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Hammond gardens
Date: 06-16-2011
By: Paddy
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The popular perception of the Calumet Region portrays it as an industrial wasteland, choked of life by the steel mills, oil refineries and railroad tracks that served them. I lived there in the heyday of those industries, and I know how that image grew. In the 1950's and 60's, a drive down Indianapolis Boulevard yielded a landscape devoid of life. The skyline comprised metal towers that distilled gases and gargantuan mill sheds topped with smoke stacks. The smog was so thick that a wind off the lake limited sight in Indiana Harbor and parts of East Chicago to half a block.
I understand that perception, but the memories of my mother's garden give me a different view of the Calumet Region.
I was born just before WW2 started (July 1941). My early memories include helping Mom and my sisters cultivate her Victory Garden in our back yard (4842 Beech Street). Radishes and lettuce were the first out of the ground, followed by carrots, beans, peas and tomatoes.
The Hammond of my memory was a vibrant place that sustained life along with industrial livelihoods. What are your memories of backyard gardens?
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