Post by MJSUNIFC on Jul 1, 2006 13:12:03 GMT -5
www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/14940291.htm
Gary sees signs of hope as it nears 100th anniversary
TOM COYNE
Associated Press
GARY, Ind. - They called it the "Magic City," the company town that flourished along with the birth of Big Steel. But the magic left Gary long ago.
In its stead came an unwanted nickname: the nation's per-capita "murder capital." Schools failed and crime rose. And steel went into a sharp decline, leaving behind large smokestacks but only a smattering of the jobs the industry once offered.
As Gary prepares to observe its 100th anniversary, some see signs the city that produced pop singer Michael Jackson and inspired the song "Gary, Indiana" in "The Music Man" is on the brink of better days.
"People say, 'We made it through this 100-year experience, certainly had an incredibly high ride for a while, followed by an incredibly low fall. But now that's past us. It's time to celebrate that fact we survived that and we're ready to develop,'" said Stephen McShane, archivist-curator with the Calumet Regional Archives at Indiana University Northwest.
That potential was evident when U.S. Steel Chairman Elbert H. Gary founded the company town along the south end of Lake Michigan in 1906.
The community grew quickly, earning it the nickname "Magic City" as its population expanded to 16,000 in four years.
Gary developed a reputation for its innovative school system, which offered subjects such as carpentry and sewing, and its first-rate restaurants. It even broke racial barriers in 1967, becoming the first major U.S. city to elect a black mayor, Richard Hatcher.
"There was this feeling, 'Wow, it's going to take off and become a great city,'" said James B. Lane, a history professor at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.
Then came the downturn in the steel industry. The number of steel workers fell from 32,000 in 1970 to 7,000 in 2005. The city's population dropped from 175,415 in 1970 to less than 100,000 in 2003. Whites fled to the suburbs. Nearly a dozen schools closed. Business failed and crime rose, giving the city the nation's highest per-capita murder rate in 1984, 1993 and 1995.
Efforts to spark a renaissance have sputtered in the city, where more than a fourth of residents - twice the national average - live in poverty.
Two riverboat casinos have brought in millions, but they've raised concerns about the social ills of gambling. A minor league basketball team, the Gary Steelheads, averages one of the Continental Basketball Association's lowest attendance records and has lost millions since it was founded in 2000.
Former Mayor Scott King, who resigned in March after 11 years in office, used $45 million in casino money to build a minor league baseball stadium.
"The baseball stadium has brought people to the city. The problem is, it has not been able to keep them here long enough to contribute to the economy of the city in any significant way," Hatcher said.
King also spent taxpayer money to bring in the Miss USA pageant in 2001. The city gained national exposure but lost millions on the pageant, which moved on after two years of a three-year deal.
Even hometown star Michael Jackson hasn't helped. The pop singer pledged in 2003 to raise money for a performing arts center named for him, but nothing has come of the promise.
McShane said Gary's story is not uncommon for a mid-sized American city heavily dependent on one industry.
"Gary is American history in microcosm, really. You can see the 20th century of America simply by looking at Gary," he said.
Gary officials are working to reverse the city's fortunes.
Leaders have been working with state and federal officials to improve Gary/Chicago International Airport and position it as the Chicago area's third airport. The move would help relieve congestion at O'Hare International and Midway airports and be a boon to the local economy.
"I could imagine that if Gary became Chicagoland's third airport, the city would take off," said Lane, author of "Gary's First Hundred Years: A Centennial History of Gary, Indiana." "But the potential's been there for 15 years and it still hasn't taken off."
Many hope the 100th anniversary celebration helps.
The city began celebrating the centennial in April, when it opened a time capsule from 1956. The city's July Fourth celebration this year includes appearances by Cedric the Entertainer and native son Tito Jackson, who with brother Michael was one of the Jackson 5. On July 14, the anniversary of the city's founding, officials will unveil a 30-foot sculpture featuring three steelworkers pouring steel.
Mayor Rudy Clay, who took office in April, thinks success can happen.
"We need to do the basics: downtown revitalization, schools that are safe for our kids, make sure that we have jobs for the community, which the airport will play a big role in that," he said.
"Nothing magic about it."
source: Eve/positive voices 4 MJ
Gary sees signs of hope as it nears 100th anniversary
TOM COYNE
Associated Press
GARY, Ind. - They called it the "Magic City," the company town that flourished along with the birth of Big Steel. But the magic left Gary long ago.
In its stead came an unwanted nickname: the nation's per-capita "murder capital." Schools failed and crime rose. And steel went into a sharp decline, leaving behind large smokestacks but only a smattering of the jobs the industry once offered.
As Gary prepares to observe its 100th anniversary, some see signs the city that produced pop singer Michael Jackson and inspired the song "Gary, Indiana" in "The Music Man" is on the brink of better days.
"People say, 'We made it through this 100-year experience, certainly had an incredibly high ride for a while, followed by an incredibly low fall. But now that's past us. It's time to celebrate that fact we survived that and we're ready to develop,'" said Stephen McShane, archivist-curator with the Calumet Regional Archives at Indiana University Northwest.
That potential was evident when U.S. Steel Chairman Elbert H. Gary founded the company town along the south end of Lake Michigan in 1906.
The community grew quickly, earning it the nickname "Magic City" as its population expanded to 16,000 in four years.
Gary developed a reputation for its innovative school system, which offered subjects such as carpentry and sewing, and its first-rate restaurants. It even broke racial barriers in 1967, becoming the first major U.S. city to elect a black mayor, Richard Hatcher.
"There was this feeling, 'Wow, it's going to take off and become a great city,'" said James B. Lane, a history professor at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.
Then came the downturn in the steel industry. The number of steel workers fell from 32,000 in 1970 to 7,000 in 2005. The city's population dropped from 175,415 in 1970 to less than 100,000 in 2003. Whites fled to the suburbs. Nearly a dozen schools closed. Business failed and crime rose, giving the city the nation's highest per-capita murder rate in 1984, 1993 and 1995.
Efforts to spark a renaissance have sputtered in the city, where more than a fourth of residents - twice the national average - live in poverty.
Two riverboat casinos have brought in millions, but they've raised concerns about the social ills of gambling. A minor league basketball team, the Gary Steelheads, averages one of the Continental Basketball Association's lowest attendance records and has lost millions since it was founded in 2000.
Former Mayor Scott King, who resigned in March after 11 years in office, used $45 million in casino money to build a minor league baseball stadium.
"The baseball stadium has brought people to the city. The problem is, it has not been able to keep them here long enough to contribute to the economy of the city in any significant way," Hatcher said.
King also spent taxpayer money to bring in the Miss USA pageant in 2001. The city gained national exposure but lost millions on the pageant, which moved on after two years of a three-year deal.
Even hometown star Michael Jackson hasn't helped. The pop singer pledged in 2003 to raise money for a performing arts center named for him, but nothing has come of the promise.
McShane said Gary's story is not uncommon for a mid-sized American city heavily dependent on one industry.
"Gary is American history in microcosm, really. You can see the 20th century of America simply by looking at Gary," he said.
Gary officials are working to reverse the city's fortunes.
Leaders have been working with state and federal officials to improve Gary/Chicago International Airport and position it as the Chicago area's third airport. The move would help relieve congestion at O'Hare International and Midway airports and be a boon to the local economy.
"I could imagine that if Gary became Chicagoland's third airport, the city would take off," said Lane, author of "Gary's First Hundred Years: A Centennial History of Gary, Indiana." "But the potential's been there for 15 years and it still hasn't taken off."
Many hope the 100th anniversary celebration helps.
The city began celebrating the centennial in April, when it opened a time capsule from 1956. The city's July Fourth celebration this year includes appearances by Cedric the Entertainer and native son Tito Jackson, who with brother Michael was one of the Jackson 5. On July 14, the anniversary of the city's founding, officials will unveil a 30-foot sculpture featuring three steelworkers pouring steel.
Mayor Rudy Clay, who took office in April, thinks success can happen.
"We need to do the basics: downtown revitalization, schools that are safe for our kids, make sure that we have jobs for the community, which the airport will play a big role in that," he said.
"Nothing magic about it."
source: Eve/positive voices 4 MJ