Miller Beach's main strip, Lake Street, stayed fairly quiet on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Gary, Indiana. (Shannon McCloskey/Ball State University)

Life by Lakeshore

A photo column covering Miller Beach, the neighborhood that is the first stop on the trail of the recently-named national park, the Indiana Dunes.

 

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Miller Beach’s main strip, Lake Street, stayed fairly quiet on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Gary, Indiana. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Miller Beach, resting on the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan, is a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana that acts as its own unincorporated city. The community of 98 years prides itself on its art, dining, and entertainment. Since the Indiana Dunes and the Indiana National Lakeshore was recently named a national park, Miller has become the first stop on the trail. Miller is what embodies what it’s like to have a “life by lakeshore”.

 

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St. Mary of the Lake Roman Catholic Church lies empty and locked on Wednesday afternoon, March 4, 2020, in Gary, Indiana. Mass opens again on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church first opened in 1929. Four years ago, the church faced closing, until Bishop Melczek began practicing. He has since helped eliminate debt and spike attendance. St. Mary’s is on Miller Avenue in Gary, Indiana, and holds mass for the Miller community every morning as early as 7 a.m.

 

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Joyce Davis, owner of Lake Street Gallery in Gary, Indiana, has been a resident of the Miller Beach neighborhood for 40 years. She was open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Joyce Davis has owned her Lake Street gallery for 27 years as of March 2020. Working on the lake, she recapped her childhood and always having the water as part of it, making Miller an ideal location. “When I moved here to be with my ex-husband, I tried to leave, and I just couldn’t. As a child, I lived near the lake in Chicago. Being by the water is addicting,” Davis said.

 

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Vibrations, the local juice and wellness spot in the Miller Beach neighborhood, remains open on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 in Gary, Indiana. The new patio that was added last summer was bare due to cold weather. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Vibrations is a local well-being space that offers all-natural food, juices, and smoothies, as well as gifts and earthly items. Kyle Davis, son of the owner, cuts the never-frozen fruit and vegetables himself, fresh, before squeezing or blending them without ice or added flavorings. Vibrations offers a new patio for the summer months and yoga classes on their upper level.

 

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Kyle Davis, co-owner of Vibrations in Miller Beach, stopped the smoothie-making process and stands by his product on March 4, 2020 in Gary, Indiana. Davis’ mother has owned the shop in that space for 4 to 5 years. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Kyle Davis, co-owner of Vibrations in Miller Beach, continues the work of his grandfather with his mother. The two of them “carry on the tradition” of always-fresh food and beverages along with gifts and items that all seem good for the soul. “First, it was really slow. We upgraded to more food, and business has picked up. We see more people because of the national park and the bikers,” Davis said.

 

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Jewelry and other novelty gifts fill the two store locations of Indie Indie Bang! Bang! in Gary, Indiana and Valparaiso, Indiana. The Gary location resides in the Miller Beach neighborhood along Lake Street on March 4, 2020. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Indie Indie Bang! Bang! is a multi-store business with locations in both Miller Beach in Gary, as well as Valparaiso, Indiana. “It’s a lot of pretty things that make people happy. When you give someone a gift, it’s a nice gesture,” owner Dan Trutter said.

 

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Indie Indie Bang! Bang!, a local gift shop in the Miller Beach neighborhood, has product well-lit while representing their community on March 4, 2020. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Dan Trutter, owner of Indie Indie Bang! Bang!, has had the store in Miller in the space it’s in for 6 years. He himself is a resident of Miller, and explained how being so close to Chicago, places like Miller make for a day trip some people are after. Trutter also attributed some of the success of his shop to Miller being the first stop on the trail for the national park.

 

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Steve Rossi, a park ranger for the Gary location of the Indiana Dunes, locks up the nature center for the night on March 4, 2020. Rossi has been a “region rat” all of his life, and found his passion in Miller’s beauty. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Steve Rossi, park ranger for the Indiana National Lakeshore, was an electrical engineer for 12 years before finding his happy place in the Indiana Dunes. With the area recently being named a National Park, Rossi has seen an “uptick of 20%” when it comes to visitors and national attention. Rossi’s favorite part of his job is interacting with the children that are eager to learn about the resource-rich area. “There’s a lightbulb. When you say something to a kid, you’ve just changed that kid’s life,” Rossi said.