Around Lake Station

Today it could be known as East Gary, as it was from 1908 to 1977 or as Independence, a name some favored in 1976. But Lake Station harkened back to its root when it officially changed its name in 1977. An early depot stop on the Michigan Central Railroads Detroit to Chicago line through the Calumet region, the village was first named when George Earle mapped out a town of about 6,500 acres in 1852, dubbing it Lake Station.

The City of Lake Station, like many Northwest Indiana communities that sprung up along either Suak Trail, the Indiana route through the region, or railroad lines, had other brushes with history. A transportation hub for more than three decades beginning in the 1850's, the prosperous community took a hit when the railroad post office moved its operations in the 1880's further west to Joliet, Illinois.

The outlook brightened at the turn of the century when U.S. Steel set up its "million dollar factory" in bordering Gary. Lake Station, marketed as "East Gary" to attract executives and management who might want to live in a suburban enclave, functioned as a bedroom community. Twists of fate have their effect to this day. Being a bedroom community, Lake Station did welcome Abraham Lincoln to its Audubon Hotel perhaps on more than one occasion according to oral history. But George Pullman, who tried to negotiate for land in Lake Station for his proposed railcar company, never struck a deal and set up shop on the south side of Chicago instead.

Today, Lake Station remains a mostly residential community. According to Mayor Shirley A. Wadding, the city now focused on accenting its positives and building the future. Selected a Millennium Community by the Governor of the State of Indiana in 2000, Lake Station initiated projects to celebrate and preserve its local history and prepare its children for the new millennium. With its share of monies collected in taxes from regional casino's, Lake Station is making the kinds of infrastructure and revitalization investments that will help it in 2000 and beyond. Water and sewer line upgrades are in the works and many road projects are coming to fruition. New residential housing, including a 400-unit apartment community, will provide homes for residents and newcomers as well as help spread out the local property tax burden among a greater number of citizens.

"Its tough for smaller communities like ours that have more housing but less commercial development," says Wadding, who nonetheless feels that undeveloped land within the city's boundaries could prove to be excellent and conveniently located space for new or relocating companies. "we're playing to our strengths and expect growth and improvements will come surely, if sometimes more slowly than we'd like."

The youngsters in Lake Station will depend upon their elders to grow the city. In the meantime, they grow strong in a close-knit community where Little League baseball games, good schools, and family outings to beautiful Riverview Park are all a kid could ask for.
"The new millennium has brought a new partnership between leaders and citizens," Wadding smiles. "If Lake Station once was changed by fate, today it's being improved through careful planning and a positive outlook."

Hi my name is Norman Peter Triantafilos and i am the author of this website and i live in Lake Station indiana.Im 68 years old and live on Warren street and am doing well i do suppose for being old...I have lived in Lake Station all my life off and on ya know a stint in the army 66 to 68 a few girlfriends and wifes ah...But now no WIFE no KIDS NO PROBLEMS!Yes if i want to do something i dont have to ask!if the house is dirty ha ha who cares,if i didnt lift the seat again who give a s**t!Yes indeed life is good!Ya know there are lots of people who would like to be where i am today but well they just dont know how i dont suppose its through sheer ignorance though...maby the every day grind huh... their life is not even their`s it belongs to their employer,the old lady,crap who knows...Now me you see this is ALL behind me & life is good!I was born in Gary Indiana in 1946 guess that makes me old huh.. to Peter Triantafilos my dad and Faye Evelyn Hazelwood (james) my mother.My dad was born in Greece in Mavro kambo Kastoria in 1901 which was an unsettled time period in this country,my father never even knew his father and was taken to fight the war in 1913 and you all belly ache about how hard you have it now!My dad came to Canada in about 1922 and then to gary Indiana where he went to work for united states steel he and some friends opened The Buffalo Lunch by the tracks at 9th & broadway in Gary sometime in the 1930`s he went on to work for USS steel in the wheel mill then to the ``J`` and retired from the E.J.& E. rail road also in Gary in about 1965 and I worked for the ``J`` from 1965 or so as my father got me a job on the ``J`` where i retired in 1986 & worked as a switchman in kirk yard.My mother was born in Tamm`s il in 1914 and this was a very rural area at the time and life was very hard not at all like we see today.In the early 1930`s mom went to kentucky to take a job as a house keeper and some time in the mid 40`s i guess she came to work unloading the ore boats at USS steel in Gary Indiana.Well as things went my mom met my dad in Gary and on feb 24th 1946 i came along we lived in the Brunswick section of Gary far north by the lake just east of where the gary airport runways are now when i was born and then moved to 2829 lake street in EAST GARY which is now Lake Station in about 1948 the house is still there.We moved to 2665 vigo street in East Gary in 1952 when i was about 6 years old and there were NO city sewers or city water and you heated either with coal or oil.On this page i will attempt to better inform you about my home town Lake Station Indiana & a little bit about my family and me also.I have links on this website to my family`s website which has our family`s webphoto album with over 900 photo`s & several video`s.Thanks for stopping by and viewing this website,Norman.