John Lagoulis
—
Were you aware that Newburyport had tunnels? It is a true fact that Newburyport did have tunnels under the ground; some still remain, while others have not been exposed yet.
There were two main purposes for these tunnels. One purpose was to deny the British Empire from receiving taxation on the goods and imports that they brought into Newburyport by boats from all over the world. The second purpose, and it is a known fact, is that the tunnels were used by the abolitionists for the Underground Railroad; and some people were given work as servants in the homes of the well-to-do property owners who supported abolition.
The well-to-do people, the ones who created those tunnels, would also use the tunnels for their own purposes when a ship arrived. They would direct their servants to place the wheels of their dolly onto the tracks ... tracks which they'd built in their tunnels. The servants would go down to the south side of the Merrimack River, where they would be ready to receive their owner's goods from the ship. They would place the goods upon the dolly, which they'd earlier positioned on the tracks of a tunnel. With one man positioned on each side of the dolly and using ropes as a pulley, the two men would pull the dolly loaded with the goods directly into the cellar of the sea captain's or property owner's home.
The tunnels ran from the river directly to the merchants, sea captains and abolitionists' homes on High Street, Pleasant Street, Titcomb Street, Inn Street, etc. Particularly through the years, an occasional tunnel was discovered due to construction. Most tunnels have been blocked off at their exit (opening) to the river and at their entrance (opening) into the homes also, but not all of them. Any remaining tunnels were not destroyed; they were just covered over. Some tunnels, to this day, remain unknown as to exactly where they are until they are discovered.
One particular incident happened on Inn Street in the late 1920s. I was there. I was a boy about 11 years old around 1929 or 1930. A water line was being serviced that ran from the corner of Pleasant Street and Inn Street partway toward Market Square. A rupture had occurred in the underground water pipe.
An emergency crew was rushed in to repair it. The City's Water Department crew arrived. They brought their leading workman, a young, husky man named Bobby Donahue. Bobby was used constantly by the Water Department whenever there was a hard job to be done, for example, digging trenches, repairing the water system, etc. Bobby Donahue was always the one called in to get the job done.
As far as I am concerned, the water line had broken because of age and because of constant vibrations from a building on that street, which was a large office building that also housed the Newburyport Daily News. When the rollers and presses would run every day in order to print the daily newspaper, they created a loud vibration that could be heard and felt from across the street every day. The building would actually vibrate.
I, for one, was always intrigued by how the newspaper was created each day, and I would always look through the large windows, which reached from floor to ceiling, in order to watch the production of the newspaper. It was quite an eye-capturing event. And, the noise from the machinery of the printing presses would actually momentarily deafen an observer or passer-by.
At that same time, Mr. Donahue was working a few feet across the street, looking to find and repair the broken water main. I was at the window of The Daily News with hands pressed against the glass ... feeling the vibrations of the windows ... watching those presses roll.
It was getting toward the end of the day, and Bobby Donahue and his helpers had dug a long stretch, about a block, down Inn Street from the corner of Pleasant Street. The day was becoming early evening. Bobby Donahue occasionally made habit of leaving his tools on the dirt bank wherever he worked because sometimes he would work late into the day and leave his tools there for the truck crew to pick them up later.
It was now time for his helper to leave, and Bobby Donahue was now working alone in the ditch. The schedule was that the crew would come by and pick up Bobby's tools that he'd left upon the dirt bank, and Bobby would later walk home when he was done.
As Bobby Donahue walked alone along the ditch toward Market Square, all of a sudden a tunnel underneath his feet caved in, a tunnel unknown to him. Bobby fell in with the cave-in!
As was the routine, the truck crew came by. I was still across the street, still watching the presses. One of the truck crew asked me, "What happened to Bobby Donahue?" "Where's Bobby?" I spun around, because I'd been looking into the window of the building, and I turned to talk to the trucker.
Thinking that Bobby was still there, I pointed into the ditch across the street, because that's where I'd last seen him. Well, he was not there, and because there were signs of a tunnel cave-in below, somebody rumbled, "He may be buried in a cave in!"
Someone questioned, "could he have possibly fallen into the ditch?"
"Could he be covered up in the trench?" another asked.
One thing led to another. Finally, panic broke out. The men began digging frantically, and pulling out stones, rocks and dirt; others jumped in and began helping. Bobby Donahue was not to be found. Evening came. It began to get dark. They called for lighting. Flood lights were brought in. Excavation was moving at a peak rate. People were now gathering. There was tense excitement in the air. No sign of Bobby Donahue! They worked into the night. Eventually, they gave up and went home.
By the next day, on a Saturday morning, the news that Bobby Donahue had disappeared caused great commotion amongst the curious and the ones who'd gathered on Inn Street to look in the trench.
The story spread like wildfire that Bobby Donahue was missing. And, the presses in The Daily News rolled right on time, because the presses must roll and the newspapers be delivered on a specific time. And Bobby Donahue was still missing.
Lo and behold! Bobby Donahue reported to work early Monday morning as he always did. No one had even thought about checking his house earlier that afternoon and evening. Unbeknownst to all, Bobby had gone home, where he was enjoying his weekend. He was at home reading the newspaper.
It was later explained to all that when the tunnel caved in beneath him, he wasn't hurt. Bobby had crawled out from the tunnel by himself, picked himself up and continued walking down Inn Street toward Market Square. Then, he'd walked up Merrimac Street to his home in the North End.
This was no special problem for Bobby Donahue. He was accustomed to hard work. He'd left his tools on the dirt bank as he often did, knowing the truck crew would later be by at the end of the day and would pick up his tools. And, unbeknownst to all, Bobby had been safe at home all weekend!
Now, Bobby Donahue was a hardworking man, a friendly man. He was well-liked by everyone in the city and always took the time to stop and tip his hat and say "hello." He'd tip his hat to my mother and say, "Good day, Mrs. Lagoulis." I know it made my mother very happy. He gave of himself.
By the way, tunnels still exist in part. They are sealed and covered over. And, until there's another event, another discovery, the tunnels of Newburyport will remain where they are.
And, of course, much thanks to Bobby ... wherever you are!
John Lagoulis served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934 and honorably served his country as a combat veteran in WWII in the Fiji Islands, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, Vela La Vela, Los Negros, and Okinawa. His writings detail events in the Market Square area of Newburyport as he lived it in the early 1920s and 1930s. His columns appear regularly in The Daily News.
