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City by the Lake.org, The Voice of Michigan City, Indiana _ City Living _ The attitude of Michigan City
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 17 2007, 11:46 AM
I am going to admit my bias here quickly... I loved this letter. I was curious to hear other people'e impressions of it.
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=50&SubSectionID=118&ArticleID=4393&TM=49521.11
Writing a eulogy is very difficult. You reminisce about the past. Fun times. Sad times. Mostly good memories of days gone by. Recollections etched in our souls define much of who we are today. How quickly the days, then years slip away.
I first met my friend 44 years ago when I was just 6. We had so much fun at school. Pine School, Barker, then Rogers. There was Shoreland Hills, the beach, skating, parades, fireworks, etc. Who can forget Mount Baldy, the zoo and Marquette Mall? I have this longing to somehow hold onto these memories as I try to write words of hope and meaning.
Hope. Is there any hope? You see, my friend hasn't died yet. But I see the despair, the fear. The disease has spread to a point where only radical surgery can help. But my friend is in denial. She says things will be all right though disease ravages the very marrow of her being. It is a disease of quiet resignation. Of mindless hope that things might be better in the future. I am greatly saddened.
I write that you may somehow help her. I know that you can help her. Unfortunately, I live too far away to be of any real help. But I deeply care about her.
Who holds such a special place in my heart? Her name is Michigan City. These thoughts have been stirring for many years with each new visit deepening my convictions. I've been witnessing this slow decline for the past 30 years. Perhaps the final straw was the YMCA. A place where I learned the value of working hard toward goals from people like Paul Dimke. The countless hours I spent there as a youth. The place is now in the dark. Closed due to apathy. The teaching of toughness, being fair, and doing your best by people like Jerry Karstens seems to be from another era. The sports teams have sunk so far that losing by close margins is almost like a victory. Where is the pride in being your best? Where is the next Doug Adams? In addition, the amount of crime astonishes me. It is absolutely appalling. People move to thriving communities such as Chesterton or Valparaiso to raise their families.
You have a phenomenal asset in Lake Michigan, but then there is the eyesore of NIPSCO. You have vast amounts of land use potential close to the Lake. Think Big. Think Great! You have thousands of good people who have slowly resigned themselves to the fact that the city is in decline and they're helpless to change things for the better. Michigan City, it doesn't have to be this way. Instead of being this decrepit shadow of a once vibrant city, why not strive to once again become this vibrant city?
I know these words will anger some of you. I feel bad about that, but something has to change. Don't expect the politicians to save your city. You are responsible as residents of the city and you need leaders. People who truly have the best interests of the city and people at heart. People with courage, strength and conviction. These leaders may be teachers, businessmen or soccer moms. You need people pulling in the right direction with a much greater vision. I believe these people are already there. They just need to step forward. And these leaders will need your help.
My father-in-law, Nate Winksi, was the type of person who truly cared about the community. Contribution and action were at the core of his character. People like him, his friends and peers, once made this community special. It is now time for a new generation of leaders to step forward. The children are out on the playgrounds, not realizing that their future is in your hands; I implore you to take these words to heart. Your future is sown in the decisions you make today.
Paul Venckus is the owner of Aspen Polymers, Carmel, Ind., and member of the Rogers High School
Class of 1976. His e-mail is paulvenckus@aol.com
Posted by: mcstumper Sep 17 2007, 09:08 PM
Just another jag who abandoned Michigan City and then feels the need to cheap shot it. The most constructive thing this guy can think of to "help" his hometown is to write a eulogy which is supposed to somehow second as a pep talk. Go jump off a cliff. "People with courage, strength and conviction"... don't hightail it for creamy-white, upper-middleclass-and-higher-need-only-apply Carmel. "You have a phenomenal asset in Lake Michigan, but then there is the eyesore of NIPSCO." Thanks for that. Maybe he can have a bake sale out in front of his local SuperOrganicFoods Grocery where they could raise enough money to not only purchase the NIPSCO plant, but to raze it, remediate the land, and replace the lost wages and tax revenue. What Michigan City needs is for the children and grandchildren of its once great leaders to stop moving away to all white communities because it is so much easier than doing the hard work of improving a community that has real challenges like racial discord, poverty, and substandard job opportunities. Why doesn't this idiot stop sitting around thinking of ways to motivate us up here and move his family 10 miles further south into northcentral Indianapolis where you will find neighborhoods with problems just like ours here in Michigan City. Then we can all see if through his work he measures up to be half the man of a Nate Winski.
No Southie, I didn't care for it too much.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 18 2007, 08:23 AM
Interesting point of view, and I gotta say, I completely didn't catch that the first time I read it. It is much easier to sit in your ivory tower and judge, versus actually rolling up your leaves and slugging it out in the trenches. As a person who works in Chicago already, it would have been very easy for me to pack up for another suburb, but it didn't feel right.
It really changes the letter when you take that into account.
Posted by: JHeath Sep 18 2007, 08:31 AM
Just another jag who abandoned Michigan City and then feels the need to cheap shot it. The most constructive thing this guy can think of to "help" his hometown is to write a eulogy which is supposed to somehow second as a pep talk. Go jump off a cliff. "People with courage, strength and conviction"... don't hightail it for creamy-white, upper-middleclass-and-higher-need-only-apply Carmel. "You have a phenomenal asset in Lake Michigan, but then there is the eyesore of NIPSCO." Thanks for that. Maybe he can have a bake sale out in front of his local SuperOrganicFoods Grocery where they could raise enough money to not only purchase the NIPSCO plant, but to raze it, remediate the land, and replace the lost wages and tax revenue. What Michigan City needs is for the children and grandchildren of its once great leaders to stop moving away to all white communities because it is so much easier than doing the hard work of improving a community that has real challenges like racial discord, poverty, and substandard job opportunities. Why doesn't this idiot stop sitting around thinking of ways to motivate us up here and move his family 10 miles further south into northcentral Indianapolis where you will find neighborhoods with problems just like ours here in Michigan City. Then we can all see if through his work he measures up to be half the man of a Nate Winski.
No Southie, I didn't care for it too much.
Stumper, you seem to forget that I AM a member of the Winski family...my mother recently ran for Mayor because she wanted to see this City thrive once again. Many people here in MC seem to have forgotten what my family (especially Uncle Nate or my grandfather, Jack) has contributed to the town throughout the years.
That being said, I agree with most of the points that Paul makes. As a whole, our City does show a lot of apathy. Everyone wants to complain, but no one wants to do anything except put up a bunch of signs that say "no" in some way. No transfer station, no intermodal, no this or that...I can see why so many of my family members moved away instead of staying here. I'd be lying to say that the thought ever crossed my mind. Paul and his wife, Jodi, moved to Carmel for opportunities that exist in the Indianapolis area...not just because of the "creamy-white, upper-middleclass-and-higher-need-only-apply" stereotype.
Instead of debating about his latter, why don't you try making a positive change in the community...or at least try to encourage others to do so?
Posted by: Ang Sep 18 2007, 09:58 AM
Jenny, while I'm not going to get involved in the politics of this subject, I do want to say that I didn't see an insult toward Nate in Stumper's reply. I could be wrong, but what I interpreted is an insult toward Paul in the fact that he let everyone know that Nate is his father-in-law as a way to "look good" (I'm am a relative of this great man therefore I am a great man too) and Stumper was saying that if Paul is so great, he should come to MC and get his elbows greasy proving that he is at least half a great a man as Nate instead of sitting in High-Society Carmel whining about the demise of MC.
Jenny, I understand your touchiness by Stumper's reply and don't blame you. I would be defensive too if it were my family being insulted. Even if it were a relative I didn't care for much, it's MY relative and I can insult that person, but not you. Not saying you feel that way about Paul, just saying I understand your response.
Stumper, I think maybe you should clarify yourself a little here.
Posted by: JHeath Sep 18 2007, 10:57 AM
Yes, as any family member should be, I am protective of my family members. But that was not my point here.
I supose that more than anything else, I'm tired of watching our City (and County, for that matter) get passed by for business or other (industrial) opportunities simply because there are so many people out there who'd rather just b**** and moan rather than getting off their duffs to do something about it. I mean, so many people here will tell you that we need a change. (If I had a dollar for every time I heard that during the last primary election, I could have easily retired by now.) Yet, we re-elect the same administration and expect to see change?
Be the change you want to see...that's all I'm saying. If you want it to be a better place, then get up, get out there, and do something about it.
Posted by: Ang Sep 18 2007, 01:21 PM
I totally agree with you about the change thing. There are the people who cry but don't actually do anything. Then there are the people who are so apathetic that MC could be nuked and they wouldn't even notice. They would just go on about their miserable lives without a care in the world (if they survived the nuking, that is). I disucssed this issue in an earlier post concerning the West side and its illustrious councilman.
I think what got Stumper's panties in a bunch is the fact that someone who left MC for bluer skies had the nerve to chastize the denizens for it (relative aside) and it burned him up. While I see both points, I think Stumper has a right to be incensed, just as you have the right to be angry about his retort. Since neither of us know who he (or she?) really is, it's not fair to accuse him of not doing anything about it. Maybe he is. But, maybe you're right and he's just another whine bag sitting on his laurels crying over the state of his own affairs. We just don't know for sure unless he tells us.
The bottom line; Paul's editorial touched a nerve in all of us, and I believe that was his real intention. To shock people out of their apathy and actually DO something. Get rid of the cronies who have been running the City (into the ground) for far too long. Get fresh meat. The real problem is only the cronies' cronies are doing the voting. If something concrete and with real merit is to be done, it should start with getting the younger generation to vote--the people with a vested interest in the City. Try to keep THEM from moving away to bluer skies. Show them that they are the ones to make the difference if only more of them would come together.
I left town for exactly this reason. I'll admit it. I didn't like the way things were going, and didn't think that my little puny self could make a difference, so I left to find a better town with better opportunities. While I miss home and miss my friends terribly, I do have better opportunities here. This town is booming, and the City people do what ever it takes to get more business here, and the citizens love it and eat it up. Construction is at an all time high, small businesses are thriving and there are more jobs than people to fill them. If I wanted to, I could quit my job today and have a new one tomorrow. Pay scales are excellent and cost of living is low.
Michigan City could be like that, too. But the cronies won't let it and the younger generations are doing just as I have done. Why fight a losing battle?
Posted by: mcstumper Sep 18 2007, 02:50 PM
Jenny,
If you took my response that I was criticizing Nate, then you misunderstood me. Paul, on the other hand... He writes about Mt. Baldy, the Zoo and Marquette Mall as though those things are gone. He makes no mention of the skate park, the Lighthouse Mall, Millenium Park, Bubbles, Ruby Woods, Streibel Pond, Blue Chip, Patriot Park, the new Cinemaplex. Why doesn't he talk about all the work being done to purchase blighted properties on the creek and remediate them. How about great times at the Treehouse or Bridges? How about a High School athletics program that has made some wonderful hires over the last year? How about the new Lutheran High School which gives parents even more choice in the education of their children? Why doesn't he talk about Mayor Chuck's discussions with the state to gain control of Michigan Blvd so that it can be redeveloped? The NIPSCO plant!!??? Are you kidding me? And his comments on crime... why not mention that the general trend in crime in Michigan City over the last 5 years have been downward? The real problem is that when progress is made in this town, people like this still won't give us any credit. They are obsessed with picking at the negative points.
I know that Michigan City has a very long way to go. We need a pro-business attitude. The intermodal site(s) has got to happen. We desperately need an influx of new blood with positive attitudes about what can be done in this community. I honestly hope that we will continue to press for higher-end residential developments on the north end that could draw into the city limits people from places like Hyde Park in Chicago where a turn around has already begun to happen.
I have a good friend who is a Springville resident but owns a business in Michigan City. He has decided to pull his kids from the parochial schools here and move them to the LaPorte system. He is constantly stumping for LaPorte, telling me how wonderful it is compared to Michigan City. His kids now are parroting him, never having a positive thing to say about the City. And let me tell you it burns me up! These people are so conditioned to only think about and talk about what is wrong with Michigan City. You try to point out the positive and they don't want to see it. They seem to take pleasure in the prospect of its failure.
Posted by: Ang Sep 18 2007, 03:34 PM
Well said Stumper.
And just out of curiosity, is there anything you are doing to try to help the fate of MC?
Posted by: mcstumper Sep 18 2007, 05:01 PM
Well said Stumper.
And just out of curiosity, is there anything you are doing to try to help the fate of MC?
Yes. I am the mayor. No, just kidding.
I'll be totally honest. Not much. I could give you my list of excuses, but they would be just that. I have been asked a couple of time to be on committees here in the city... but then I wouldn't have the time for all of my insightful postings here. I figure the next time I am asked I will serve. I would also like to be involved in a "Friends of Ruby Woods" volunteer organization, if one could be started. The property was purchased and then promptly stuck on the bottom of the Parks Dept. funding list. It would be wonderful to see paved walking paths with a direct link to Streibel Pond. Until then, I type...
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 19 2007, 07:47 AM
I have a good friend who is a Springville resident but owns a business in Michigan City. He has decided to pull his kids from the parochial schools here and move them to the LaPorte system. He is constantly stumping for LaPorte, telling me how wonderful it is compared to Michigan City. His kids now are parroting him, never having a positive thing to say about the City. And let me tell you it burns me up! These people are so conditioned to only think about and talk about what is wrong with Michigan City. You try to point out the positive and they don't want to see it. They seem to take pleasure in the prospect of its failure.
It is infectious too. To hear the kids talk about Michigan City, you would think we were a third world slum. The hardest part is that many kids, way too young, have already given up on life. Many of the middle school kids I have run into don't even expect to graduate high school, let alone go to college and get a good job. The ones who do still believe make it their first objective to get away from those kind of influences. To me there is nothing about LaPorte that is that much better than MC, but you wouldn't know it from the people who live there.
We really need strong leadership. We need someone who not only will get up and take strong positions, but isn't afraid to be MCs big salesman. We need someone who isn't afraid to put himself on the line for groups and organizations in MC. The town needs to know that the people at the top believe, because that feel trickles down to everyone below them.
Posted by: Ang Sep 19 2007, 08:37 AM
I would also like to be involved in a "Friends of Ruby Woods" volunteer organization, if one could be started. The property was purchased and then promptly stuck on the bottom of the Parks Dept. funding list. It would be wonderful to see paved walking paths with a direct link to Streibel Pond. Until then, I type...
Then start one. Put an ad in the paper, post on the various city websites and start this group. Then you'll be in charge and able to direct the path this group would take. Call Darrell Garbacik and tell him how you feel. He's a fairly reasonable man and I'm sure would be willing to listen. Maybe he'll explain why Ruby Woods is at the bottom of the funding list. (I'm guessing Patriot Park is top priority right now.)
I know that people get busy with life sometimes, but if it is important to you, then you manage to find time. If the group would do most of the leg-work, I'm sure Darrell could persuade the P&R Board to allocate some funds that way for minor projects.
DO IT!!!!!!
I expect a progress report in a month.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 19 2007, 10:54 AM
mcstumper posits a very good counterpoint on Paul's letter. It is quite difficult to effect change from here, yet easy to cast dispersions from afar. From some of the discussion in this thread and others, the clearest problem is the lack of city leadership. We really failed in the last election to make the needed changes in City Hall; in fact, by electing the Oberlie slate, perhaps the worst case happened. Oh, well.
Regarding the Ruby Woods, let's find out how this connects to the developing City Trails plan that that woman in the P and R is getting grants for. There is supposed to be a 1- to 2-mile trail in the Woods somewhere; I'd like to find it!
Posted by: mcstumper Sep 19 2007, 05:02 PM
Regarding the Ruby Woods, let's find out how this connects to the developing City Trails plan that that woman in the P and R is getting grants for. There is supposed to be a 1- to 2-mile trail in the Woods somewhere; I'd like to find it!
I am going to start a new thread on this.
Posted by: mcstumper Sep 19 2007, 05:04 PM
Then start one. Put an ad in the paper, post on the various city websites and start this group. Then you'll be in charge and able to direct the path this group would take. Call Darrell Garbacik and tell him how you feel. He's a fairly reasonable man and I'm sure would be willing to listen. Maybe he'll explain why Ruby Woods is at the bottom of the funding list. (I'm guessing Patriot Park is top priority right now.)
I know that people get busy with life sometimes, but if it is important to you, then you manage to find time. If the group would do most of the leg-work, I'm sure Darrell could persuade the P&R Board to allocate some funds that way for minor projects.
DO IT!!!!!!
I expect a progress report in a month.
People often pay for personal fitness trainers, but I think I will spend my money paying Ang as a personal motivation trainer. What's your rate?
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 20 2007, 07:02 AM
You can't afford her! 
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 20 2007, 07:41 AM
Keep us up to speed, maybe there is some way we can help you.
Posted by: Ang Sep 20 2007, 10:13 AM
People often pay for personal fitness trainers, but I think I will spend my money paying Ang as a personal motivation trainer. What's your rate?
My only fee is success. I will give you all the motivation you need so long as you are successful at your cause. Then I will have personal satisfaction and that is enough for me!!
If I make it back to MC, I will definitely join your cause in actions instead of just words!
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 8 2007, 09:10 AM
An interesting local reply...
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=50&SubSectionID=118&ArticleID=5175&TM=40351.68
David Werdine
The Viewpoint column by Paul Venckus Sept. 16 [ "New attitude can stop city's decline"] said Michigan City has been in decline for the past 30 years and our only hope to invigorate this community is for new leadership to turn the tide. In Mr. Venckus' opinion, the closing of the YMCA may very well be the last straw.
Contrary to Mr. Venckus' opinion, I believe that the community is much more vital today than it was in the mid 1970s. Since that period, we have added a new library, which won national and international awards for its design. We have added a new outlet mall (Lighthouse Place), and International Friendship Gardens has been re-invigorated.
The old Barker Mansion has been restored, major improvements have been made in Washington Park, and the crown jewel is Blue Chip Casino, which generates $14 million to $15 million dollars for our city government. Furthermore Blue Chip has changed an eyesore into a beautiful fountain at the entrance of Washington Park [Millennium Plaza].
Lest I forget, there have been major improvements in our zoo over the past 30 years, as well as at the public marina.
You also indicate a concern about the lack of success in high school athletics. Don't forget that enrollment city wide was more than 13,000 in 1971 and is now just over 6,000. I think that you will agree there is a definite correlation between school enrollment and athletic success. Also, communities that are more affluent such as Chesterton, Portage and Valpo seem to do better in sports than working class communities such as Michigan City. Fewer of their students need part-time jobs, and more parents can afford to send their children to sports camps in the summer.
Before leaving office, Mayor Brillson made major improvements on Franklin Street between Coolspring Avenue and Ninth Street (although I wish she would have had the utility wires buried under Franklin Street).
Beachwalk in Sheridan Beach has received national recognition for its design and the developer's efforts to encourage social interaction for members of that community. Since the vast majority of the residents of Beachwalk have their primary residence outside of Michigan City, they require only a minimum of city services - few if any students in our schools, no street and sidewalk repair. My guess is that they provide more than $2 million in property taxes a year with a minimum of city services required.
I don't want to give the idea that this city doesn't have serious problems. The greatest deterrent is the reputation of the public school system. During the 1930s to the 1950s, Michigan City had a reputation of having one of the best school systems (and one of the highest paid staffs) in Indiana.
Michigan City is a working class community with a median income well below the national average. Unfortunately there is a high correlation between income and academic achievement. Short of bringing Microsoft corporate headquarters to Michigan City, I really don't know what can be done to change the reputation our school system has, except one item. There is a high correlation between the academic achievement of a child and the education and commitment of the child's mother. I would place a high priority on stimulating interest and commitment of mothers with children who are doing poorly in school.
Another area of great concern is our maximum security prison. When someone is incarcerated here, many of their families come to Michigan City to be near the inmate, which places great stress on our social services and criminal justice system. My guess is that an inordinate amount of parolees stay here, and studies indicate that a large portion of ex-convicts have a high propensity to be re-incarcerated. How else do you explain why our police force is much larger than surrounding communities'?
I believe much effort has been made to make our city more livable, including an attempt to connect the lakefront, Blue Chip and Lighthouse Place. Also great efforts have been made to improve and expand playground areas and ball parks.
I believe that we all tend to look backward with rose colored glasses. I thought that Michigan City was much more livable in the 1940s and 1950s when we had a vibrant downtown. That downtown was the center of retail shopping and cultural entertainment, primarily movies theaters (at one time we had four), and a place for social interaction. The outlet malls, interstate highways, and considerably more automobiles destroyed that here as well as in most small towns in our nation. Wal-Mart has also played a major role in the deterioration of downtowns in small communities
I appreciate you taking the time to give an outside perspective of Michigan City, even though I disagree. I believe it is always helpful to stimulate dialogue as to how to make our city more livable.
David Werdine is the host of the cable television show "Perspective."
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 9 2007, 01:09 PM
Good discussion, especially the part about looking back with rose-colored glasses.
Another plus is the open fighting between the races seems to be over. Remember when Fedder's Alley beaches were white-only? I do.
Posted by: RedDevilMC Oct 10 2007, 09:00 AM
Open Fighting is within the races now. Crazy.
In what year(Fedders Alley)? I'm a Generation X person, so forgive me.
Posted by: Ang Oct 10 2007, 09:12 AM
I don't exactly recall the Fedder's Alley beaches being white only, but I do recall when you wouldn't find black folks in the alley itself or the park. That was back in the early 80's. Last time I went through there (this past summer while home on vacation) I noticed it was pretty equal among blacks, whites and hispanics in the park. But, I didn't venture on to the beach from there. I did, however, notice that Indiana Dunes State Park seemed like "Little Mexico." There were crowds and crowds of hispanics, a smattering of black folks and only a handful of whites.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 11 2007, 11:34 AM
Red Devil, I mean fisticuffs, etc. As far as Fedder's, I would say through my high school years. Next time I see you, let's talk.
Posted by: lovethiscity Oct 13 2007, 06:57 AM
Just another jag who abandoned Michigan City and then feels the need to cheap shot it. The most constructive thing this guy can think of to "help" his hometown is to write a eulogy which is supposed to somehow second as a pep talk. Go jump off a cliff. "People with courage, strength and conviction"... don't hightail it for creamy-white, upper-middleclass-and-higher-need-only-apply Carmel. "You have a phenomenal asset in Lake Michigan, but then there is the eyesore of NIPSCO." Thanks for that. Maybe he can have a bake sale out in front of his local SuperOrganicFoods Grocery where they could raise enough money to not only purchase the NIPSCO plant, but to raze it, remediate the land, and replace the lost wages and tax revenue. What Michigan City needs is for the children and grandchildren of its once great leaders to stop moving away to all white communities because it is so much easier than doing the hard work of improving a community that has real challenges like racial discord, poverty, and substandard job opportunities. Why doesn't this idiot stop sitting around thinking of ways to motivate us up here and move his family 10 miles further south into northcentral Indianapolis where you will find neighborhoods with problems just like ours here in Michigan City. Then we can all see if through his work he measures up to be half the man of a Nate Winski.
No Southie, I didn't care for it too much.
OUCH, the truth hurts! But let us not talk about it.
Posted by: lovethiscity Oct 13 2007, 07:20 AM
Jenny,
If you took my response that I was criticizing Nate, then you misunderstood me. Paul, on the other hand... He writes about Mt. Baldy, the Zoo and Marquette Mall as though those things are gone. He makes no mention of the skate park, the Lighthouse Mall, Millenium Park, Bubbles, Ruby Woods, Streibel Pond, Blue Chip, Patriot Park, the new Cinemaplex. Why doesn't he talk about all the work being done to purchase blighted properties on the creek and remediate them. How about great times at the Treehouse or Bridges? How about a High School athletics program that has made some wonderful hires over the last year? How about the new Lutheran High School which gives parents even more choice in the education of their children? Why doesn't he talk about Mayor Chuck's discussions with the state to gain control of Michigan Blvd so that it can be redeveloped? The NIPSCO plant!!??? Are you kidding me? And his comments on crime... why not mention that the general trend in crime in Michigan City over the last 5 years have been downward? The real problem is that when progress is made in this town, people like this still won't give us any credit. They are obsessed with picking at the negative points.
I know that Michigan City has a very long way to go. We need a pro-business attitude. The intermodal site(s) has got to happen. We desperately need an influx of new blood with positive attitudes about what can be done in this community. I honestly hope that we will continue to press for higher-end residential developments on the north end that could draw into the city limits people from places like Hyde Park in Chicago where a turn around has already begun to happen.
I have a good friend who is a Springville resident but owns a business in Michigan City. He has decided to pull his kids from the parochial schools here and move them to the LaPorte system. He is constantly stumping for LaPorte, telling me how wonderful it is compared to Michigan City. His kids now are parroting him, never having a positive thing to say about the City. And let me tell you it burns me up! These people are so conditioned to only think about and talk about what is wrong with Michigan City. You try to point out the positive and they don't want to see it. They seem to take pleasure in the prospect of its failure.
An interesting article in the Chicago Suntimes a few weeks ago
Chicago travelers pick Wis., spurn Ind.Click here for complete article
Author: Ben Goldberger The Chicago Sun-Times
Date: September 17, 2007
Publication: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Page: 12
Word Count: 717
Excerpt:
A vacation in the Hoosier state? Not likely if you're a Chicagoan. Indiana does not even crack the top five as a vacation destination for Chicagoans, according to market research data collected by the Scarborough Research Corporation. Wisconsin is Chicagoans' top place in the U.S. to vacation, with Michigan -- which most Chicagoans must drive through Indiana to get to -- a close second. Indiana's absence from the top tier does not surprise Kevin Erington, 50,...
Chicagoans tend to think of Northwest Indiana as a dirty industry area, not a nice place to visit. While at every level of our government (State, County and Local governments) are spending a fortune to try and change this perception, they are at the same time trying to create the area as a huge freight yard. Quite contradicting stands. We need them to quit waisting our mooney in doing so. Keep in mind, recent government release of statictics show, A single parent with two children needs to make $17.20 an hour to become self suficient. Freight yard jobs average much less.
Posted by: Ang Oct 13 2007, 09:51 AM
Keep in mind, recent government release of statictics show, A single parent with two children needs to make $17.20 an hour to become self suficient.
As a single parent with two kids I totally agree. Although I only have one at home now, I would still have to make no less than $15/hr just to pay cost of living expenses. Even if I could qualify for public assistance, it still wouldn't be enough. And in order to qualify for that, with only one child at home, I'd have to gross less than $1600/mo.
In Wyoming the cost of living is cheaper than in Indiana and we don't have state income taxes here. I make $12/hr and I'm having a hard time. My cost of living runs about $700/mo (rent + utilities) which is almost half of my monthly net income. Then there is my car payment, insurance, gas, food, and various other bills. I don't have credit cards and don't buy mail order stuff. I can't afford those things. I didn't even have the money to buy school pictures this year. There is absolutely no way I could afford to live on that in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan or Wisconsin! Not by myself anyway.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 13 2007, 01:29 PM
An interesting article in the Chicago Suntimes a few weeks ago
Chicago travelers pick Wis., spurn Ind.Click here for complete article
Author: Ben Goldberger The Chicago Sun-Times
Date: September 17, 2007
Publication: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Page: 12
Word Count: 717
Excerpt:
A vacation in the Hoosier state? Not likely if you're a Chicagoan. Indiana does not even crack the top five as a vacation destination for Chicagoans, according to market research data collected by the Scarborough Research Corporation. Wisconsin is Chicagoans' top place in the U.S. to vacation, with Michigan -- which most Chicagoans must drive through Indiana to get to -- a close second. Indiana's absence from the top tier does not surprise Kevin Erington, 50,...
Chicagoans tend to think of Northwest Indiana as a dirty industry area, not a nice place to visit. While at every level of our government (State, County and Local governments) are spending a fortune to try and change this perception, they are at the same time trying to create the area as a huge freight yard. Quite contradicting stands. We need them to quit waisting our mooney in doing so. Keep in mind, recent government release of statictics show, A single parent with two children needs to make $17.20 an hour to become self suficient. Freight yard jobs average much less.
Yet Freight yard jobs are a big step above the jobs we have to offer to people who have a high school diploma or less. Lighthouse place, Blue Chip, and the other tourists traps aren't paying anything close to the $12-13 an hour starting wages estimated of the intermodal type jobs. Tourism has its role and is a nice injection of cash into MC, but we need to parlay those gains into family supporting type jobs. You aren't going to have someone come along and build an automotive plant or something that will pay a near $20 an hour starting wage plus benefits... Those days are gone. The intermodal is a huge step forward, and they also match the educational and workforce dynamics of our area. With our graduation rates, its not like we are going to be looking at white collar and high technology employers moving here.
Posted by: lovethiscity Oct 14 2007, 09:09 PM
Yet Freight yard jobs are a big step above the jobs we have to offer to people who have a high school diploma or less. Lighthouse place, Blue Chip, and the other tourists traps aren't paying anything close to the $12-13 an hour starting wages estimated of the intermodal type jobs. Tourism has its role and is a nice injection of cash into MC, but we need to parlay those gains into family supporting type jobs. You aren't going to have someone come along and build an automotive plant or something that will pay a near $20 an hour starting wage plus benefits... Those days are gone. The intermodal is a huge step forward, and they also match the educational and workforce dynamics of our area. With our graduation rates, its not like we are going to be looking at white collar and high technology employers moving here.
It is a viscous circle. We are to wipe out any chance of high tech jobs that would bring an educated work force. That would spill into our school system and help our kids. By decimating any chance of cleaning up our image by building freight yards, so that the goods imported by our exported manufacturing jobs can be distributed easier and cheeper. It is unfortunate that an educated work force will not want to locate to a freight yard in a State that already leads the nation in brain cancer.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 15 2007, 07:19 AM
It is a viscous circle. We are to wipe out any chance of high tech jobs that would bring an educated work force. That would spill into our school system and help our kids. By decimating any chance of cleaning up our image by building freight yards, so that the goods imported by our exported manufacturing jobs can be distributed easier and cheeper. It is unfortunate that an educated work force will not want to locate to a freight yard in a State that already leads the nation in brain cancer.
I'd actually disagree with you, and I would use history as my guide. Historically it takes about two generations to break the situation that Michigan City is in. Usually the first generation gets the ability to work at a middle class, blue collar job that involved working hard physical work for a living. That generation is able to break the poverty cycle. By breaking the poverty cycle, they also bring hope to the next generation, who sees the hard work their parent/s put in everyday, and usually vow to do better. They take it upon themselves to become better educated, and not to repeat the labors of their fathers. The second generation is the one that goes into the white collar/professional fields, because the education allows them to do so. The Chesterton/Valpo sector is the perfect example of this playing out over a two to three generation cycle. The steel mills and other factories over there didn't ruin the towns, in fact, it gave them the tax base to push their educational system to a higher level than us. As a matter of a fact that was the model that Michigan City was operating on until the industrial/manufacturing base in MC collapsed. Once the tax base collapsed, then the educational system collapsed. Ever since then we have experienced a brain drain of all our best and brightest fleeing the area, and consequently we have entered into a poverty cycle instead. Michigan City has basically no middle class anymore. Until MC establishes a middle class out of our poorer residents nothing is going to change. You can't just bring high education jobs to this area and expect things to be fixed. Education for the younger generation and decent wage industrial/manufacturing jobs for the generation Xers are the key to fix MC in my opinion.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 15 2007, 08:31 AM
Amen, amen, Southsider!
Posted by: lovethiscity Oct 15 2007, 09:57 PM
I'd actually disagree with you, and I would use history as my guide. Historically it takes about two generations to break the situation that Michigan City is in. Usually the first generation gets the ability to work at a middle class, blue collar job that involved working hard physical work for a living. That generation is able to break the poverty cycle. By breaking the poverty cycle, they also bring hope to the next generation, who sees the hard work their parent/s put in everyday, and usually vow to do better. They take it upon themselves to become better educated, and not to repeat the labors of their fathers. The second generation is the one that goes into the white collar/professional fields, because the education allows them to do so. The Chesterton/Valpo sector is the perfect example of this playing out over a two to three generation cycle. The steel mills and other factories over there didn't ruin the towns, in fact, it gave them the tax base to push their educational system to a higher level than us. As a matter of a fact that was the model that Michigan City was operating on until the industrial/manufacturing base in MC collapsed. Once the tax base collapsed, then the educational system collapsed. Ever since then we have experienced a brain drain of all our best and brightest fleeing the area, and consequently we have entered into a poverty cycle instead. Michigan City has basically no middle class anymore. Until MC establishes a middle class out of our poorer residents nothing is going to change. You can't just bring high education jobs to this area and expect things to be fixed. Education for the younger generation and decent wage industrial/manufacturing jobs for the generation Xers are the key to fix MC in my opinion.
The history you speak of is based on new immigrants and is true. Michigan City however has been a blue collar town since it began. Way more then two generations have passed. Reality is we are going to see a generation of Michigan City residents that do not fair better than their parents. Over 13%of the population is living below poverty now and the number is rising not going down.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 16 2007, 06:13 AM
The history you speak of is based on new immigrants and is true. Michigan City however has been a blue collar town since it began. Way more then two generations have passed. Reality is we are going to see a generation of Michigan City residents that do not fair better than their parents. Over 13%of the population is living below poverty now and the number is rising not going down.
The collapse of the only real middle class jobs 20-30 years ago is what has really interupted that cycle. Think of the factories and companies that have closed over that time. Some of Michigan City's developmental mistakes have been well documented, others have not. We did not diversify our base well enough, so when industry collapsed, the only people who stayed were people who didn't have anykind of mobility. People who had in-demand skills found other work in other towns, those who didn't took big paycuts and entered the poverty cycle. The middle class jobs I talked about are the key to breaking that cycle. We have pretty much lost a generation of talent because we didn't have anything for them to do. Its the exact reason I work in Chicago and not Michigan City.
Posted by: RedDevilMC Oct 16 2007, 08:47 AM
I agree with Southsider. My parents relocated to Florida for more opportunities. They didn't have degrees or anything but factories were closing and the welfare system is designed to separate families. There were 7 children in our home. Since my parents were married and worked they weren't eligible for assistance unless my dad left the home. This leads to bad family values and fraudulent activities. This is how the poverty cycle took over this region. We have to build a skilled workforce within our city but we can't turn down anything right now. We are in a rebuilding stage - industry, tourism, education, city government. You name it. I almost feel like we are in a state of emergency sometimes. My two cents.
Posted by: mcstumper Oct 16 2007, 09:08 PM
We have to build a skilled workforce within our city but we can't turn down anything right now. We are in a rebuilding stage - industry, tourism, education, city government. You name it. I almost feel like we are in a state of emergency sometimes. My two cents.
Think "State of Opportunity" instead of "State of Emergency".
Posted by: RedDevilMC Oct 16 2007, 09:15 PM
I LIKE THAT!!!
Angie
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 17 2007, 10:34 AM
Your two cents, RedDevil, are worth two golden eggs! I would also ask the Gentle Reader to ask how many siblings have moved away, how many classmates are long gone. I do not want my sons to move far away because there are no opportunities hereabouts. Emergency? Yes. Opportunity? You betcha!
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 17 2007, 10:38 AM
Think "State of Opportunity" instead of "State of Emergency".
I LIKE THAT!!!
Angie
It definately makes for a better campaign slogan
By the way, I just want to say this has been a great discussion for all who have been involved in it. Thanks for induging me.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 17 2007, 11:38 AM
Incidentally, the class gap in this country is widening, so in that sense we can say that MC is leading the way!
Posted by: lovethiscity Oct 17 2007, 06:40 PM
The collapse of the only real middle class jobs 20-30 years ago is what has really interupted that cycle. Think of the factories and companies that have closed over that time. Some of Michigan City's developmental mistakes have been well documented, others have not. We did not diversify our base well enough, so when industry collapsed, the only people who stayed were people who didn't have anykind of mobility. People who had in-demand skills found other work in other towns, those who didn't took big paycuts and entered the poverty cycle. The middle class jobs I talked about are the key to breaking that cycle. We have pretty much lost a generation of talent because we didn't have anything for them to do. Its the exact reason I work in Chicago and not Michigan City.
Now we are back to the begining of the thread and why I feel the turning of the area into a freight yard with unskilled below poverty paying jobs will be another nail in the areas coffin. We will never be able to attract an educated work force or technical manufacturing jobs that reguire skils not available in third world nations. If we are to compete for these in demand type jobs, we also have to offer potential companys a nice place to live.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 18 2007, 06:37 AM
Now we are back to the begining of the thread and why I feel the turning of the area into a freight yard with unskilled below poverty paying jobs will be another nail in the areas coffin. We will never be able to attract an educated work force or technical manufacturing jobs that reguire skils not available in third world nations. If we are to compete for these in demand type jobs, we also have to offer potential companys a nice place to live.
Working industrial towns can be nice places to live. Look at places like Chesterton, Porter, Portage, etc. They started out with industry, and diversified their base as their generations moved on. They offered a white collar reason for the second and third generations to stay, and even to attract new people.
Think of it this way... Even if Microsoft showed up tomorrow looking to hand out 100K a year jobs, it wouldn't matter much to MC because we wouldn't have anyone who could work those jobs. We don't have the labor force and community education level necesary to fill those jobs. Those kind of things have to be built. You have to first have a nice tax base, which disappeared over the years to fund the thing the that really matters, education. The big problem right now is the people stuck in the poverty cycle with a complete lack of hope, which is being passed onto their children who are in the schools now. Unless the parents have a reason to have hope, the children don't have much of a chance of breaking the cycle. You see it in the kids who are in our classrooms at this very moment. That's why supplying a manufacturing/industrial type job that pays a decent wage is a key step on that path. $12-13 starting an hour might not sound like much, but it is much better than the money that many of them are making working at Lighthouse Place or Blue Chip, or any other of our retail establishments. You have to be at a management level in retail to make that kind of money.
It really is a complex process, because there are different goals for different groups of people.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 18 2007, 11:35 AM
SSider is hitting the nail on the head. That is why he is needed on the School Board.
Posted by: Ang Oct 18 2007, 01:14 PM
SSider is hitting the nail on the head. That is why he is needed on the School Board.
Amen!
Posted by: lovethiscity Oct 18 2007, 08:59 PM
SSider is hitting the nail on the head. That is why he is needed on the School Board.
I agree we need SSider and a few more like him on the school board. But please do not sell Laporte County out without knowing all the possible ramifications to the future.
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