“Congressman Inspects Beach Project”. A May 22, 1950 article in the Laconia Citizen shows Weirs Beach businessmen Howard Ballou and Ed Hoagland reviewing the plans for building out the beach with an army engineer and NH congressman Chester Merrow. (Merrow served as NH Congressman from 1943-1963.) The beach had already been partially extended with channel dredgings, but the plan the men were examining was to extend the beach another 500′ further north. Apparently, the Feds had paid for the first phase of beach expansion, and the goal was to convince the City of Laconia to pay for the second phase.