neighborhood life

Back Then, It Mattered

“So these are things that I kind of learned that I didn’t realize I was learning.” Transcript for Back Then, It Mattered I’m Croatian. And when I was a kid, it mattered. My dad was Croatian, my grandfather, George Davich, he was a city worker for the city of Gary. Street Department. And he was […]

Lives That Are Totally Alien

“The use of the car, I think, has dramatically changed the way people live.” Transcript for Lives That Are Totally Alien It used to be that people could either walk to downtown Gary or take a bus and the car was not as prevalent as it became later on, but now it’s a car to […]

Just Got the Impression

“All they saw was the violence. They did not see the peace. They did not see the change.” Transcript for Just Got the Impression I grew up in the Tolleston area of Gary which was, at the time, very Germanic and some Polish. I went to St. John’s Lutheran Church which was the first church […]

Neighborhood, Community, and Country

“I don’t know any other way to operate. I can’t just sit around and say, ‘Oh, well. That’s the way it is.’” Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories […]

Real, Basic Obligations

“We often don’t think about how the little things build up to create that relationship that you want with people you live around.” Produced by Marc Boas from an interview conducted by Emily Neuharth for the Welcome Project. Transcript for Real, Basic Obligations I would say, that it’s hard, it’s hard to remember how many […]

Settlement House

“If you could make it through the wobbles and the buckles in the floor at the Neighborhood House, you could skate anywhere.” This is an audio excerpt from Just What a Neighbor Does. To see the full video, click here. Transcript for Settlement House So, I grew up in a working class neighborhood on the […]

How Do I Contribute?

“And the fact that people always, like, write off Gary as this horrible place made me feel like I just had to have this conviction to like, change people’s minds, and to be there, and make a difference.” Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide […]

One Common Cause

“Part of being part of a community is reaching out and helping out each other and being there for each other.”   Produced and edited for the Welcome Project by Rebecca Werner and Brandi Casada. Transcript for One Common Cause I grew up in the Aetna section of Gary. And I may get emotional on […]