I had the opportunity to go to the Veterans Day luncheon sponsored by the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Hancock County Public Library. It was a very appropriate event.
One project that is being worked on is the restoration of 14 panels of pictures that were in the basement of the Hancock County Memorial Building for many years. There is now a real effort to conserve the photos and restore them, plus add some new ones. This effort is being led by Jim McWhinney, Dave and Denise Goodrich and Greg Roland. There are nearly 1,000 photos and mostly of World War II. Go to hancockcountyheroes.org for more information. Thank these people for their efforts.
By the way, do you know how the photos got place in the Memorial Building in the first place? Who was the organizing force? Let me know!
Greenfield recently inducted a few people into the Greenfield-Central Alumni Hall of Fame. Walter Worland was one of those, and he is 92 years young. He did not graduate, but in 2004 he received an honorary high school diploma. He left high school to join the Army Air Corps after Dec. 7, 1941. When he returned from the service he went to work for the Greenfield Daily Reporter and worked as a printer.
He later owned a local newspaper and also was the editor. In 1988 he retired as the editor of Freemason Magazine in Franklin. Worland was very active in civic affairs and Democrat politics. He served on the Greenfield City Council for 12 years.
Speaking of veterans. There are two Revolutionary War veterans buried in Hancock County: William Hatton and Mosby Childers. Childers is buried someplace in Brown Township, but no one can identify the site. Hatton is buried in the Bicentennial Park on South State Street.
A Mexican American Veterans Association was established in Hancock County in 1897. The Mexican-American War was from 1846 to 1848. The last encampment ended in 1907. The last Mexican-American War veteran died in 1911. His name was Jeremiah Herndon. There were five veterans. The next great conflict was the Civil War, and 142 Hancock County boys died in this action.
Enough. I have told you everything that I know and some things I don’t. Talk to me.
