Tunnels
Chapter 21
In the 600 block of West 34th street stands a grand Greek Revival home. It has seven bedrooms, four baths and servants’ quarters for three. It is located around the corner from the Bull Street Library. Like the Library, it was built in 1922 and emulated its grand Gothic Revival style and Doric columns.
The home was a wedding gift from Brady Portman to his daughter Amanda and her new husband, Thomas Wilder. Thomas was the twin brother of Addy’s Great Uncle Franklin Wilder.
Thomas was handsome and charming. He had a powerful build which he kept in check with almost daily workouts at the YMCA on Broughton Street. It was said he had the power of persuasion to talk the birds out of the trees. Thomas was also a rogue.
Amanda knew it, but she was enamored with him. No other suiter would do for her. It was not uncommon for other women to openly flirt with him when they were out in public.
Amanda herself was known to be a great beauty and was sought after by numerous admirers. Regardless, Thomas was the one.
Thomas worked at Portman Shipping on the west end of Bay Street. His job was a responsible one and he was very good at what he did. His office overlooked the Savannah River and had a fireplace and comfortable leather chairs. He served at the company’s Shipping Freight Broker. He helped raise the company’s profitability by 45% his very first year. He was fast tracking to move up the ranks. And yes, he was married the owner’s only daughter, Amanda.
Amanda had a taste for the finer things. She was always fashionably dressed and would spend her days lunching at her friend’s homes. Although, it was the height of prohibition, every luncheon she attended or she gave had wine or other libations. The ladies would indulge in the latest cocktail called the Red Snapper. It was the perfect drink for the area because it featured bootleg gin and tomato juice. Both seemed plentiful in the area. Primarily, because of her husband.
Unbeknownst to Amanda’s father, Thomas had developed a lucrative side business as a result of his position at the shipping company. On one of his trips to Cuba he secured sugar cargos to come into the port of Savannah on their ships. He also negotiated to bring in gin. The ships had special hidden storage areas that held the contraband cargo. The port inspectors never suspected the activity due to the outstanding reputation of Mr. Portman.
As a child, Thomas had heard of underground tunnels from the river to various buildings. After years of research, he found many of them truly did exist. One of the tunnels was directly beneath the shipping company. It was easy for him to have the gin brought off the ship and spirited away to hidden caches.
One October evening, the Wilder’s house keeper approached Amanda and told her she was leaving their employee effective immediately. She told Amanda she had been hearing strange noises and the sounds of rattling glass that echoed throughout the kitchen. It was not the first time either. The housekeeper had dismissed it, but this event was the third time. She also said that late at night Mr. Wilder had been seen in the kitchen and he appeared inebriated while he was rummaging in the broom closet.
Amanda had a wiry smile cross her lips. She knew exactly what had happened. When the architect was designing the house, he did so with the thought that prohibition would not last forever. He had developed an underground wine and liquor vault that was buried in the side garden. It was fairly sizable and one could stand upright in it. It was accessed from a hidden panel in the back of the broom closet. Given the shallow nature of the water levels, the vault could not be buried very deeply.
On the Eastern side garden was a decorative concrete and brick walkway. Its only peculiarity was that it was slightly domed and had a decorate brick design on top. No one had ever paid attention to it. However, upon astute observation one notices that the path it takes leads no where except to the side fence and extends to the outside wall of the house, near where the broom closet was located. It was designed to give just a bit of extra space to the cellar and to create a barrier to protect it against the elements.
Thomas’ nefarious activities were never discovered. By the time that prohibition had been repealed he was immensely wealthy. He did take over the shipping company when his father-in-law died. He stopped all contraband coming into his warehouses.
Even as he aged, he never lost his roughish looks. Women continued to flirt.
Until the day Thomas died, he was completely faithful and in love his with beautiful Amanda.
Red Gin Snapper
INGREDIENTS
2 pinches celery salt
2 pinches black pepper, freshly ground
1 lime wedge
2 oz gin (contraband is no longer necessary!)
4 oz Tomato Juice
2 oz of Tomato Conserve
1/2 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
6 dashes Tabasco sauce
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Garnish: celery stalk
Garnish: lime wedge
DIRECTIONS
Pour the celery salt and pepper onto a small plate.
Rub the juicy side of a lime wedge along the lip of a pint glass, then rim the glass with the salt and pepper mixture, and fill the glass with ice.
Add the gin, tomato juice, Tomato Conserver, lemon juice, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce into a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into the prepared glass, and garnish with a celery stalk and lime wedge.
The Southern Conserve is the Products Line from Chef Theodore Paskevich + Donald Holland. It is sold at Provisions SAV and online on our website.