Pete's newest book, "Lost East Chicago and Indiana Harbor," was recently released by The History Press. It features a mixed bag of information about the city, its notable past residents, landmarks, long gone businesses, its place in the history of the steel world and much more. "I felt it never got the attention it deserves," said Pete.
"There are so many layers to East Chicago." Author Pete, who is a staff writer for The Times, is a native of Hammond, East Chicago's neighboring town. He said he worked on the project for more than a year.
Pete has previously written the books "100 Things to Do in Gary and Northwest Indiana Before You Die" and "Lost Hammond, Indiana." He's also written "Secret Northwest Indiana: A Guide To The Weird, Wonderful and Obscure." In doing his research for the book, Pete interviewed a number of people from the Region, including former Times colleagues.
On the book's acknowledgements page he thanks the East Chicago Public Library, the Calumet Regional Archives, The Times of Northwest Indiana, the Post-Tribune, the Lake County Public Library System and more. "I was camped out at the East Chicago Public Library," Pete said, adding the research period for the book was extensive. Pete said while writing "Lost East Chicago," he was interested in how diverse the city really was as well as how people who grew up in East Chicago were so passionate about being from that area of the Region.
Many people from the Indiana Harbor section of East City, he said, had .
