If You’re From Gary’s East Side, You Remember Mr. Charlie’s

Alexandria Robinson, 36, remembers the candy stores, shopping centers, and community traditions that shaped growing up on Gary’s East Side in the 1990s and early 2000s.

This account has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Before school and after school, I was at Mr. Charlie’s.

If you grew up on the East Side, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. Across from Pulaski and around the corner from both Mt. Moriah churches, Mr. Charlie’s was where everybody stopped. We’d go in for candy, chips, and snacks before school and be right back there after the final bell.

When I think about growing up on the East Side, I think about Mr. Charlie’s.

When people talk about Gary, they often talk about what the city lost. What I remember are the places, like Mr. Charlie’s, and people that made it feel like home.

I was born and raised on Virginia Street on the East Side. My mother worked, my grandmother helped raise me, and my uncles were more like brothers. Community wasn’t something people talked about. It was simply how life worked.

For my family, community often happened around food.

My grandmother loved to cook, barbecue, and bake, and our house became the gathering place for holidays and Sunday dinners. Family members knew they could stop by, share a meal, and spend time together. Looking back, those gatherings taught me what community really meant. People showed up for one another. Families stayed connected. Nobody had to wonder whether they belonged.

The Village Shopping Center was another place that brought people together.

For a lot of us, there was no reason to leave Gary. The Village was Gary’s bona fide mall. We got our nails done there, bought jewelry there, picked out school clothes there, and ordered custom-name belts there. You could spend an entire Saturday at the Village shopping, eating, and running into people you knew.

Looking back, it was more than a shopping center. It was one of the places where community happened.

Some of my favorite memories came during the early 2000s.

There were school sock hops, afternoons at Skate World, and concerts at the Genesis Center, back when downtown Gary still had an active convention center that regularly attracted major entertainers. I still remember getting dressed up to see Bow Wow perform there. At the time, Bow Wow was one of the biggest young artists in the country, and for kids from Gary, it felt like the center of the entertainment world had come to us.

Before the concert, my friends and I did what so many teenage girls did during that era: We got our nails done, picked out outfits, and showed up wearing basketball jersey dresses.

But in Gary, nothing compared to the Fourth of July festival.

For three days, it felt like the entire city came together. Families arrived with lawn chairs, coolers, tents, and barbecue grills and stayed all day. Vendors lined the grounds, national recording artists performed, and thousands of people gathered to celebrate. It felt like a family reunion for the city.

When I look back on my childhood, what stands out most is that Gary felt complete.

We had places to gather. We had places to shop. We had places to celebrate. We had people who cared about one another. Whether it was Mr. Charlie’s store, the Village, the Genesis Center, or the Fourth of July festival, there was always somewhere to go and somebody you knew when you got there.

Over the years, I’ve watched Gary change. Schools and businesses disappeared. But I also see people continuing to invest in the city.

What gives me hope is seeing people mentor young people, open businesses, and create opportunities for others. Change takes time, but I believe Gary is finding its footing again.

If there’s one thing I hope future generations understand, it’s that Gary’s greatest asset has always been its people.

The history of this city isn’t just found in buildings or landmarks. It’s found in the families, neighborhoods, businesses, and traditions that built it. The people are what make Gary special.

If my grandchildren read this years from now, I would say to always be an impact to individuals and the community that’s around you because you are grooming people and things just off of who you are. And influence comes from leadership. And if you’re a good leader, you’re able to influence anyone you communicate with. That’s what I would want my grandchildren to know.