LaPorte, Indiana by Jason Bitner

The Birth of LaPorte

 

LaPorte's modern history begins in the winter of 1679 with a band of men led by Robert Cavelier La Salle, the French explorer and fur trader. During that winter, the morale of La Salle's group was low. After trekking from Canada, they made it as far as Illinois but were ready to make a retreat back north (La Salle and his men had just built Ft. Crevecoeur in Illinois; 'Crevecoeur' means 'heartbreak').

While leading his expedition back to Canada, La Salle used the trails cut by the Indian tribes of the region - the Pottawatomie, Sac, and Ottowa. With this in mind, La Salle referred to the trail's clearing as 'LaPorte,' or 'The Door.' This door, shared between the Indian nations and the French explorers, is hidden from modern LaPorte, but its spirit persists: portions of State Street overlap the old trail. It would be more than one-hundred-and-fifty years before Europeans built permanent settlements in LaPorte.

In 1835, the city of LaPorte officially incorporated and was opened for business. The following decade saw the construction of the Midwest's first medical school, LaPorte University (later called LaPorte Medical School). Slowly, the town transformed from an outpost in the Middle West to a governed town of 5,000 people.

The town's big break came in 1852: work completed on a railroad that connected LaPorte to the largest cities in the region. Before long, people were filling the trains and stopping by LaPorte, many of whom stayed and planted roots in the area. The new population influx - including European immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and Poland - gave LaPorte the manpower to start their industrial economy. One business that especially prospered was the Advance-Rumley Company, which created a tractor engine helping to revolutionize wheat farming in the Great Plains.

Another railroad passed through LaPorte, but unbeknownst to most of the citizens: the Underground Railroad. More than 3,000 former slaves passed through various clandestine spaces in LaPorte in route to freedom.

LaPorte in the 50s & 60s

The Herald-Argus, LaPorte's newspaper, began putting local and national news into print in 1836. The Door Prairie Barn, a bizarre, nine-sided barn house built in 1878, still stands today and is the last of its kind in the country. Maple trees planted over one-hundred-and-fifty years ago still line Michigan and Indiana Avenues and dazzle with color in the fall. But it's the LaPorte County Courthouse, which has stood for more than one hundred years, that is the city's most prized architectural achievement. Designed by Chicago's famous city planner, David Burnham, the monumental Courthouse stands proudly, with its stained-glass windows and striking stone gargoyles still intact.

 

A sampling of the Herald-Argus archives gives a glimpse into everyday life in LaPorte during the 1950s and 60s. A reservoir of both the exceptional and mundane, the various stories reflect changes in the national landscape and how LaPorteans dealt with these changes in their daily lives: 

ROCKET LANDS ON GOLF COURSE -September 23, 1954
A guided rocket, coming from an unknown source, slammed into a golf course in nearby Hamlet. The operator of the golf course, Clem Hall, hid the rocket for almost a week before the authorities learned of the situation. According to Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Stegall, commander of the KOP, it was "not a part of any army missile and it [was] not a research object."

ODD DISAPPEARANCE - March 6, 1956
Police are looking for Erma Musgrave, 39, who disappeared from her home after withdrawing $500 from a local bank. Neighbors saw her boarding a South Bend-bound train at 11am yesterday. Some relatives theorized that Mrs. Musgrave might be traveling to Winamac, since she'd recently spoken of her two children buried there.

LOAN COMPANY HEIST - July 11, 1957
A lone bandit robbed the Local Finance corporation at gunpoint, forced two female employees into a back room, and escaped with an estimated $200.

STOLEN CHANGE - January 14, 1959
John Jonas, 20, was arrested at his home last night in connection with the Sunday night theft of approximately $10 in change from two game machines at the Automatic Laundry.

LITTLE MISS VALENTINE - January 27, 1959
Debby Quinn from LaPorte has been elected America's Valentine girl for 1959. Debbie, whose seven-hour heart operation and subsequent recovery was recorded in a hour-and-half film broadcast nationally on the CBS "Conquest" series, will reign over the 1959 Heart Fund campaign. On Tuesday, February 3, Debbie will appear in a White House ceremony where Mrs. Eisenhower will officially crown her.

PILLS SURVIVOR - November 28, 1960
Clarence Erich Kress, 47, survived a two-day "nap" induced by an overdose of sleeping pills. Kress snoozed peacefully on his back for nearly 23 hours in a field and was discovered by a hunter.

SOCIETY MURDER - January 14, 1961
Fannie Sommerfield, a prominent citizen in LaPorte society, was found murdered in her home. The 92-year-old woman was severely beaten with a wine bottle, though no money or items were taken from the home. The primary suspect in the case never served time, due to a number of unfortunate circumstances.

HOLY VENTRILOQUIST - November 13, 1961
Reverend Lawrence J. MacAllen served the community of LaPorte for more than twenty-five years with the help of 'Gospel Pete,' a ventriloquist dummy, during his services.

BURNING HOUSE - December 31, 1962
The Salvation Army and private citizens teamed up today to help the nine person John B. Miller family who lost their home in a fire. All the furniture and the clothing were lost in the sudden blaze with completely gutted the inside of the house. The LaPorte community rallied to help the family rebuild their lives.

FISH LAKE DROWNING - July 6, 1964
What should have been an entertaining holiday weekend for five boys from a Catholic parish in Chicago came to a tragic halt late Saturday afternoon when one of them, Leonard Stasi, 14, lost his life drowning in lower Fish lake.

AUTO THRILL SHOW - July 1, 1964
The Johnny King Daredevils, an auto thrill team, displayed seemingly impossible skills at speeds that push both men and machine to the limits of endurance. Cars careened off rampways and travelled hundreds of feet balanced precariously on two wheels at speeds most would consider unsafe on all four tires.

RUNAWAY BROTHERS - July 8, 1964
Two 15-year-old brothers were reported in fair condition at a Columbus, IN, hospital following an accident just outside the city. The two youths were the subject of a state-wide police search after they locked their mother in the basement, stole her purse and took the family car without her permission.

MODEL T TRIP - July 16, 1964
Two young LaPorte adventurers made a trip to San Francisco for the GOP national convention driving a 1923 Model T Ford. The 2000-mile journey took eleven days for the truck that topped out at thirty miles per hour. Upon reaching the convention, the boys helped out doing odd jobs for the Barry Goldwater campaign committee.

EXPERIMENTAL BALLOON CAPTURED - July 31, 1964
A balloon carrying 'several thousand dollars' worth of instruments and a possibly deadly charge of explosives was lassoed on a farm near LaPorte. The blimp-shaped experimental balloon, about 50 feet long and 15 feet in diameter, was one of three that broke looks from mooring at Fort Wayne where they were being used for air pollution control experiments.

BOY WINS FLOWER ARRANGING CONTEST - August 21, 1964
Flower arranging, long considered a feminine talent, is beginning to attract boys, as a ten-year-old lad walked off with the 4-H championship in the miscellaneous arrangements division. Hamilton shrugged off the applause and said he "just stuck some weeds in a container."

WOMEN WRESTLERS - August 15, 1964
Rita Crawford, a 155-pound wrestler, was awarded the Midwest championship women's wrestling trophy at the 1964 LaPorte County fair. Miss Crawford tangled with 242 pound Fifi LaRue in the final bout out the elimination tournament, though the real climax of events came in the "battle royal" featuring five of the women who'd wrestled throughout the week.

PLANE CRASH DEATHS - July 2, 1966
A prominent young LaPorte businessman and his teenage companion were killed when their light plane crashed and burned in a hayfield near the LaPorte municipal airport. An airport employee said the plane made one pass over the runway at an altitude of about 20 feet. The aircraft then went into a forty to fifty degree climb, when the engine apparently stalled. The plane burst into flames as it hit the ground.

THREE WOMEN DISAPPEAR - July 6, 1966
Three young Chicago-area women went missing at a local beach. When last seen, the girls were climbing into a motorboat with three unknown men. The women had left their homes early Saturday and expected to be back late that day. There were no reports of three men being missing.

WHIRLPOOL FACTORY STRIKE ENDS - July 11, 1966
LaPorte's industrial giant, Whirlpool, went back into production after an eighty-one day strike. "We have had a long shutdown and we are all happy to get back to work," the plant's general manager reported. Mayor Thomas E. Boyd and Police Chief Richard McIntyre acted as mediators in the negotiations.

FIRST BLACK POLICE OFFICER HIRED - December 5, 1967
The board of public words and safety today hired the first Negro police officer in LaPorte's history...

LOCAL BOY WOUNDED IN VIETNAM - December 6, 1967
Thanksgiving started off as a special day for the Barden family as they heard a Thanksgiving message from their son in Vietnam broadcast on a local radio station. So they found it hardly believable that night when they received word that their son had been wounded in the war, requiring the amputation of his left leg.

BOBBY KENNEDY COMES TO TOWN - May 6, 1968
"I do not support, and have never supported, the idea that we should withdraw unilaterally, but I ask, why should a boy from LaPorte be drafted to fight in Vietnam?" Police estimate that 2000 to 2500 people packed the LaPorte courthouse square for the campaigning senator, who arrived with press buses and all the action of a Kennedy-style campaign.

Know any current or former LaPorteans? Spread the word!

If you know any LaPorteans, we'd be psyched if you sent them links to the LaPorte, Indiana website or to our LaPorte, Indiana MySpace site.  One of our favorite parts of the project has been hearing stories about the people in these portraits-- and the more people know about the book and see these photos, the more likely we'll get to hear about the backgrounds of folks in the book.

Here's one funny reminiscence from a story written by Gretchen Kalwinski in the Northwest Indiana Times:

Bitner has spoken with several of the subjects of Pease's photos, including Hugh and Kathy Tonagel, whose somber engagement photograph is at the forefront of the book. "Hugh told me that Pease was trying to impress upon them that this was a really weighty moment. Like, 'You guys are getting married, and this is the photo that is going to represent that forever. This is a really important moment and I want you to be here and present and understand what it is you're sitting for.'"

And now we know... spread the word!

The South Bend Tribune had Sharon Dettmer out to cover the LaPorte, Indiana release party.  It was a blast, and Sharon turned in a delightful story.  Check it out below.

 

Blogged! The Millions review!

The Millions (A Blog about Books) wrote a fantastic review of LaPorte, Indiana today!  From C. Max Magee and his talented minion of blog-helpers:

As with looking at any of the FOUND crew's finds, flipping through this book leaves one with odd sensations. We're not used to seeing stuff like this so lovingly presented, so it makes us look a little harder. As I flip through the book, I enjoy the unintentional artistry of the black and white portraits, but more so I wonder who these people are or were.

Thanks to the Millions!

Release Party at B&Js with South Bend Tribune!

We had a great time in LaPorte last week!  The release party at B&J's American Cafe was packed and ready to celebrate; even LaPorte mayor Leigh Morris dropped by for some well-wishing.  Sharon Dettmer from the South Bend Tribune was also on-hand to report about the many, many happy faces. 

So, here are a few pictures of the festivities.  Thanks again, LaPorte - you sure know how to keep us coming back!!

Jason Bitner and Jari Garton-Gift, the maternal granddaughter of LaPorte, Indiana photographer Frank Pease, share some smiles at B&J's American Cafe.

Bitner joins Billie and John Pappas, owners of the B&J American Cafe.  The Pappases rescued the Pease portraits when they bought the property at 607 Lincolnway.  In front of them are just a few of the 18,000 Pease portrait photographs.

Pat Orzech of DeMotte, IN, poses while holding a childhood portrait that Pease had taken of her years ago.

It's all smiles at B&J's American Cafe!

 

There are a couple new articles about Laporte, Indiana from the South Bend Tribune and Smith Magazine !  In the South Bend Trib story, Sharon Dettmer dug up some fantastic new info about photographer Frank Pease. Take a look:

As a young man, Pease left home and traveled to Florida to join the circus.  When he returned to his hometown of LaPorte, Pease admitted that circus life was tough work.  Particularly taxing was helping the lion tamer, he told family memebers.  Full story here.

Smith Magazine gives a great summary of the atmosphere surrounding the project in the city of LaPorte:

“It’s nuts,” says Bitner, “we’ve been staring at these photos for years, and they’ve suddenly sprung to life. And as more people come forward, we’re beginning to reconstruct the town and reunite some friends from across the country—the book’s becoming a community event.”  Go have a look!

Ted Quinn's "LaPorte, Indiana"

We've been really excited about the reconnections that have occured due to the LaPorte, Indiana project.  We've recently received an email from Ted Quinn, from Joshua Tree, California, who was born in LaPorte, Indiana, but moved with his family to California when he was a toddler.  These days, Ted is a musician (check out his website at www.tedquinn.com).  As it turns out, he's already written a song about LaPorte! Here's what he has to say about it:

"I was born in the LaPorte, Indiana, depicted in Jason's book, mid-century, Middle America.  My parents dreamed of going west and I was still a baby when they took that 'California trip' along Route 66.  I grew up in 1960s Hollywood, a million miles from LaPorte, but that little town by the lake remained in my subconscious.  On a cross-country drive I took as an adult, I stopped in LaPorte for a few minutes; I saw a boy riding a bicycle.  In that boy, I saw my own father and I saw myself if my family had stayed there.  Jason's book has a ring of familiarity, in a literal sense, like the recurring dream I describe in the song.  My only real memory of LaPorte was always the sight of my father and my older brother raking autumn leaves."

We loved the song so much that we'd like to help share it with all of you: Click here to download an MP3 of Ted Quinn's "LaPorte, Indiana"  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

37Signals, a fabulous blog out of Chicago, mentions LaPorte, Indiana in their daily round-up today:

Photographer Frank Pease shot portraits of the residents of Laporte, Indiana back in the 50s and 60s. Recently, Found magazine editor Jason Bitner discovered 18,000 of the photos in in the back of a small Midwestern diner. The top shots are now a book.

Head over to them and check 'em out.

First, on the East Coast, Julia Dolan wrote an impressive and thoughtful review of LaPorte, Indiana in March/April '06 edition of Boston University's in the loupe.  Here's a selection:

Bitner's groupings of related images - graduation portraits, women wearing pearl chokers who gaze dreamily over their shoulders - at first glance seem simplistic.  But it soon becomes evident that Bitner wants us to see the subtle indications of individuality that the sitters could not fully camouflage.

 

Moving along to the West Coast, Linda Rosenkrantz had this to say in the March 19th San Diego Union-Tribune:

For 30 years, the archive of Frank Pease's studio photographs sat in boxes in the back of B&J's American Cafe, until they were unearthed by Bitner, founder of Found magazine, revealing the faces and fashions (not to mention hairstyles) of a typical Midwestern town from the 1940s to the 1960s.

And in between the coasts, from the lovely Midwest, comes a feature from Gretchen Kalwinski in the Northwest Indiana Times.  An excerpt:

It is of note that the images were made public via the enthusiasm of a non-native, a testament to the idea that we oftentimes overlook what is right under our noses.  With his outsider's perspective, it seems that Bitner was in a unique position to be able to see facets of the archive that were regarded as everyday by those familiar with them.

 

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From the Chicago Trib

Hey hey folks!  Here's a few pictures that ran with the Chicago Tribune article--check out these LaPorteans with their Pease photos!

                                 

Robert K. Elder wrote a fantastic piece on LaPorte, Indiana in the March 10 issue of the Chicago Tribune.  Here's an  excerpt:

After hearing about Jason Bitner's book, Frank Pease's granddaughter contacted the author... When asked what her initial reaction was, she said, "Wow. There are almost not words for that. I was just floored. They paid such a tribute and honored my grandparents so wonderfully. They'd be so proud to know this was happening.

Where Are They Now Photo Gallery!

As most of you diligent LaPorte, Indiana fans have noticed by now, the LaPorte Herald-Argus has helped take the book to another level. The Herald-Argus has been running weekly features where they show portraits from the book and challenge Herald-Argus readers to identify these faces. So far, almost everyone has been identified! This speaks volumes about the kind of community that LaPorte maintains. We're so excited about the Herald-Argus' on-going ID project that we've set up this gallery to match the names with the faces. Whenever there are new identifications, we'll update the gallery. Enjoy!

Austin Johnson, who now lives in Osceola, IN.



Bob and Betty Day, posing on their wedding day.

Kathy Hugh Tonagel's engagement photo. Bitner says, "Hugh told me that Pease was trying to impress upon them that this was a really weighty moment. Like, 'You guys are getting married, and this is the photo that is going to represent that forever... I want you to be here and present and understand what it is you're sitting for.'" The Tonagels are still married and have four children, great basketball players, we hear.  Hugh works at the 4-H, while Kathy works at the local hospital and is a great cook.

Pease captures this LaPortean's cosmopolitan style, somewhere between a flight attendant and a Bond Girl. . . Dale Lehner, nee Horn, graduated from LaPorte High School in 1971. Her father was the late Kermit Horn, manager of the JC Penneystore in LaPorte. Reader Penny Huth says of Dale that she was "a very good student and a very happy, friendly, kind classmate." She now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

David VanSchoyck, pictured as a toddler. Dewayne, his brother, said that David died at age 9. "We used to have our photos taken every year," says Dewayne.

Eloise McGee, who went to Lincoln Elementary School and Central Junior High School in LaPorte.

Matching outfits sometimes aren't a great idea, but these twins pull off the look in a warm and charming fashion. There's something so sweet about older twins who still match. Reader Ethel Boerema identifies the two women as her father's twin cousins, Lily Baker and Rose Scherer (both nee Ahlgrim), who both lived on Weller Avenue. Lily had one son, Billy, and Rose had one daughter, Jeanette.

Carol and Merle Huhnke, with their children, Karl and Linda.

Robert Charles Ewald graduated from LaPorte High School in 1952, where he was a member of the band, and from the phone messages received from readers, it seems he formed a band called the Bobby Charles Band. He now lives in Minnesota.

Susan Sherwood nee Kalsow, posing for Frank Pease.

Patty Sallwasser still lives in LaPorte and works as a mortgage officer  Upon seeing her photo, she exclaimed, "That's my purple polka-dot dress, that's me!  My mom cut my hair; she made the dress.  I remember that I chose the fabric.

Garry Lenard lives and works in LaPorte as a dental supply salesman.  His signature buzzcut earned him the nickname "Burrhead," which he still answers to around town.  "I've always had short hair.  Maybe in college [it was longer].  I think all of us went through a phase with the Beatles.  That was the big thing.  And now if you look at the Beatles, they never even really had long hair."  He is now married with three kids.

James Gaddy wrote a great review of LaPorte, Indiana for the March/April issue of print .  Here's a nice selection:

... While Found catches people at their most vulnerable, LaPorte does the opposite, showing the subjects at their Sunday best: a uniformed sailor, a dignified elderly couple, girls in pigtails and boys in flattops, men with pocket handkerchiefs, and women with corsages. Individually, the LaPorte photos are mere examples of competent portraiture, but taken together, they recreate a yearbook from the Midwest that previously existed only in our nostalgic imaginations.

Thanks for the kind words, print!

And where are they now ... Round 2!

As we mentioned earlier, readers of LaPorte's Herald-Argus have been identifying some of the unknown faces in LaPorte, Indiana.  Well, the readers aren't done!  Readers have made a few more positive IDs from the portraits included in the LaPorte, Indiana story in the Herald-Argus on February 24th.  Among them (from Sandra Provan's new  story, today, March 6th) :

- The wedding day couple is Bob and Betty Day.

- The smiling gymnast/baton girl is Susan Heiden, who graduated from Union Mills High School in 1958.

- The child in the bow tie was David VanSchoyck, who died at age 9.  Said his brother, Dewayne, "We used to have our photos taken every year."

- The austere young woman with her hair middle-parted is Susan Sherwood nee Kalsow.

And many more.  Thank you, Herald-Argus, for giving some LaPorteans a chance to see and reconnect with these pictures!

On page 29 of the Spring issue of Venus Zine there is a great review of LaPorte, Indiana by Gretta

Cohn.  Here's a nice selection:

Gathered in theis book are compellingly familiar photographs of young and

old, the comely as well as the curious-looking.  Page through and find the self-conscious teenager, the stuff newlyweds, the proud military man.  Notice the startled stare of an infant, the bright and

hopeful eyes of a young girl,  the shaded mystery of a down-turned glance and the tenderness in the gesture of one elderly man adjusting the tie of his friend.

Keep a look-out when you're at the bookstore - the Spring issue cover has Neko Case.

And where are they now?

The LaPorte Herald-Argus has been running some great pieces on the LaPorte, Indiana book recently.  The first story, written by Colleen Mair on February 10th, was a great introduction of the book to the people of LaPorte. The feature includes seven of Pease's portraits which also appear in the book, none of which were captioned with names.  That's cool ... and it gets cooler. 

Over the next week, the emails and phone calls poured in with people contacting the Herald-Argus to identify the people in these seven portraits-- a week after the story, five of the seven portraits had been identified. 

There was Robert Charles Ewald, who went on to form the Bobby Charles Band; Dale Lehner nee Horn, who now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the Huhnke family, with parents Merle and Carol, and children Karl and Linda; the brother-sister combo of Jean and Ray Huhnke; and Austin Johnson, who now resides in Osceola, Indiana. 

We're really hoping that people will reconnect with some long-lost friends and family, it's like a family reunion or something... GOOD TIMES.

 

Where To Get LaPorte, Indiana!

You've explored the site, you've read press, you've checked "Where Are They Now?"  But where are the actual photos themselves?  Where can you can you get a copy of LaPorte, Indiana for yourself?  All over the place.

The easiest way to get a copy is through amazon.  We'd be thrilled if you spent a second to leave a review, too.  Plus, Jason will buy you a beer next time he sees you at your favorite bar.

You can also head out in person to Borders, Barnes & Noble, or your favorite indie bookstore, and even B+J's American Cafe.  We're working to complile a big list of stores, we should hope to have it up shortly...

Jason Bitner

Jason Bitner is the co-creator of FOUND Magazine, a show-and-tell project of lost and tossed items.  He has been profiled in The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Chicago Tribune, and reviewed in The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and Playboy.  Bitner is also a musician whose work been showcased on NPR’s This American Life.  He grew up in Illinois, and now splits his time between Chicago and New York.

contact: info@laportebook.com

(photo by Zach Klein) 

From Alex Kotlowitz's forward to LaPorte, Indiana:

Jason Bitner has made it a habit of picking up after us, walking down the back alleys of our lives, and accumulating all that we've thrown away or mislaid. And do we ever leave a littered trail. Thankfully, Bitner keeps us from sweeping away our pasts. One afternoon not long ago, over lunch at a small Midwestern diner, Bitner stumbled onto a forgotten archive. Not the kind you'd find at your local university library. It wasn't one that recorded the goings and comings of the rich and powerful, but rather one that caught the quotidian, the everyday motions of those whom Studs Terkel calls "the et ceteras" of the world. . .

What Jason Bitner has assembled here is nothing short of astonishing. And it's unsettling to think that had he not gone to this diner and lingered over his cinnamon rolls, these photographs, these stories might have been discarded or simply lost. Bitner is the equivalent of a nearsighted archeologist. He looks for clues to our lives. Only his time is not measured by eons, but rather in years and decades. And what he finds are hints, to what has transpired and what is about to unfold.