in the
fields
American Dream of the
L O G A N S P O R T,
I N D I A N A
A portrait of the modern immigrant experience at the turn of the twenty-first century
The faces of Logansport are changing. Like many other communities throughout the United States, Logansport, Indiana (pop. 19,634) has seen its Hispanic population expand rapidly in the last two decades. The 2000 census placed Logansport’s Hispanic population count at 2,476, or 12.6 percent of the city’s population, up from 101 people in 1990. In 2001, journalists Bryan Harris, Michelle Laird and Jensen Walker set out to document the effects this wave of immigration was having on the rural Indiana community. The results of their
findings were presented in a photo exhibit at the Logansport Art Association. In 2008, Melissa Laird, a visual communications design student at Purdue University, published this collection of photos from the exhibit as a project for her art and design class. The photos document a thriving culture that has had a deep impact on the community in terms of economics, education, social services and religion. The faces of Logansport are changing. Let us introduce you.
Logansport, Indiana Pop. 19,634 Logansport is the county seat of Cass County. It is located in northern Indiana, about 70 miles north of Indianapolis.
photo by JENSEN WALKER
Mi g ra n t C a mp s
This is where the story began, years ago. Hispanics
The father worked in the fields from sun-up until
originally came to Logansport to work the fields and
sun-down, sometimes riding in the planter, feeding
usually didn’t stay in Cass County after each year’s
fragile tomato plants into the machine that put each
crops were harvested.
seedling into the ground. Some days he followed the
planter, ensuring, row after row, that each plant was
Though many Hispanics now live in Logansport
permanently, working in well-paying industrial jobs, a
properly situated.
few still come and go to work the fields. But as in many
other fields, the demand for agricultural labor has been
household chores in their two-room home. The son
sharply reduced in recent years by better technology.
sometimes accompanied his mother on his bicycle
on the walk into Galveston to purchase bottled water.
At one camp just outside Galveston, a family of three
His wife and son spent their days completing the
took up residence in a shack in April, where they lived
Other times they walked to the front of the camp to do
until mid-October.
laundry or wash dishes.
photos by JENSEN WALKER
E c o n o mi c s
Iowa Beef Packers(IBP) reopened the former Wilson’s
Meanwhile, Hispanic entrepreneurs have purchased
meat packing plant in 1995. Now Tyson Fresh Meats,
buildings, opened stores and restaurants, and begun
Inc., it processes hundreds of hogs daily and is one of
catering to Hispanics by providing many of the
the community’s largest employers. Of Tyson’s 1,900
products they could find back home. Grocery store
employees in 2008, more than half were Hispanic.
shelves are stocked with exotic fruits, cheeses and
meats. Bakeries offer fresh churros and Tres Leches
Established retailers have begun catering to
Hispanics with Spanish advertising and marketing
cakes. Downtown windows are once again filled with
plans. A bilingual newspaper now serves the
lace and ruffles as dress shops display the latest
community and a local radio station offers a night
fashions for baptisms, quinceañeras and other rites
dedicated to Spanish programming.
of passage.
photo by E.M. CARLSON
Religion
As Hispanics integrated into Logansport society,
so too did they integrate into Logansport’s social institutions. Missionaries and ministers from a variety of religions came to help the new residents get on their feet spiritually, economically and socially. They preach and pray together, and also help obtain citizenship, driver’s licenses, jobs, cars and housing.
The churches also function as social centers.
The receptions and celebrations that surround religious activities like weddings, quinceañeras and baptisms usually include large meals and festivities,
photo by BRUCE PYKE
including dances. Children are actively involved in the congregations. Hundreds of families gather for celebrations like Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) and Día de Los Niños (Day of the Children).
photo by BRUCE PYKE
photo by BRUCE PYKE
photo by JENSEN WALKER
photo by JENSEN WALKER
photo by JENSEN WALKER
photo by JENSEN WALKER
V í a C ru c i s
When people see photos of the Vía Crucis, a traditional
Easter re-enactment of the crucifixion, they ask, “Were all these photos taken in Logansport?”
The Vía Crucis, or Living Way of the Cross, is an annual
Good Friday event in Latino communities around the world. At Logansport’s All Saints Catholic Church, a man portraying Jesus carries a life-size cross around the church to the 13 stations. After being tormented by the Roman soldiers and mourned by his followers, he is placed on the cross and a prayer is recited.
photo by JENSEN WALKER
C ultu re
As in any small town, festivals and events shape
the culture of the community. In Logansport, new faces are not only partaking in those events and traditions – they’re organizing them.
Weekend soccer league games at Sangralea Valley
in Cass County have been known to draw more than 500 spectators. Local venues like the Memorial Home are frequently rented for weddings and quinceañeras, the traditional celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday.
Local parks have also played host to celebrations
of holidays like Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day.
photos by JENSEN WALKER
E du cati o n
One of the key struggles that accompanied the
or no English at all. While some left school to obtain a
wave of immigrants to Logansport was the problem of
GED, many others went on to graduate. Some recent
educating students who do not speak English.
graduates of local high schools, who arrived knowing
no English, have gone on to college.
The efforts of educators to form ENL or “English as
a New Language”classes, combined with thousands
of dollars in special grant money for new teaching
24 percent of the Logansport Community School
methods, has helped to make many Hispanic students
Corporation’s total enrollment in 2007-2008 was
literate in both languages.
Hispanic, with some individual schools reporting
numbers as high as 34 percent.
Today, many Hispanic students at local schools speak
According to the Indiana Department of Education,
fluent English though their parents may speak little photos by JENSEN WALKER
T h e N e w A m e rica n
On April 18, 2002, a seventeen-year-old immigrant
gave birth to an American citizen at Logansport Memorial Hospital. By law, all children born in the United States are citizens.
In ten years, Logansport’s Hispanic population has
increased more than 1,000 percent according to the Census. Logansport Memorial Hospital reported that 27 percent of the births in 2007 were to Hispanics.
photo by JENSEN WALKER
Fu tu re
In our large and growing collection of photos of
Logansport’s new neighbors, we could not find a more symbolic image than this photograph of a young boy riding the historic Dentzel Carousel at Riverside Park.
It’s a picture that not only shows the past, but the
future, and a young child, with whom some may say they have nothing in common, doing something that local natives have enjoyed for their entire lives. photo by JENSEN WALKER
Concept and Text: Michelle Laird and Bryan Harris Photos: Jensen Walker, Bruce Pyke, and E.M. Carlson Layout and Design: Melissa Laird
Thanks to the following individuals, groups and organizations for making this project a reality: McTaggart Trust John Nixon John Marburger John Morgan Prince of Peace Baptist Church/Amistad All Saints Catholic Church Memorial Hospital Logansport Art Association Logansport High School Diversity Dynamics Purdue Printing Services Mike and Pam Laird Front and back cover photos by Jensen Walker Š 2008 Existential Media
All of the individuals who graciously allowed us to document their experiences.