Berkley Center

Lois Reiner: The night of August the 25th, 1968, was my epiphany. This woman by the name of Barbara Cotton worked in the office where Walt had his office. She said to him, "Your kids can be going home safe. They're going to good schools. Why can't my children have the same as yours?"

Well, when Walt threw that out to me, I said, "Walk the talk, Reiner, okay?" We've got to be a Christian. We've got to love the neighbor.

Kristen Lewis: And now the neighbor was asking you something.

Lois Reiner: And this was a time when there was not one Black family in Valparaiso, in Porter County.

Kristen Lewis: Was it still considered a sundown community at that time?

Lois Reiner: Yeah, you were off the street by six if you were Black.

Kristen Lewis: Otherwise, it was fair game to do whatever to you?

Lois Reiner: Yeah, yeah. And so, we threw it out to a few friends and said, "We have a friend in Chicago who would like to move her kids to Valpo. "

Kristen Lewis: What was the conversation like when you went back to Mrs. Cotton and said, "We want to help you move to our community?"

Lois Reiner: She said, "I pictured myself in a little red house in the Valley. And every realtor said we will be the first.” Well, we lived in the valley, and we had a side lot. So, we built on that side lot, a little red house.

Kristen Lewis: Just like she pictured.

Lois Reiner: Right next door to us. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.

Kristen Lewis: Was build that house?

Lois Reiner: Build the house and become neighbors to the first Black family. We had left Chicago three years before, and Walt was the winning football coach, and I was this sweet, don't-rock-the-boat wife. And now we were coming back and we were integrating Valparaiso.

Kristen Lewis: You were rocking the boat.

Lois Reiner: Yeah, we were rocking the boat big time. The warnings were not so subtle.

Kristen Lewis: What were some of the warnings from the community?

Lois Reiner: Cross burnings, cars coming down the driveway late at night with their lights off. We were the only people down in that valley, and it's pretty creepy down there at night. Barbara and I would both get calls at night. No sound, just deep breathing. That's when we started the night watch.

Kristen Lewis: What was the night watch?

Lois Reiner: They were manly VU faculty. They'd come in two-hour shifts. Two to four guys started at 8:00 at night and went till 6:00 in the morning. There was a tool shed between our two houses, and we kept the coffee pot called “the blessed urn.”

Kristen Lewis: How long did the night watch last?

Lois Reiner: About six months, until Barbara finally said, "That's enough. If I can't make it on my own, I'm not staying." She stayed and she went to school. She started college. She graduated from VU.

Kristen Lewis: How did that change your understanding of your faith or your call to be a Christian?

Lois Reiner: It pared it down to just basic decency. Just do what's right.

Kristen Lewis: It sounds like you just looked at what's in front of you and what are you called to do for this one neighbor?

Lois Reiner: Yeah.

Kristen Lewis: Thank you for this time today, Lois.

Lois Reiner: Thank you, Kristen. 

Kristen Lewis: Always a delight.