Sister Cities

Concord's Town Meeting voted to formalize its relationship with Nanae and the Concord-Carlisle High School's decision to send its Concert Band to Hokkaido are the culmination of many years of involvement with Hokkaido and Nanae. The following is a description of Nanae and an outline of the activities of the Town of Concord and its citizens group, the Concord Public Schools and the Concord-Carlisle High School

Nanae is a town of 23,733 located a short distance from the major city of Hakodate in Southwestern Hokkaido. Its main industry is agriculture. It is a portion of the Hakodate Technopolis Project which aims at developing a "brain intensive" industrial park. The town owns the Onuma Quasi National Park. Mr. Horace Capron, the American who oversaw the settlement of Hokkaido in the 1870's, built a plantation there.

Hokkaido-Nanae-Concord Contacts

• 1989: 46 students, parents and teacher have home stay with the Concord-Carlisle High School and Concord Academy

• 1992: Concord Minutemen serve at opening ceremony of Hokkaido Week

• 1992: Governor Yokomichi and delegation tour Concord, see former home of William Wheeler and attend potluck supper at the Concord Museum.

• 1993: Nanae sends a delegation of thirteen to Concord, including their mayor and superintendent of schools, to discuss the possibility of a sister-city relationship with Concord.

• 1994: Thoreau School sends videotape, artwork and artifacts to Onuma elementary School in Nanae.

• 1995: Seven Concord citizens, including two educators, visit Nanae after attending Massachusetts-Hokkaido sister State Fifth Anniversary Celebration in Sapporo. Meet Concord Nanae Network and bring gifts from Concord Public Schools to Nanae schools to further the sister school relationships.

• 1995: Nanae sends five middle school students, a teacher and the school superintendent to the Concord Middle School for a four-day exchange and home stay. Articles brought to Thoreau and Willard Schools.

• 1995: Concord-Carlisle hosts five Hokkaido students and two Sapporo parents association members for four-day home stay as part of larger Hokkaido visit to Massachusetts.

• 1995: Ms. Lehn's Willard School class sends Haiku to Togeshita School.

• 1995: Dr. Tom Curtin wins first place in Massachusetts Community Television Contest--educational, instructional, community volunteer category for "Hokkaido Pioneers"

• 1996: Nanae builds snow sculpture of Concord Public Library for Winter Snow Festival.

  

• 1996: Ms. Dillon's Willard School class sends scrapbook and videotape of classroom and trip to Town Forest to Togeshita School.

• 1996: Nanae hosts Ms. Alias (CA '96) and Ms. Bratzler (CCHS '98).

• 1996: Concord Nanae Network (Concord citizen friends group) hosts five Nanae women for three-day home stay.

• 1996: Concord Public Schools hosts five Nanae middle school students, one teacher, an interpreter and a town government official for four days.

• 1996: Concord Public Library--"Hokkaido Pioneers" photo exhibit featuring William Wheeler's Hokkaido photos from the 1870's.

• 1997: Concord-Carlisle High School Art Gallery--"Hokkaido Pioneers" photo exhibit featuring William Wheeler's Hokkaido photos from the 1870's.

• 1997: Concord Town Meeting votes to formalize sister-city relationship with Nanae Town.

• 1997: Dr. Robert Furey, Concord-Carlisle High School Social Studies Department Chairman, and Ms. Janet Furey attend week-long Pacific Educational Conference organized by the Federations of Hokkaido Senior High School Parent-Teachers' Associations.

• 1997: Nanae sends five middle school students, two high school students, a teacher, an interpreter, a town official, and a citizen for five days.

• 1997: Concord delegation goes to Nanae for singing ceremony of the Concord-Nanae sister-city agreement.

The following links are to sites in Japan. If the network is not busy, these pages will load in a few seconds.

• Nanae Junior High School

• Sister City Signing Photos

Concord Carlisle High School
500 Walden Street
Concord, Massachusetts 01742
USA