The Townie is an opinion website. The views expressed in this piece belong solely to the author, do not represent those held by The Townie, and should not be interpreted as objective or reported fact.
Greetings citizens of Newburyport and surrounding towns… maybe a few distant readers.
To begin, I’m no Jack Garvey. There will be no poetic or extremely well-done thoughts on paper here. You may know me from the gas station next to The Natural Grocer. I write today to remind people how nice Newburyport is.
For all the nitpicky little things we can point at, overall this place is a borderline dream.
Time and time again, I talk to people at the gas station about their amazing trips across the world, yet they always come back. My own family is scattered all over the place, yet most of them still plan trips here around Yankee Homecoming.
Regardless of the season, the staples of Newburyport remain. From Maudslay to the north end of Plum Island, the natural beauty combined with the history of this place creates something special, almost luring people to build communities here. While people debate rules and regulations, the city knows what it is and what it has to do. Newburyport has always tried to preserve the memory of something unique while still moving forward.
Sports history holds a special place here. I hope this next generation gets to talk about the new rec center the way older generations talk about the YMCA. May The Park Lunch forever be a place where people come back and find old team photos on the wall.
Public safety has always felt deeply rooted in the community. A wide range of departments work to keep us safe. As a kid, I loved having local officers stop by the garage just to talk while keeping an eye on the area. EMS crews coming in because they knew my family. Even today, some people still take pride in being born at Anna Jaques Hospital. There’s so much that DPS handles, the city made a website to organize that chaos. Access to clean water, functioning roads, maintained parks, and all the basic things we rely on every day, don’t happen by accident. Most people barely see a fraction of the work being done across the board.
Whether you agree or disagree with decisions being made, there are people willing to keep showing up. Meeting after meeting. Project after project. They volunteer, serve, organize, coach, teach, lead, and take plenty of criticism along the way.
We also have people willing to invest in this town. Business owners put everything on the line building something that fits within the character of the community. The shops we visit every day feel less like businesses and more like extensions of the neighborhood itself.
Some of my favorite memories are simple ones. My dad taking me to Kathy Ann’s Bakery. Eating corn muffins while watching the sun rise over the river from Cashman Park before opening the gas station. Watching Yankee Homecoming fireworks from the North End Boat Club. Listening to all of the stories people here have to offer. Growing up with The Mall – knowing people reading this will absolutely pronounce it wrong if they aren’t from around here – is engrained in this community. Those moments don’t seem important at the time, but years later, they are the memories that make you think about other people being able to experience what we had.
The viewpoint of Newburyport from Kelley’s Service Station continues to be one of the best experiences of my life. Even with rising prices and changing times, both longtime customers and visitors have treated us kindly enough to border on heartwarming. The quick chats with everyone really add up and give an interesting perspective of our home.
So what kind of note will this piece end on?
A simple one…hopefully?
For whatever memory of Newburyport you wish for others to experience, know that it takes an incredible amount of time, effort, and resources to maintain it. Every trail, building, event, business, park, school, and tradition we enjoy today exists because someone before us cared enough to get shit done. Consequences, and what this town loses if we as a community let something loved slip through the cracks, will always be in the back of our minds.
Newburyport didn’t become Newburyport by accident, and it won’t stay that way by accident either.
Things that make this city work are the things we only notice when they break. Clean water. Safe streets. A functioning hospital. Parks that don’t fall apart.
None of those happen by chance.
Please don’t just check out. Please don’t shrug and give up on what makes this city loved. When it feels like the scale of it is too large, push on, so the next person might be touched by the same nostalgia we are.
To everyone who has tried, and continues to try to carry the weight and expectations that come with Newburyport…
Thank you.
Good luck.
John Stephen Kelley
Newburyport resident
Passionate about a local issue? We want to hear from you. Check out our submission guidelines.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Leave a Reply