what's the latest on Gary? Haven't been back in years (Hammond: credit, employment)

[jones-n]

Originally Posted by rrah

My mom grew up in Gary, and my grandparents lived there until their deaths. It looks like something out of an apocolyptic nightmare now--sad. My grandparents are both buried there. I'd like to visit their graves sometime when I'm in the area, but it's just too scary to consider.

Your quote of "apocolyptic nightmare" and "too scary to consider" does show how narrow minded you are. I grew up in Hammond and and have spent my whole life in and around NW Indiana, so I too have a lifetime of experiences. Sounds like you had some great experiences growing up in and around Gary, even going to college in there. So instead of spreading hate and fear you should be trying to tell the good things of the area. That is what I was trying to do. Maybe you should frequent the forum for food lovers because the posts are filled with the all the good things in and around Gary. If you already know of them, shame on you for not mentioning them. It is real easy to be negative and spread the same "you will get shot" anthem that we hear so often. I bought a summer home and visit the cafe because I am trying to change people's perception of the area and I put my money where my mouth is.
As for Artemis rude comments, My wife works on the northside of Chicago and she can't have kids. We do take the South Shore trian and even have our friends take it to avoid traffic. These posts have a current of racism and hatred that is really sad.

[rrah]

jones-n-
Exactly what would you call boarded up house after boarded up house? In my opinion it's a nightmare and does look like something after an apocolypse.

I believe also if you go back to that post I mentioned something about having my children with me. (By the way I say that to put it into perspective. Not as some dig because your wife cannot have children. You may not even want them, and that's fine. If you did, I'm sorry.) Just as I don't allow them to do many things for safety reasons, I cannot in good conscience put them into a situation which may or may not be safe. There are things I might do if I was alone, but when it comes to my children, I am the "mother lion." I think that's called being responsible.

I took a couple of classes at IU-Northwest to complete some licensing requirements so I could work in Illinois. It maybe semantics, but I didn't go to college there.

Now--if you reread the post that I quoted it reads as if you are a Chicagoan that purchased a beach house in the area. Try reading it from the prospective of a stranger on the internet. There was no reference to the fact that you had lived in Lake County for many years. In my book, that would have made you kind of like the very people you were describing--getting lost off the highway. Good to know that some people can still live in the area and remain there.

FYI--When there is time on visits to the area I do try to visit some of the local shops, etc. There are somethings that just cannot be found in my current hometown. I do talk about this with friends. They actually know about my trips to the grocery stores, etc. Kind of make fun of me for it.

Sorry if you feel the posts have a current of racism and hatred. Just as you cannot change my opinion on the current sad state of affairs in Gary, I can't change yours. All I can say is that my personal opinion has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with what I see and have seen.

[LEHOTTIE]

The Last Time I Was There Was In 2000 And When I Seen The Side Of My Old High School (roosevelt) Was Falling Down Brought Me To Tears. But Its Still Home To Me.

[R. J.]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm... and I was once the coolest thing to cross statelines from the City of Gary since cold-rolled steel, Denise Williams & Jesse Powell, but that's another story for some other rainy nite. Nice to notice your post from the Illinois side, by the way. I didn't notice the wall at Roosevelt, but you can't help but notice how clean the City's been kept, huh? I still head back to my beloved Dunes every two weeks or so, even in the Winters. I'll smile my best Andrean smile for ya... when I get there!

[nobleman4]

Gary is still recovering from the economic downturn of the 80's. The "heckhole" still has the #1 elem. school in the state!!! I quess not all is bad. We made it out and are doing well. The good people of Gary is still producing good fruit. The media only reports on the bad. By the way, I spent a week up there and notice young yuppies buying up all the real property. Hmm!! Maybe if the squeeze on property taxes did not hit the working folks more homes will be occupied. Gary is the orginial place where color barriers were broken. Indiana has always wanted to "make an example" out of the city. Crime brought in by job losts. Flight of the 70's to other areas are all direct result of the election of Mayor G. Hatcher. Still time will tell. The city still springs forth good offsprings that plant seeds in other communities. You may depress the city but the spirit lives on.

[Activ8a]

I think Gary will be making a comeback, but it will take time, hard work, and economic investment from those of us who care.

There will always be racist rednecks who assume that a predominantly Black city will be poor. Tell that to Atlanta, the fastest-growing region of the nation!

I'm White, and I've enjoyed the time I've spent in Gary, particularly when I stayed in Glen Park for awhile with several of my friends, who were Black. We stayed in a house on Monroe St. (west of Broadway), north of 41st Ave. The neighborhood obviously wasn't rich, but it was decent, and other than the trains, things were pretty quiet at night.

Quite frankly, I'd personally rather live in one of the nicer neighborhoods of Gary than in a few of Indiana's impoverished White towns. (Muncie, Terre Haute, and Vincennes all come to mind. No offense intended.)

I think Gary will continue to improve in the future, but it will take strategic planning....finding new and creative ways to bring in decent jobs, hiring a culturally-competent police force that honestly cares about the community, replacing abandoned buildings with new ones, etc.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by nobleman4

The "heckhole" still has the #1 elem. school in the state!!!

What school would that be???

[Richard George]

I grew up in Morningside and went to Lew Wallace. What were your relatives'
names who lived there? I live in San Francisco now and haven't been back to
"duh region" since 1978.

Richard

[artemis]

You have mail via city-data.com email.

[crazyplants]

I lived in the Miller section until 1977. I go back every couple-few years or so and sadly enough I would not raise anyones kids there. We had a beautiful house that has slid in its upkeep. Even the Nuns left St. Marys Church. The closest decent areas Chesterton and further south. We are currently looking at Southern Indiana. My wife likes the hillier terrain, I however dont mind the corn fields :-)