This past Monday, the date was Aug. 16, 2001. Or so said the marquee outside the Red Blazer in Concord. In fact, that was the date former Red Sox manager Jimy Williams was fired.

When the restaurant on Manchester Street put up its scrolling computerized sign, it did not know that city code prohibited it from displaying anything but the date, time and temperature. So the restaurant has started using the date as a way to draw customers in.

The specials menu tells the significance of the date on the sign. For example, April 20, 1912, was the day Fenway Park opened. When the Red Blazer put on a murder mystery dinner for the Class of 1967, the sign read 1967.

Is there anything about the local landscape that's piqued your curiosity? Send an inquiry to the Monitor, Box 1177, Concord 03302, or e-mail hschulz@cmonitor.com. Write "What's the Story" in the subject line.