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It may not rival the Great Snowstorm of 1967, but, today we will have a significant snowfall today January 7th and January 8th. So far we are looking at 6 to 10 inches in the area.
Also, the lake shore area could get a few extra inches as we get some lake effect snow. It is rare for the area of Hammond and Whiting to get lake effect snow as the wind usually blows Northwest and hits the Michigan City and South Bend area. But once in a while a North or Northeast wind will blow and then, we get punished.
In 1967, I enjoyed the snow, but then I was 14 years old and in 8th gtade. Now I’m all of 57 and have a Heart-Lung transplant. I’m no longer thrilled ny the prospect of winter snow. If I didn’t have obligations here I’d move where it is warmer. This year that may be impossible. It’s cold and miserable all over. Texas-cold Florida-cold. Georgia-cold. Why go on vacation? You would be laving one cold place to visit another cold. area. Wait, there is Arizona. I don’t think it’s too bad there. Spring training, here I come!
I’ll report later on about the snow and it’s after affects.
A few weeks ago I had to drive north into Whiting, Indiana and shop at Strach and Van Til’s, on 199th Street and Calumet Avenue. Somehow I remembered that the site of the store used to be the site of of Towne House Bowling Lanes back in the ’50’s and ’60’s into the ’70’s. I used to bowl there sometimes with friends as a diversion to being bored. I wasn’t a very good bowler, but at least it was a sport I could do without too much shame.
My dad, however, was a good bowler. In fact he once won a tournament at Towne House lanes in 1962, I believe. I don’t remember what his series score was, but he pretty proud of the achievement.
Over the years, my Dad developed a lot of friendships and such at that bowling alley. In the late ’70’s (1978, I believe) the bowling alley burned down one cold morning in late fall. When my Dad heard the news he rushed out to see the smoking ruins of the fabled bowling establishment. It was a total loss: nothing but ashes and twisted steel. His home away from home for him and his cronies gone forever.
He and his friends gathered aroud to mourn the loss of their old stomping grounds. They lost balls, shoes and other equipment in the lockers they rented at the place. Most of all they lost a place to meet and carry on their friendships. There are not many places where a guy could feel comfortable and enjoy the comraderie of their fellow bowlers.
Many scattered to other bowling places. I don’t know if all the friendships survived in the loss of the Townw House, but I kind of think of my Dad and his buddies when I’m shopping in the cereal section. It should be about the middle of the 15th lane. A lot of pins were knocked down there, now a lot of cereal is bought there.
Most important, a lot of friendships were made back then, You can still hear the pins falling and the conversations taking place if you havve an imagination and a vision of a time passed by.
My old college sure is growing up. Calumet College just added a Student/Athletic center to its Whiting Campus. With its six story academic building, it has come a long way from its storefront image back in the ’60’s and ’70’s.
graduated from Calumet College back then (1975). Whule the college these days has a better image then back when I studied on the East Chicago campus. I enjoyed my time at the old campus. It had an attitude as a rough place, sort like the area that it was located in. If you could survive there, you could survive anywhere, at any job.
For the most part, we did. Many of us made it in the working world. We had dedicated professors there and tough as the campus.
It wasn’t much, just a little piece of hell turned into heaven. No basketball, soccer or baseball team. We didn’t have student athletes. Just working class stiffs that wanted to get a college education- and that’s what we did.
Calumet College is different. Better? Perhaps. I won’t knock it. It’s just different, that’s all. Growing up today I still might like it. But I had a heck of a good time then and yes, I got educated too.
I saw an article today about the time that a movie company shot a film for a movie in Hammond. In the end, the film that ended up on the cutting room floor. In 1980 there was another movie that shot in Whiting, Indiana.
That movie was “Four Friends” and I wsa able to see some of the work that was done at that time. The film was shot near a friends house, at a church on the corner. While the work that they were doing was interesting, it was also boring. Most of the time they went over the scene and readjusted shot and set up the cameras and equipment. I spent about an hour there, maybe a little longer.
I know that they are looking for extras for the Dillinger film that will be shot partly in Crown Point soon. I’m sure that a lot of people will want to be extras and spectators at that time. Just forewarned, it might be a little boring and a long day. If you stick with it, though, you might pick up something about the art of film making. It might not make you a better person, but you will have the thrill of seeing what people in Southern California take for granted.
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to visit one of the better kept secrets of Whiting, The Cornerstone Gallery on 119th and New York Avenue, in the back space of the Centier Bank.
Betty Delink who is a part time art teacher at Calumet College of St. Joseph, and a old friend of mine had a exhibit there. The paintings; all of them on felines, was part of her work for her Master’s Degree in art. The paintings were well done and impressive and the time spent there was well worth anyone’s time and effort to come out.
The gallery is open from 9 to 12 on Saturday. Besides exhibits from artists like Betty, they have also run art shows for young kids. It is an exciting time for the kids as they have their art work hung on the walls, just like real artists and they are able to show their work off to their relatives and friends.
The place reminds me of some of the art places I used to see in Old Town in Chicago and I’m happy to see that Whiting is supporting the arts in this way. Worth the time, come and see,
This little piece of information was recently sent to me.
“On Saturday morning of August 27, 1955, at 6:15 a.m., without
warning, several explosions tore apart Fluid Hydroformer Unit 700. According to an article that appeared in Industrial Fire World, “No single error or
breakdown destroyed FHU-700. Rather, as in most industrial accidents, it was a specific sequence of events, one after another, that lead inexorably to the final outcome.” Debris rained down from the sky damaging several homes
in the process, and then the fires began. Flames consumed the refinery’sstorage tanks acre by acre for the next two days. When the fire was finally put out on September 4, 1955 fifty nine tanks have been completely destroyed, along with 1 1/4 million barrels of crude and refined products
Although this inferno shook Whiting and the smoke could be seen as far asChicago the devastation only took the life of one individual. 3-year-old Richard Plewniak was killed in his sleep as a 10-foot steel pipe torpedoed through the roof of his home. 600 homes were evacuated to avoid any further
casualties”
The piece also mentioned that the fire took about a week to finally put out and caused 30 Million dollars of damages. It was a year later that the damage was repaired and the plant was again operating at 100% capacity.
To this day it is one of the greatest disasters that ever took place in the area.
Region Rats-A Northwest Indiana Blog 