To Keep Newburyport Vibrant, It Needs Debate as Well as Praise

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.

As many other Townie readers, I reveled in the upbeat catalog of Newburyport’s treasures and attractions offered by John Stephen Kelley in his op-ed last week.

Reminds me why I washed ashore here in 1982 after a prodigal son stint on the other side of the Mississippi. By birth a Lawrence boy, my paternal grandparents were born in Newburyport, and all of their grandparents settled here with an early wave of Irish immigrants. Prominent family names on the trunk of my genealogical tree include Creeden, Kelleher, and Page. Not sure which one lived in the gray house next to Leary’s liquor store, as I knew her only as “Aunt Alice” when my grandmother took me on visits.

During seven years out west, I picked up a taste for busking. In the late-70s, many American cities were revitalizing downtowns with historic preservation. I’d never make a living at it, but having done well as a flautist in Denver’s Larimer Square, all I wanted was to live in or near a small city, preferably historic with a pedestrian mall, a square, wide sidewalks, benches. One or two days a week was all I needed.

Could say that Newburyport played for me as much as I for it. Surrounding bricks serve as well as Colorado’s Red Rocks as a sound-system. Guitarist John Tavano soon told me that when the wind was right, I could be heard on the Boardwalk. Not bad for someone who never used an amplifier. Yet more: sharp acoustics don’t just project sound, but allow the musician to go easier on the instrument which then allows for more clarity, both in precision and style.

For a wind musician it also means the ability to play more than half an hour without worrying about being taken out of there in an ambulance.

Surprisingly, I had the city to myself for a few years before the harper showed up. We soon coordinated our schedules. He-turned-she graced downtown with music both original and Celtic from about 1988 until passing away two years ago. In the meantime, however, numerous street performers, jugglers, magicians, as well as musicians, have entertained in downtown Newburyport. As we said of Larimer Square in Denver, we are vibrant!

A few more quirky, independent, and locally engaging treasures I’ll add to Kelley’s recent celebration of the city: Dyno Records all this year is celebrating its 50th anniversary just a couple doors down from The Grog now in its 55th year. Turn right and just up State is the Screening Room now in its 44th. Turn left and you’ll find the Tannery with Jabberwocky Bookshop in its 54th, Cafe Chococoa, and numerous arts studios. Along with performances and exhibits at the Firehouse, the Maritime Museum, the Museum of Old Newbury, Maudsley Park, and elsewhere, all have served as essential contributors to the city’s more than generous arts scene.

For full disclosure, I’ve been a projectionist at the Screening Room since 1998. For a busker, a day job has to be a night job. And for fuller disclosure for what’s next, I’ve been writing guest columns in The Daily News since 1983.

Essential to the life of any city is its newspaper, and The Daily News is to be credited for including As I See It on its opinion page. If we consider the feature by itself, it is much like The Townie except not limited to local topics. Out of necessity, an opinion page is obligated to point out things wrong or about to go wrong in the locality and make it open to honest debate. Both forums do this, and it is yet another blessing for Newburyport that there are two forums that make the debate open to any citizen wanting to join.

This brings me to the one and only unfortunate response to Kelley’s otherwise widely praised piece. From none other than the mayor who was intending to praise it, but who, in his characteristically clumsy way, revealed an intent to disparage his critics as well.

Soon after The Townie published it, Mayor Reardon’s post on Facebook read: “Finally, a piece worth reading in The Townie.” Within an hour or so, someone must have told him he sounded like a long-lost son of Donald Trump, and he removed the word “finally,” but the screenshot and the insinuation aimed at all of us who have contributed to this forum remain.

That would include thoughtful analysis by folks with expertise in water quality, education, infrastructure, and development, including both present and former councilors debating both sides of controversies. Does Reardon not know that debate is the lifeblood of self-rule? Or does he think that “self” means himself, never to be questioned?

Count me with Kelley and all others who sing Newburyport’s praises, as well as those who call attention to its problems and needs. The city has been more than good to me.

Jack Garvey
Newbury resident

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