A new website outlines four categories for virtual visitors: books, cultural centers, websites and newspapers, featuring dozens of resources including tourist attractions such as this ice skating pavilion in downtown Valparaiso. (Photo credit to Joey Lax-Salinas) - Handout
A new website, Calumet Region Bibliography, dates back to a trusty book for local historians.
“The Calumet Region, a Master Bibliography” was published in 1985 by Lance Trusty, a longtime history professor at what was then called Purdue University Calumet. He was passionate about this region throughout his career and his life. Trusty died at 84 in 2018, but his idea will now live on through the internet, at www.calumetregionbibliography.org.
“Books can be out of date as soon as they are published. This site can be updated regularly to remain current and accessible worldwide,” said Joseph Coates, reference librarian manager and university archivist at Purdue University Northwest.
Coates, an East Chicago native, has partnered with Danielle Nowak, a Cedar Lake native who works as the digital assets librarian at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. Together, they have launched this website to compile resources that have typically been as fractured as Northwest Indiana’s communities.
“This is really just the beginning,” said Coates, whose father is a steelworker.
“I see this project as an information hub for people looking for information on how to dig deeper and learn more about their roots in the Region,” said Nowak, a 2010 graduate from Hanover Central High School. “I see this site as a helpful tool for historians or students studying the area.”
“In my experience, sometimes trying to find where to start can be one of the biggest initial challenges in doing research. Our site aims to eliminate that challenge for folks interested in learning more about the Region or one of its particular cities or counties,” she said.
Both research experts are hoping that community engagement is one of the project’s primary outcomes. They’re inviting anyone to offer input, ideas or their expertise about this corner of Indiana and its surrounding areas.
“I would like this site to become a place where historians and students can share their work, or at the very least where to access it,” Nowak said. “In the future I would love to highlight local authors, students, historians and others who are researching the Region, to give them a platform to showcase what they’ve found.”
The website offers a quick primer about “The Region,” named after the Calumet Region, comprised of Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, Jasper and Starke counties in Indiana, as well as part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
The site states: “The Calumet Region is the geographic area drained by the Grand Calumet and the Little Calumet Rivers of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. Because it was initially cut off from the rest of the state due to natural geographic barriers like the Kankakee Marsh to the south, the Calumet Region was the last-settled portion of Indiana.”
The site outlines four umbrella categories for virtual visitors: books, cultural centers, websites and newspapers. Just a click takes users to link after link, with contact information, addresses, and phone numbers for dozens of resources. Museums, libraries, parks, books, organizations, media outlets, and tourist attractions, among other amenities.
It’s one-stop shopping for everything Calumet Region and nearby.
“It’s also a work in process,” said Coates, who for grew up in the Hessville section of Hammond. “Other than not having an Eastern European last name, I’m definitely a product of the Region.”
This website also is a product of the Region, explaining to visitors: “We view this work as organic, always growing and changing, community driven, and serving as an important tool for those who want to study the Calumet Region. We believe this area with its unique population, culture, geography, and location is deserving of research.”
The site offers a form to fill out for users who want to get involved with its development.
“We know there are things we are missing. We want to make sure we are able to grow this knowledge base,” Coates said. “This is a volunteer endeavor, so it will take time, but we are doing our best.”
Possible new features include showcasing other related websites, starting an interactive journal and showcasing documentaries. Suggestions are welcomed by visitors.
“We encourage it,” Coates said.
As a history professor, Lance Trusty issued a quiz to his students, titled, “Are you a Region Rat?” When I interviewed him 20 years ago for a story on the layered yet maddening complexities of the Calumet Region, he replied with a shrug.
“I still don’t have a handle on this yet,” he said.
This new website is attempting to put a virtual handle on Da Region.
Are you a Hoosier by choice?
Coincidentally, the Indiana Destination Development Corp. just announced a new initiative, Hoosiers By Choice, featuring people who have moved to Indiana to make the Hoosier state their permanent home. Do you live in Indiana by choice or by default?
This new campaign, sponsored by Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Association of Realtors, will run throughout 2021, showcasing what makes Indiana a great place to live and why people from other places have chosen to stay. The site features short videos of Hoosiers living in northern, central and southern Indiana. Anyone is welcome to submit their personal stories.
“We are extremely proud to launch a campaign that will clearly demonstrate Indiana’s strong quality of life and show what makes living in Indiana so special,” Crouch said in a statement. “The website will not only serve as the main hub for our Hoosiers By Choice stories, but also as a great resource for people considering moving to Indiana.”
According to the 2018 National Movers Study, 51% of state-to-state moves involving Indiana were in-bound, with more people moving into the state than out. More visible to Northwest Indiana residents, our state also consistently serves as the top destination for people leaving Illinois, with Indiana drawing nearly 9% of residents departing Illinois, according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
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