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Region Rats Unite … Or Do We?
October 16, 2024
You can take the ‘Rat’ out of the ‘Region,’ but you can’t take the ‘Region’ out of the ‘Rat.’ I was in college before I really learned what it meant to be a ‘Region Rat,’ despite having lived there my entire life. As one of my colleagues pointed out, though, the ‘Rat’ moniker supposedly stems from the large rats found near the industrial parts in the most northern part of Lake County, such as Standard Oil shown above or the better-known steel mills to which many have a connection. Not everyone feels all warm and fuzzy to be referred to as a ‘Rat’ when they leave the area.
When I moved away to graduate school, however, I took local pride with me, and it lives on to this day over 20 years later. I recently started thinking about conversations I’ve had with others who identify as from ‘The Region.’ There are a wide variety of opinions about what it all means to each of us. So, I queried four additional staffers at the Indiana Historical Society who share the same self-identification as from ‘The Region’ or being a ‘Region Rat.’ This is what I learned.
In each chart that follows, the staffers queried have been given a color. Their responses will be shared using that color, except in the case of the family pie chart which is randomly colored based solely on percentage. The staff names have been negated to allow each person to retain their ‘Region’ cred despite what their responses may be at this point in their lives.
Each person was asked what their definition of ‘The Region’ and whether that coincided with what they thought of as Northwest Indiana. The star indicates each staffer’s Region definition with the outline noting their identification of Northwest Indiana. For staffers number 2 and 5, they retained the same definition for both.
Staffers were additionally, though not noted on the chart, asked an important question: “Do you tell people you are from Chicago?” In response to this question, 2 out of 5 respondents would say they were from Chicago, while the other three would use some qualifier that indicated it was near the big city. Hilariously, one staffer noted, “I lovingly refer to the Region as ‘The New Jersey of the Midwest’ … due to our proximity to the city, regional identity, and the fact that so many people … commute into the city for work.”
Most staffers indicated a local connection for a good portion of their lives, ranging from age 18 to age 23. It was common for them to move for college or shortly thereafter. Given their longevity in ‘The Region’ there are definite things that our staffers miss, most notably the food, but other aspects of the area as well. These were organically gathered with no specific guidance provided on what could be included.
The last two questions asked had to do with frequency of visits and whether the staffer still had family in the area. As noted in the following pie chart, 4 out of 5 staffers still visit regularly to spend time with family, while 1 staffer’s family has scattered. I tend to be there more often in the Fall/Winter to celebrate holidays. Having a big family, there are often other reasons to pop up there for a day or two throughout the rest of the year as well.
Clearly, not all ‘Region Rats’ agree, but one thing remains the same, we all fiercely cling to our connection to ‘The Region’ where our time zone is Central, our news is from Chicago, and you can’t throw a stone without hitting an amazing, family-owned, restaurant.
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