Hammond residents have a perfect opportunity to honor a local treasure by naming the new Dowling Park Community Center after homegrown humorist Jean Shepherd. Shepherd is best known for his family classic film "A Christmas Story," the tale of Little Ralphie's irrepressible and hilarious quest to secure a "Red Ryder range model air rifle." Shepherd wrote, directed and narrated the film. But he was more than a filmmaker. He was a best-seller author, raconteur, storyteller extraordinaire and, most of all, a talk radio pioneer. In many ways, Shepherd and his fictional "Hohman, Indiana" were the Garrison Keillor and Lake Wobegon of his generation. At his request, Shepherd's listeners often placed their radio on the windowsill and turned it up so everyone in the neighborhood could "participate" in the broadcast. Shepherd was a native of Hammond's Hessville neighborhood and was a proud graduate of Warren Harding Elementary School and Hammond High School. His old haunts included Dowling Park. Naming Dowling's new community center for Shepherd would be an overdue tribute to this pop icon. In addition to naming the center for Shepherd, I would like to dedicate space in the center for a small archives to house copies of Shepherd's books, films, speeches and radio programs. Rick Bryant Commissioner, Hammond Park Department