Halloween Has Always Brought Out the Wickedly in Whiting

Halloween Has Always Brought Out The Wickedly in Whiting

According to The Times, a crowd of 25,000 to 30,000 people were expected to attend Wickedly Whiting. Thanks to the cool but sunny autumn weather, that estimate was probably pretty accurate.

Halloween has been enjoyed by generations of Whiting-Robertsdale residents, and maybe not enjoyed by those who have been on the “trick” end of trick-or-treat fun. “I must say,” said Jim Buckley reminiscing back in 1990 about his own childhood, “the boys of the late 1920s and early 30s were far more reckless, and downright devils, compared to us in the late 30s and early 40s.”

Maybe the boys of the 1920s and early 30s, learned something from the boys of the 1900s and 1910s. “Halloween pranks was the cause of a large window being broken at the home of Mr. & Mrs. R. Kleiber, on 119th Street,” the Lake County Times reported in 1910.

In the mid-1900s, Whiting police increased their manpower to deal with Halloween fun that went too far. “About ten extra policemen in addition to the usual force were on special watch to guard against damage by the Halloween merrymakers,” the paper reported in 1906.

That year, the damage included gates that were detached by pranksters and “mysteriously carried away.” The biggest incident that year was another window being broken, this time at Recht’s Department store in downtown Whiting. “The excitement was great,” the paper said, “when an employee of Recht’s store chased several small children who happened to be in the vicinity.”

In 1909, the newspaper reported that Halloween went more quietly in Whiting “than it ever has been.” But then it said that “door mats and gates were stolen by the wholesale, and beans and flour were thrown around in profusion,” often at the windows of homes. The street car service was also impeded when someone put soap on the rails. “It was up to the motorman to get off the car and throw sand on the rails to cover up the soap.” If that was a quieter than usual Halloween, it kind of makes you wonder what those earlier years were like.

"Rudy": Filmed in Whiting 25 Years Ago

“Rudy”: Filmed in Whiting 25 Years Ago

Whiting can’t quite claim it’s the “Hollywood of the Calumet Region,” but in the 1980s there were two motion pictures partially filmed in Whiting. And in 1993, Whiting was one of the locations where they filmed “Rudy,” considered by many to be among the top sports movies of all time. October is the 25th anniversary of the film’s release. In honor of that anniversary, there are special showings of “Rudy” at theaters across the country. If you go, here’s what to look for if you want to spot Whiting’s appearance in the film.

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This area of Whiting was just south of the houses on Standard Avenue. It was used in the film “Rudy” in a scene where Rudy and friends are playing football. Both the tracks and many of the houses on Standard Avenue are gone. Today the area of the tracks is a parking lot just to the east of Oil City Stadium. For more images of Whiting locations used in “Rudy,” go to itsfilmedthere.com.

“Rudy” is based on the life of Rudy Ruettiger, a young man who was told he was too small to play college football. But he overcame the odds and obstacles and fulfilled a dream of playing for Notre Dame. The real-life Rudy was born and raised in Joliet. Whiting was used as a film location because it had “the look and feel” of Joliet in the 1950s, the years when Ruettiger grew up there. Don’t watch the movie thinking you’ll hear Whiting mentioned. Whiting was just a stand-in for Joliet.

Filming in Whiting took place in December of 1992. Sunbeam Productions, which handled the logistics of the production, planned to bring in snow making machines because the scenes here needed to look like Christmas time. Nature, however, provided its own snow and gave the production team what it needed.

The filming was done at the eastern end of 119th Street, between Front Street and Schrage Avenue, as well as in the area of Standard Avenue. Many of the Whiting landmarks which appeared in the film are now gone, including the railroad tracks that ran to the south of Standard Avenue. It is now a parking area just to the east of Oil City Stadium. In the film, that’s the area where the boys are playing football during Rudy’s life in Joliet.      

Two other Whiting locations in the film are also gone. Game Time bar, which was located on 119th Street at Standard Avenue in 1992, was used as a bar which was frequented by Rudy’s family and coworkers. A house at 1718 119th Street was used as the Ruettiger family home.

 “Rudy” was written by Angelo Pizzo, who wrote “Hoosiers,” the classic Indiana basketball movie. Whiting had a bigger role in the film “Four Friends,” which was written by Steve Tesich. Tesich, who grew up in East Chicago, also wrote “Breaking Away,” the classic Indiana-based bike racing movie. “Four Friends” was released in 1981. Six years later, in 1987, “Light of Day” was partially shot in Whiting, bringing star Michael J. Fox to the city. But “Rudy” was easily the biggest box office hit of all the movies filmed in Whiting, and it’s sure to bring in more during its 25th anniversary showing.    

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