final and fond farewell in 2022 to one of the community’s most honored and beloved citizens.
Town officials, first responders and residents lined Mammoth Road in front of Central Fire Station in September to bid one final farewell to Reed Clark and his wife Phyllis.
The couple embarked on a new adventure and moved to the Washington, D.C. area to be closer to family.
The Londonderry Rotary Club and others gave the couple a big surprise party at the Coach Stop Restaurant prior to their departure.
Man indicted in Londonderry rape case
A Mississippi sex offender facing a murder charge in his home state was accused this year of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in Londonderry.
New Hampshire court records show that Ryan Christopher Hopkins, 37, of Jackson, Mississippi, was arrested locally after a woman reported she had just been choked, beaten and raped by a truck driver she met online.
An affidavit from Londonderry police stated that the 25-year-old woman in this case lives in Arkansas and accepted an offer from Hopkins to show her the country while he drove for work.
She detailed for police being forced to have sex in the back of Hopkins’ truck, parked outside a Londonderry diner.
After being assaulted again the following morning, the woman told police that Hopkins drove to a gas station off the highway in Hooksett and told her to “get out of the truck.”
Surveillance footage from the gas station and GPS tracking helped police find Hopkins.
Hopkins was indicted by a grand jury for kidnapping, aggravated felonious sexual assault, second degree assault; strangulation, and criminal restraint.
—Julie Huss