Water Taste & Properties
Spring water has been used for therapeutic purposes for thousands of years. A spring contains traces of the substances it passes through, which can have a positive or negative effect on its quality, taste, and safety. Scientifically, water purity is a complicated concept. Water is never just H20 — it contains minerals, nutrients, and contaminants, some which can be seen, most which are invisible. The concept of taste is subjective and depends on things such as appearance, smell, or childhood experiences with taste.
To learn more about individual's opinions on the properties and taste of the Chase Street spring water, listen to these clips:
Betty Earlene Jordan: "I was discussing that well with some people today"
Betty Earlene Jordan, who grew up in the community of Black Oak in Lake County, Indiana, talks about how, at a physical therapy appointment earlier that day, she spoke with two people who had very different opinions about the taste of the Chase Street spring water.
Found at 04:09 in the interview transcript | Listen to the complete interview
Geraldine Brooks: "It was so smooth and good"
Geraldine Brooks compares the water from the well at her childhood home to the Chase Street spring. "It was so smooth and good," she says. When visiting the spring, she was reminded of the "healing spring" featured in The Song of Bernadette, a film that she watched as a child every Easter.
Found at 02:53 in the interview transcript | Listen to the complete interview
Alma Wilkes: "So I started drinking the water and my ankle stopped swelling"
Alma Wilkes, retired Gary School System teacher and nutritionist, discusses the healing properties of the sulfur in the Chase Street spring water. She drinks the spring water to alleviate water retention. She says, "I started drinking the water and my ankle stopped swelling."
Found at 04:16 in the interview transcript | Listen to the complete interview
Alma Wilkes: "Watercress in January"
Alma Wilkes, retired Gary School System teacher and nutritionist, discusses the vegetation around the Chase Street Spring. She notes that watercress grows around the well, and that it is still thriving in January. She says, "I think that's a treasure...Watercress is really, really healthy."
Found at 22:48 in the interview transcript | Listen to the complete interview
Andrea Ledbetter: "It's got a lot of minerals in it"
Andrea Ledbetter, a historic conservationist and co-founder of the Decay Devils, discusses the mineral content of the Chase Street spring water. "If you're a person who likes to have their bright pearly whites, you know you have to be a little careful with drinking a lot of it." She uses a filter to remove some of the minerals before drinking the water.
Found at 49:26 in the interview transcript | Listen to the complete interview
Tyrell Anderson: "I'm gonna take you to the best water in Gary!"
Tyrell Anderson shares a memory of when his father took him to the spring for the first time, telling him "I'm gonna take you to the best water in Gary!” His father loved the taste of the spring water, but Anderson thought it had an "earthy" taste, explaining "If water could taste healthy, that's what it would taste like."
Found at 02:10 in the interview transcript | Listen to the complete interview
