A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Kathy Heckman

KathyHeckman"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." - Marcus Garvey

Portage resident Kathy Heckman, a retired genealogist, is like a tree with roots - she is familiar with her past history, origin and culture, and has even traced that of other people, too. As a genealogist, she has studied families, their ancestors and their histories.

Heckman first became involved with the Portage Community Historical Society (PCHS) after her father passed years ago. Her father, a volunteer fireman, worked for an early fire department in Garyton, and became the first paid firefighter for the city with Badge #1.

"We donated his fireman's bunker clothes to the Portage Community Historical Society, and [that is when] I became interested [in becoming a volunteer there]. It was a good fit for me because I had been doing genealogy for over 20 years [already]. I began by helping research all the early settlers in what became Portage," said Heckman.

Heckman has been with the Portage Historical Society for about ten years. Each day, she has new projects to work on - each one of them keeping her busy without a dull moment. Because of all of the different things that need to be done, Heckman easily puts in 30 - 40 volunteer hours a week.

"I really enjoy helping people who have questions [about their ancestry] and I also enjoy learning some of the history and facts about Portage from others. I am grateful to the Portage Historical Society for allowing me to have a research area at the museum with family files and historical research files," Heckman said.

One of the most recent projects she was working with the producers of "Belle: The Short," a period piece about the infamous serial killer, Belle Gunness. Heckman assisted the producers, and introduced them to the Trager Farmhouse in Portage, where the filmmakers later decided to film part of the movie.

"I really enjoyed being involved with 'Belle: The Short' project. The cast and crew were all so nice and professional. They worked hard on the film, and I hope it is a successful project for the producers. I am proud that our Trager Farmhouse was used in the making of the film," Heckman said.

Before her involvement with the Portage Community Historical Society, Heckman was involved with the Northwest Indiana Genealogy Society and went around "reading" cemeteries in Portage Township and Hebron. To "read" a cemetery means to walk row by row and document everything on a gravestone and take a picture for findagrave.com, a resourceful website that helps people find grave-sites of celebrities, family members and friends. Once Heckman made this discovery, she was able to upload all of her burials online. She still "reads" cemeteries today, and Heckman and other genealogists have been working on Calvary Cemetery for the past five years.

"I've had many contacts through Find-A-Grave with people living out of state, and am grateful to see the memorial of their family members online," Heckman said.

In addition to reading cemeteries, she and the Portage Community Historical Society were also involved with getting the township cemeteries listed on the D.N.R. Historic Cemeteries sites.

The Portage Township Trustee also took the information Heckman and other genealogists from PCHS had gathered, and created a new monument to replace all the broken stones vandalized at the James/Schrock Cemetery and McCool Cemetery.

"This was a great accomplishment and tribute to our pioneer settlers," Heckman said.

In both 2000 and 2010, Heckman worked on gathering information for the U.S. Census. Since census records provide detailed information about each respondent, being a part of the census process peaked Heckman's interest.

In her past, Heckman has also been an active, long-time member of Porter County Right to Life and Nativity Respect for Life, although she now only dedicates her time solely to the historical society.

When she is not busy volunteering, she is spending precious time with her family. She has been married to her husband, Charlie, for fifty-two years. They have three daughters together: Melissa, Michelle and Margaret.

"[My] four sisters and three daughters have been a blessing in my life in different ways. Charlie and I have 10 grandchildren and are expecting our fifth great-grandchild in a few months. I thank God I am here to see my grandchildren and great-grandchild grow up," Heckman said.

Heckman and her family will leave a legacy behind them. They will leave their own imprint on this earth - their own trail for other genealogists similar to Heckman to discover someday.