Ethnicity

  “I saw her note the way I hovered over the various ethnicities on the form. First the 'white' box, then to the airspace over the 'black' box, a kind of momentary hesitation, a protest of stillness, a staring into the abyss of everything I did not know about myself. She, like me, was made of halves” Olivia Sudjic, “Sympathy”

 Olivia Sudjic

Forty years ago, I was oral history consultant on an ethnicity project, sponsored by Tri-City Mental Health Center, called “Pass the Culture, Please.”  I interviewed family members whose background was Polish, Jewish, Mexican (that’s how I met the remarkable Arredondo family), and African-American to study cultural retentions. The forces of Americanization being so strong, language generally is lost within three generations, while religious practices sometimes survive longer.  Food and holiday customs seem to last the longest.  While writing my history of Gary, “City of the Century,” I spoke at length to Slovak-American Anna Rigovsky, whose mother well into her 80s prepared pierogis at the Slovak Club, which had been founded in 1913 and dedicated to fostering ethnic culture, language, and traditions.  In 1975, I ended my section on Rigovsky with this paragraph:

  Proud of her ethnic heritage, Anna sent a son to Holy Trinity hoping he would learn the Slovak language.  She lamented that Slovaks no longer participated in pageants at the International Institute.  Nonetheless, she sympathized with a son who complained that he could not understand the priest’s eulogy at his grandfather’s funeral, delivered in the Slovak language.  In 1973, when she talked to her mother in the presence of her own grandchildren, they asked: “Why are you and Baba talking Spanish?” The experience reminded her how far removed those children were from their Slovak ancestry.

        

Toni picked up Polish phrases around her grandmothers, but the Catholic school she attended stopped teaching Polish due to Cold War fears.  Our grandkids love pierogis and other Polish foods.

above, Buscia Brigade; NWI Times photo by John J. Watkins; below, Post-Trib photo by Jim Karczewski

Missy and Marianne Brush at Pierogi Fest    

Friday’s Pierogi Fest “International Polka Parade” in Whiting attracted a crowd estimated at 75,000; 300,000 were expected to attend the celebration over the weekend and enjoy food from nearly a hundred vendors.  Performing Saturday evening: The Village People, billed as the Kings of Disco, celebrating sexual, ethnic, and cultural diversity.  Among the items for sale are bars of soap that exude the odor of various types of pierogis; cheese, sauerkraut, etc. NWI Times reporter Lauren Cross wrote:

  The true stars of Pierogi Fest’s annual International Polka Parade were the crazy Buscias — a group of women wearing hair rollers, aprons, babushkas and colorful stockings.  They danced in the streets to hip-hop tunes, waving brooms, toilet plungers and dusters in the air. Each wore something to honor past generations of Buscias.  “I just love the Buscias ladies and their costumes,” said Anna Woodham, of Hammond.  “Every year, it’s outlandish. It’s a parade like no other,” she said. Behind her, a woman in the parade held out a sign to the crowd that read “Shake Your Pierogies!”

The surprise hit of the summer is a remix of “Despacito” (meaning slowly) by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (DY) joined by Justin Bieber, who sings a verse in English (starting with this line: “Come on over in my direction, so thankful for that, it's such a blessin’”), before providing harmony in Spanish for Puerto Ricans Fonsi and DY.  Chris Molanphy wrote in Browbeat:

Fonsi and DY are both natives and favorite sons of San Juan, and the song’s lyrics even name-check Puerto Rico and throw in a suitably Puerto Rican “Ay, Bendito!” for good measure. The original Fonsi-Daddy Yankee video, shot last December in San Juan, is like a travel agency promo reel for Puerto Rico at a time the debt-burdened U.S. territory could badly use an infusion of tourism cash.

“Despacito” is the first non-English language song to reach number 1 since “Macarena” by Los Del Rio two decades ago.  I recall “La Bamba” being a big hit, especially after Mexican-American Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash.  It had been on the “B” side of “Donna.”  Los Lobos reprised it 30 years later.  Then there was “Rock Me Amadeus” (1986) by Falco, “99 Luft Balloons” (1982) by Nena, and “Dominique” (1963) by the Singing Nun.  Finally, who can forget “Gangnam Style (2012) by South Korean dancer par excellence Psy.

above, Sean Michael; below, Luis Fonsi

Lanes (except for Tori) at Luna's

Tori in South Haven; photo by Alissa Lane

I drove Toni to Grand Rapids, where she will help Alissa and Josh organize their move into a new house, their first. Ten of us had “reasonably authentic” Mexican food at Luna Restaurant downtown.  We spent the night at Miranda and Sean’s new place.  Sean looks a lot like Luis Fonsi even though it is Miranda who is half Puerto Rican, not Sean (so far as I know).  Miranda gave me a shirt that she bought in Athens this summer.  Two years, ago, she gave me one from Ireland. I finally wore out a shirt I purchased in Dubrovnik that said, “nema problema.” It frequently elicited smiles from Gary Croatians.  I get out my Brazil shirt during World Cup matches, as does Phil, who spent a week with me in Rio (2 wild and crazy guys).

At Quick Cut Italian-American hair stylist Anna gave me my monthly (if that) haircut.  Beforehand, I read about bowling memories in Reminisce magazine.  My favorite: in 1967 a forgetful Martinsburg, West Virginia, teenager left an establishment wearing bowling shoes with 9s on the back indicating shoe size. He found them so comfortable that he decided to keep them, starting a local fad. Pretty soon, it was a common sight to see kids wearing multi-colored bowling shoes.

 Joyce Dixon and Justin Hopkins

Justin Hopkins interviewed Joyce Dixon for Steve McShane’s Indiana History class and found her to be, in his words, “a sweet person with a great outlook on life, who was happy to answer every one of my questions.  I learned a great deal, both about duplicate bridge and her thoughts and feelings about the city of Gary.”  He wrote:

Joyce Dixon, 70, has been a resident of Gary for 47 years. Her retirement schedule includes dance classes, Zumba physical fitness classes, chair aerobics, bingo, and duplicate bridge games. We met in the lobby of IUN’s Hawthorn Hall. Seeing her sitting at a table, I politely asked if she was Mrs. Dixon. She looked at me like she wasn’t expecting a redhead covered in tattoos, but after introductions we began the interview.  A native of Ecorse, Michigan, whose parents had moved there from Mississippi, she met her husband at the University of Western Michigan, where she majored in business administration and accounting.  She came to Gary with him when he accepted a position at Inland Steel, first working in a blast furnace before becoming a managerial supervisor.   He passed away in 2011.  Joyce has a 38-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old granddaughter.

Joyce taught at West Side High School for 37 years, primarily business and accounting, before retiring in 2007. As she put it, “It was time for the dinosaur to leave it to someone else.”  She learned bridge in 1969, and during the 1970s she’d play at school with friends during lunch breaks. Her husband worked many swing shifts, and playing with friends became part of her social life.  Joyce started playing regularly in clubs around 15 years ago when a friend who had been diagnosed with cancer asked her to be her partner. At present, she belongs to three bridge clubs, including those that meet at the YMCA and Calumet Township Multi-Purpose Center, plus one that only meets in the summer.  She said, “I am a very good basic player, but nowhere near the top compared to some I’ve competed against who go to tournaments.  I am at this point in my life not concerned with being competitive, I am only concerned with simply enjoying myself when I play.”

Lauren Young wrote about Evelyn Campbell:

              Evelyn Campbell was born in Gary and lived in Tolleston, near 15th Avenue and Roosevelt. Like most neighbors, her father worked at U.S. Steel and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. She remembers her neighborhood was very safe; her mother even let her and her sister walk the ten blocks to and from her school, St Casimir's, and never worried about crime or danger. Her family didn’t play bridge together, but they did play other card games, such as Pinochle.  Evelyn and other neighborhood kids would play Canasta outside under the trees. There were fewer entertainment options then there were today, so card games filled a void.  During the 1950s Evelyn’s family moved to New Chicago.  Her father, uncle, and friends worked together to build a house next door to her uncle’s almost completely on their own, except for the drywall.  Her mother, aunt, and sister would make lunches for the men. 

              After graduating from River Forest, Evelyn went to Ball State to study Elementary Education. She chose to go into teaching because she had always liked working with kids, having babysat frequently during high school.  At Ball State she played Euchre but wasn’t exposed to bridge. After graduating, Evelyn taught second, third, and fourth grade at Mundell Elementary School in Hobart, and, after the building was torn down in 1994, at Joan Martin Elementary. At this time, elementary teachers were expected to complete a master’s degree within seven years. Taking night classes at IU Northwest she met future husband, Tom, who taught Government and Economics at Horace Mann in Gary. They would hang out together in the common areas and were soon dating.

              Evelyn began playing bridge during her lunch break at Mundell. Her exposure to other card games, such as Euchre and Canasta, helped her to catch on quickly. The principal didn’t like that the teachers were playing card games on their break, so they got together at night on the first Wednesday of every month.

              Evelyn and Tom married in 1969 and moved into an apartment in Miller near Lake Michigan. They had their first child, Jennifer, in 1970 and moved to Softwood Drive in Hobart.  Evelyn took a year off from teaching to stay at home with the baby. In 1972, they had son Chris and she took another two years off. During this time, Tom became a guidance counselor at Thomas Edison Junior-Senior High School in Lake Station.

              Four of the original women who played together in the lunchroom at Mundell Elementary still get together for bridge to this day. The only thing that’s changed is that now they meet in the afternoons. They have been there for each other through divorces, remarriages, deaths, and people moving away.  Some left, but later came back. One of Evelyn’s friends was a music teacher and couldn’t stay around cigarette smoke for long periods of time because it would hurt her throat, which impacted her ability to sing. She quit the group for a while, but eventually came back when smoking became less common.

Evelyn is now in several bridge clubs.  Since she’s retired, she simply has more time to play, which she didn’t have when raising children and teaching.  One difficulty is finding a partner, which used to be very simple because each person had a spouse. Now, spouses have passed away, requiring new partners. She noticed that many of the best bridge players excel in either music or mathematics.  Her theory is that the part of the brain that deals with mathematics and music also help with bridge. She told a story about the best bridge player she has ever played with, who was a math teacher. This woman seemed to know where all the cards were based on how people bid and played.

Evelyn’s bridge clubs used to play for prizes, but now it’s just for small amounts of money. Each person puts in three dollars and the first and second place finishers receive shares of the money.  There’s a penalty of a dime if you and your partner don’t make your bid. That can add up. Whoever is “booby” gets this consolation prize.

              The young people Evelyn knows who play bridge are in their 40’s now.  They probably were around parents and relatives who played a lot.  Her most memorable moments were making a small slam. She says she was never aggressive enough to build a grand slam.  

above, Tom Campbell; below, Evelyn and Jennifer in New Zealand

            In 2008, Tom Campbell passed away. He was very active in the Hobart Lions, the Kiwanis, and the Knights of Columbus. Before he passed, he and Evelyn spent their free time traveling, enjoying their friends, and playing bridge together. She and her 11 closest friends travel together and have had great experiences on a Mediterranean cruise, and on excursions to Germany, Austria, Croatia, and Italy. At Cinque Terre, an area on the coast of the Italian Riviera, Evelyn said that cars were forbidden, so one either hiked on paths or took trains for longer distances.

 Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger from M*A*S*H*

Trump tweeted: “Please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.”  Apparently, this caught Pentagon officials by surprise and drew criticism from such Republican Senators as John McCain and Orrin Hatch.  This appears to be another example of the President’s paranoid crusade to undo everything Barack Obama achieved.  Earlier this year Trump rescinded Obama’s executive order protecting transgender students’ right to use bathrooms and locker rooms responding to their gender identity.  Anne Balay wrote: “To trans service members past and present: I’m sorry. Your courage and patriotism endures.”  Shari Zoot Granat replied: “No doubt this was meant as an extremely hurtful distraction, not to mention the boost for his "base" (and I do mean BASE).”  Wendy M. Christensen asserted:

This is a horrible attack on the rights of our bravest Americans. But I don't think he can tweet military policy like this. Military today told people that there was nothing new on the books and it was business as usual. It took months to roll out the repeal of “Don’t ask don’t tell” - I'm crossing my fingers this doesn't actually go through.

Rev. Cheryl Rivera; Post-Tribune photo by Jim Karczewski

Visclosky staff member Mark Lopez and protestors; photo by Samuel A. Love 

Samuel A. Love was among several dozen protesters who assembled at Congressman Pete Visclosky’s Merrillville office to express extreme consternation over a US Army Corps of Engineers plan to store highly toxic dredged sentiment containing PCBs at a facility in East Chicago near Central High School, where son Dave teaches. NWI Times reporter Sarah Reese wrote: “Residents want Visclosky to write a letter to EPA and IDEM demanding the permit be rejected, but Visclosky on July 15 declined to do so.”  Visclosky chief of staff Mark Lopez promised that the Congressman would forward concerns to the Army Corps.  Reverend Cheryl Rivera beseeched the Lord to “put steel in his [Visclosky’s] back so he would have the courage to stand up and do what's right for the citizens of East Chicago.”