In 2021, I arranged a poll in my Facebook group asking what people thought about changing Gary's name. Most answers responded negatively; changing Gary's autonym would do nothing to help.
Outside of practical difficulties, I don't think there is anything wrong with a new municipal identity as long as reason, tradition, identification, and history is respected.
A name change would be challenging to execute at first. The proper processes would have to be implemented, of course. Whereas, generally, humans don't like sudden changes in established routines.
It's my opinion that the most significant aspect of altering Gary's name is the lack of reason to do so — or a perceived lack. I am a fan of urban consolidation in northern Lake County. So in that facet, a name change would be fruitless. Yet, it is more feasible to change Gary's name than for Gary to consolidate with another town.
Now, why would I want Gary's name to change?
First, the name Gary, Indiana, comes with a well-known negative stigma globally. It is economic kryptonite. One needs not to step foot inside our city to understand its reputation. Political posturing and competition with other municipalities in Northwest Indiana is a factor, but not an exclusive one.
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A person can go anywhere, say the words "Gary, Indiana," and be hard-pressed to find another human with a kind word to convey. That's a big problem, especially with our recent attempts to woo corporations.
Why would Amazon pass us up despite our strategic location? Why is the state hesitant to invest in other economic initiatives? We are, by far, the best contender to capitalize on a logistics-based economy.
Yet, it's as if Gary is Luke Skywalker, and Indiana is Uncle Owen Lars. "You can go to the academy next year," Uncle Owen promises Luke. But next year never arrives.
Back in ancient times, city names were changed all the time. A civilization might possess a city with an entirely different culture from theirs — to the winner go the spoils. Empires changed city's names to establish their dominance. Additionally, city names transformed for more mundane reasons such as more accessible postal service or to reach unique civic selfhood.
Some say changing the name is a political gimmick.
They would be correct if that were my angle. In no way would I advocate for this to take away from problems such as bad governance. But, of course, changing Gary's name wouldn't affect things such as that.
It's my opinion, in general, that we have no real identity.
Before civic battles destroyed our socioeconomic fabric, Gary's identity included the support of unbridled capitalism, classism, racism, and altruism. The Region changed quickly, but Gary never had a chance to repair the damage done. Nor did it ever establish racial inclusion, successfully mix social classes, balance socialism, and capitalism, or bridge the gap between altruism and divisibility.
The opportunity to start fresh has passed. Instead, ruin, defeat, and hopelessness are forefront when individuals examine us.
I see my city as a blank slate. Heretofore, we are the only city in the Region with the chance to remake itself from the ground up. We should not be loyal to outsider expectations or be beholden to the past.
U.S. Steel has disengaged with Gary's growth and economic success for decades. There is no sign they are interested in reinvesting in any meaningful way. If anything, U.S. Steel is more likely to leave altogether than remain for another century.
Gary's downtown district got designed to sit faultlessly within the shadow of U.S. Steel. There's hardly a shot out there that doesn't showcase Gary City Hall against the jagged, smoky skyline of Gary Works. Judge Elbert H. Gary was a corporatist with one goal — to make lots of money for the company. There was no kindness or expansionistic patriotic-based adventurism.
The visual aspect of vintage portraits of Gary illustrated a dependent-cooperative association between industry and municipality. Unfortunately, today that same visual aspect exhibits its failure. Our ground no longer has to be obligated to respect the iconography between town and factory.
The powers that be still behave as if Gary Works is crucial and critical to the city's success. How critical can it be when we constantly chop U.S. Steel's taxes under the threat of shutdown? Steel only employs a small fraction of the employees they used to have, and most of them don't even live here. If this company's taxes got assessed reasonably fairly, Gary would be a completely different town.
Vulture corporatists built most towns in northern Lake County purely for the economic benefit of their founders. Out of that, we managed to carve out a society, narrowly able to remain intact. Yet, if one moves around Gary — they would not see people living well. The middle class is all but gone, hardly scraping by. So, from a modern-day point of view, I see little logic in remaining loyal to our namesake.
I saw someone say in my Facebook group that renaming the city would destroy its legacy. There is no way the Region can forget Gary's namesake. Erasure of history is impossible. It could, however, allow firms to establish headquarters here without worrying about the blemish Gary, Indiana's name would undoubtedly bring.
Yet, I'm just one man with an idea. It's all right if you disagree. I want to plant a seed, though the kernel might not be relevant enough to start a regional conversation yet. But one day, this is likely to be worthy of deeper discussion.
Korry Shepard is an amateur Gary historian and runs the Gary Historical Collective group on Facebook. The opinions are the writer's.
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