Thread: The changing face of the heartland

Just five years ago, Charles and Kathryn Winwood, ages 64 and 66, greeted their south side community's first Hispanic family. The couple described them as lovely, upwardly mobile, with two beautiful young daughters and an immaculate lawn.


These days, Hispanic-owned businesses line SW 44 and SW 29 as well as Western and Walker avenues, diversifying this once homogenous community.

The couple's neighbors are now an even mix of white retirees and immigrant families — primarily Hispanic and Vietnamese.

"There has been a lot of Mexican restaurants opening up, and now there's this big Mexican grocery store in the old Homeland building,â€

Bile as usual: "give up, you are doomed and celebrate your demise because they are all wonderful friendly people who are going to assimilate".

They could put all their ramblings into this one sentence and repeat it again and again.