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Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gary's ‘Magic Water' Well Invites Community to the Outdoors
Nestled at an unassuming corner in Gary, sandwiched between construction trucks and railroad tracks, lies a 'nonstop gift of nature' near the end of Chase Street: a free water well. For decades, Gary's artesian well has brought people from near and far to collect from its cool, bubbling spout, rumored to have medicinal properties. The crystal clear water is regularly tested by the Calumet River Basin Authority, and is safe to drink. Over the years it has become Gary's little-known hot spot for locals to access free, clean, water. As a bonus, some residents believe it also has an extra kick of vitamins and minerals that can help with their ailments. While it hasn't been officially linked to any particular health benefits, locals have used the well for its vitamins for years. The water 'flows from the ground as a nonstop gift of nature to Indiana residents,' said Kimmie Gordon, founder of Brown Faces Green Spaces, an environmental equity and advocacy organization in Gary. On Saturday, Gordon invited community members to the natural spring to tell stories of its legend and foster community over their shared love of the great outdoors. 'As a child, you would hear many refer to it as 'the magic water,'' Gordon said, referring to the local mysticism that has surrounded the well, and its health benefits. 'It's attracted visitors near and far.' Gary resident Augustine Lewis is one of them. 'I like the natural spring,' the 70-year-old resident said. 'It's chock-full of minerals and has certain things we don't get from our regular water at home, and some of the things you can't buy at the drug stores.' Lewis said he's visited the well every few weeks for two years and has noticed improvements in his joints and overall health. Lewis is far from alone. As one of a dozen left in Indiana and Northwest Indiana's only active artesian well, the spring has brought people from near and far to collect from its cool, bubbling spout for years. As part of her health-conscious diet, Vanessa Egger traveled upward of 40 minutes from Chicago to collect and drink the well water. Meanwhile, Alma Wilkes, a member of the Gary Food Council, filled up 6 gallons. 'It's not chlorinated, so it helps me cook with my ingredients,' Wilkes said while foraging peppery, fresh watercress leaves. Once only a freestanding pipe sticking out of the ground, the well has become a site for community action and cleanup. Now, it has been revitalized into a designated area called Spring Park, with a shaded awning, off-street parking area, and seating that allows residents to safely drive and collect water as they please from the free-flowing retaining wall built by the city in 2022. Looking ahead, the well is part of an emerging 800-acre restoration project by the Wetlands Initiative — a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to restoring and protecting wetlands — and its project partners, according to Gary Lee, a Wetlands Initiative Community Advisory Board member. Under the shaded hood of Spring Park awning, Gordon passes out cups full of well-water lemonade in addition to fruits, and plates of steaming hot patties from the grill. 'In an era when bottled water makes billions, this water is a gift from the Earth,' Gordon said. 'It's an open-access artesian well that is chock-full of minerals that is considered to be an endangered artifact.' The post Gary's 'Magic Water' Well Invites Community to the Outdoors appeared first on Capital B Gary.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Planet Palooza in Gary Blends Culture, Nature, and Environmental Justice
On the sandy shores of the Indiana National Dunes, a dozen environmental organizations gathered on Saturday to celebrate — and protect — their planet. Kimmie Gordon, founder of Brown Faces Green Spaces, an environmental equity organization, said the event started six years ago with just a few vendors and attendees. Today, Planet Palooza, as it is called, draws over 80 participants and a dozen vendors, helping to build community, raise awareness, and bring more diversity into Northwest Indiana's environmental space. Gordon said this year's theme, 'Boots on the Ground,' symbolized the need for persistent action in environmental conservation despite the federal dissolution of related issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, rollbacks of environmental justice protections, layoffs of national park staff, and funding challenges caused by federal cuts, prompting a call for continued support. Gary's industrial legacy in steel production and air pollution has driven local environmental activism and conservation efforts for years, with ongoing pollutant projects in the region underlining the need for more protection of its wetlands, parks, and natural resources. As Indiana experiences rollbacks in environmental justice protections, Black cities like Gary, one of the most air-polluted cities in the country and overburdened with hazardous waste and pollutants, are particularly vulnerable to its harmful effects. But miles down the road from the steel and smoke of Gary Works, on the sunny shores of Indiana Dunes National Park, environmental events like Planet Palooza bring awareness and calls to action for more protections in Steel City. 'The boots on the ground theme is inspired by the reclamation of diversity in the environmental space,' Gordon said. 'There's no way in the world that DEI cannot exist, because it's all around us. And you can see that here,' she said, pointing to the diversity of attendees, many of whom were Black, white, or Latino. 'That's what I wanted to show, is that you can't take it away, so don't even imagine it. DEI: Don't Even Imagine — a world without it.' She said it feels good to host the event in Gary on the shores of the Indiana National Dunes, one of the gems of Northwest Indiana's environmental offerings, and Lake Michigan to see how the community comes together for a common cause. This year's vendors and tables included Save Briar East Woods from Hammond; Just Transition Northwest Indiana, based in East Chicago; and Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, alongside Northern Lake County Environmental Partnership, The Field Museum in Chicago, and Save the Dunes. East Chicago native Devon Norfleet, 23, said he attended Saturday's event out of his 'genuine love' for nature and participated in the morning's beach shore cleanup. After the group picked up about 10 pounds of trash, he said the need for more events like Planet Palooza was more apparent than ever. 'I've been to a few events here and there, but they're not as widespread as they probably should be, especially considering the pollution in our specific area,' he said, adding that operators such as East Chicago's BP oil refinery spurred his conservation efforts. 'It definitely needs to be a bigger program. But I am glad that we are having this.' Standing at a table filled of fox, coyote, and otter fur, Kip Walton, the outreach program coordinator at the Indiana Dunes National Park, said that he attended Planet Palooza as a vendor as well to help bring awareness to the richness of diversity of the region's local and national parks. After 33 years in the National Park Service, Walton, who grew up playing in the outdoors, said it's critical for people to remember to 'enjoy the diversity' of nature and their communities. 'I think that's really, really important for people to understand, especially nowadays, when they're starting to try to get rid of DEI and environmental justice. I think it's time for us to get together in outdoor spaces like this and just enjoy each other and enjoy the outdoors.' Looking out over the sun-glossed lake, dancing to the background of classic cookout tunes, Gordon said she is uncertain of what lies ahead. Federal funding for environmental projects and sustainability, already limited, continues to be slashed, she said, and the impacts of rolling back environmental protections that plague her hometown are daunting. Still, she said she is determined to stay present, mobilize her community, and forge on for a cleaner future. 'I think now more than ever in 2025, it's important that the community comes together, along with the organizations, on one accord and continues to mobilize, just as we have been doing in the past,' she said. 'Because these issues don't go away. They may no longer be acknowledged at the federal level for right now, but they will never go away. DEI will never go away. Environmental justice and environmental racism will never go away. And so that's why we're here, continuing to continue.' The post Planet Palooza in Gary Blends Culture, Nature, and Environmental Justice appeared first on Capital B Gary.
