<![CDATA[Historic South Wayne Neighborhood

By Michelle Bandor
& CJ Woodring

This is the first in a series of articles designed to introduce Historic South Wayne Neighborhood residents to one another. Whether you’ve lived here for decades, just a few years, or you're one of the new kids on the block, reach out, say hi and introduce yourself to your neighbor. In addition, we urge you to actively involve yourself by attending neighborhood association meetings and by keeping abreast of what’s happening in—and outside of—the ’07 area.

Hello neighbors! I'm Michelle Bandor. My husband Bob and I are both Fort Wayne natives and grew up on the city’s north side. We have two adult daughters, Natalie Varda and Allison Bandor, both South Side High School graduates. Before discovering the South Wayne neighborhood, we lived in a post-WWII prefab bungalow on Kenwood Avenue (46805). That tiny house was Bob’s “bachelor pad” before we were married; we lived there until our older daughter was 8 years old.

Bob and I started looking for a bigger house around 1984, but interest rates at that time were about 14%. In the meantime, I’d pick up Colonial Homes and Traditional Home magazines at the grocery store and imagine what life would be like in a larger home. When interest rates fell to 10%, we started looking at local market listings.

One Sunday we drove south on Broadway, looking for an open house advertised on Beaver Avenue in Southwood Park on the south side of Rudisill. We took a wrong turn, ending up driving down W. Wildwood Avenue, and were astonished at the size and beauty of the houses there. We had no idea this neighborhood existed. The brick French Colonial Revival house on W. Wildwood happened to be for sale.

We bought the house from David and Thelma Ochstein, who had lived in the house since the mid-1950s. Despite the wall-to-wall celery green carpet, heavy green drapes and wallpaper, we saw its potential. We were charmed by the breakfast nook, phone niche, the walk-up attic and all the space. Our home is one of the "younger" houses built by Wildwood Builders in 1929.

We moved into it in October 1989, immediately falling in love with the South Wayne neighborhood. As soon as our U-Haul van pulled up, neighbors—Jeannine Dunmire Phillips and Linda Lallow—came over with a plate of brownies and gave us a warm welcome. We had learned there was an active neighborhood association and became involved. Early on, a petition was being circulated to update our streetlights. At the time, W. Wildwood had the original molded cement street lights with “harvest moon” globes that cast a mellow glow to the streetscape. Our initial thought was that we didn’t want them replaced with modern lights. However, after attending association meetings and learning all the details, we were convinced to eventually sign the petition to replace the vintage street lighting as the best long-term option for the entire neighborhood.

A group of long time residents were responsible for getting our neighborhood rezoned to R-1; the association was reactivated shortly thereafter in 1988. Families most associated with this success were the Larsons, Tagtmeyers, Dawsons, DeVoes and Sinishes. In the early ‘90s, our always-active association obtained recognition on the National Register of Historic Places for the South Wayne neighborhood. That was a source of pride and a real accomplishment for us, as well as a valuable contribution to Fort Wayne.

I volunteered to serve as HSWNA board secretary for several years in the early to mid-‘90s, served as block captain for awhile, then volunteered for secretary about 2008 or ‘09. Finally, I served as association president from 2010 to 2013. Somewhere in there I served as newsletter editor too. Over the years, my family and I have been involved in neighborhood clean-ups, tree planting, car washes and cookouts to raise money for the neighborhood association, knocking on doors to solicit association memberships and driving with a partner for neighborhood crime watch.

In 2005, we had an opportunity to buy an ice-cream bicycle and Bob rode that around the PAPA neighborhoods on the weekends and evenings during the week. He got to know many people in the area who looked forward to his arrival. We were always able to undersell those annoying ice-cream trucks and his customers liked being able to save a buck on their Chaco Tacos.

I recently left my job as an Activities Assistant at The Waters of Fort Wayne (formerly Miller’s Merry Manor). I worked there for almost four years driving the van, leading exercise classes, calling bingo and leading other activities for the residents. I’m a “front yard farmer” now. After taking an Urban Ag Class at the Purdue Extension in 2019, we got rid of our lawn and now grow fruit and vegetables.

Since we’ve been here, we’ve seen many changes and improvements. The HSWNA has matured and stabilized along with the neighborhood itself. There is something about the area that charms people into either staying for generations or returning if they’ve been away for awhile. Much of that draw can be attributed to the friendliness of people who live here and their commitment to the neighborhood and city. We are truly grateful for all of the newcomers who are currently keeping the association running!

Neighborhood activism along the Broadway corridor and into the West Central neighborhood helped enable the Electric Works project to become a success. Broadway has come a long way from its days of Triple X bookstores and strip clubs. All of the neighborhoods in our area have suddenly become desirable, bringing with it a rise in home values, which can be both a blessing and curse. As a collective neighborhood, we need to guard against gentrification and pricing people out of the market.

My advice to anyone looking for a home in the ’07 is to beware of inflated prices on some of the newly renovated houses. Be sure to get a solid inspection before making an offer. Make sure you have a bit of savings for those unexpected repairs. Older houses can be a money pit! Last but not least, I would advise new homeowners to get involved in their neighborhood association.