Category Archives: Writing Inspiration

Is Historical Tourism in Northwest Indiana Possible?

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Michelle McGill-Vargas

In researching my work-in-progress– an historical tale about Prohibition in Gary, Indiana– I came across the Rum Runners Tour in Windsor, Ontario. The tour probed the area’s connection to the Prohibition Era in the United States. On the tour, we drove … Continue reading →

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St. John’s Lutheran Church: Gary, Indiana’s Oldest Congregation

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Michelle McGill-Vargas

Thoughts of Gary, Indiana often include ones of the steel mill, the Jackson 5 and hope that the city can bring back the glory days current and former citizens remember. But there is one bit of history that stands out among the usual images … Continue reading →

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Digging Through History: Gary, Indiana’s Tolleston Cemetery

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Michelle McGill-Vargas

At about 17th Avenue and Grant Street in the Tolleston neighborhood of Gary, Indiana lies a forgotten cemetery. Numerous trees and flowering shrubs obscure the few remaining headstones inscribed in German, English and an occasional Cyrillic script. This is Waldheim Cemetery, sometimes called Tolleston Cemetery after … Continue reading →

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Northwest Indiana and the War on the Little Calumet River

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Michelle McGill-Vargas

Image from “The 20-year War Along the Little Calumet”, The Gary Post-Tribune, November 13, 1955 In my previous post, I stated that Gary, Indiana was my inspiration for some of my written works. My unpublished manuscript, Striving After Wind, tells the … Continue reading →

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Gary, Indiana: My Writing Inspiration

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Michelle McGill-Vargas

Since its inception, this blog has been about how I write and my efforts to get published. I’ve had some success. Though I’ve published short stories, a published novel is my ultimate goal. This time I want to discuss the inspiration behind my … Continue reading →

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