About PoCo Stories

PoCo Stories is a PoCo Muse podcast that explores the people, places, and moments that have shaped Porter County. Drawing on newspapers, photographs, public records, firsthand accounts, and other historical sources, each episode goes beyond the familiar version of a story to uncover the people and circumstances behind it—and to connect Porter County’s past with the places and communities we know today.

Whether you listen at home, on the road, or while exploring Porter County, PoCo Stories invites you to discover the history all around us.

October 1926 (A County Looking Ahead)

In this episode of PoCo Stories, we look back at October 1926, when new buildings, paved streets, and a campaign for a county-run hospital promised changes across Porter County. Drawing from local newspaper accounts, we explore university celebrations, election preparations, the determination to carry on after a rain-soaked fair, and Chicago crime’s connections to local headlines. Along the way, smaller stories—including a familiar downtown dog named Jack—bring everyday life a century ago into view.