March 19
In 1958, the Hancock County 4-H Junior Leaders decided to sponsor a “county queen” at the Hancock County 4-H Fair; the first local fair queen contest took place at that year’s fair.
In 2016, New Palestine High School graduate Patrick Feeney helped Team USA capture the gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay during the IAAF World Indoor Championships. He ran in one of the relay heats, helping the USA to the fastest heat time. Teammates finished the work in the finals the next day. Feeney competed at the Olympic trials that year; after not qualifying for the games in Rio, he retired to focus on medical school.
March 20
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In 1943, Greenfield Mayor L.W. Eikenberry said he had found someone with a small tractor to break up ground for Victory Gardens for a nominal charge. Those without the means of having their garden plowed were encouraged to fill out a form in the Daily Reporter and return it to the mayor’s office. It was part of an effort “toward the planting of every available lot.”
In 1995, Mt. Vernon School Board approved the idea of a foundation that would offer mini-grants to teachers for special projects and speakers.
March 21
In 1968, Cpl. Michael L. Ebert of Greenfield was killed in action at Thua Thien, Vietnam.
In 1978, Greenfield City Cab Co. closed. It had received word from the Federal Communications Commission that its transmitter for radio communications between cabs and headquarters was registered to the company’s former owner, so it had to stop radio communication or pay a $10,000 fine.
March 22
In 1978, Hancock County Council voted to establish a countywide Economic Development Council.
March 23
In 1999, Hancock County Area Planning Commission deadlocked 5-5 over the proposed 470-home Stansbury development in the McCordsville area.
March 24
In 1913, parts of Greenfield were flooded after about two days of steady rain. A bridge over Potts Ditch near Fourth Street and a bridge over Brandywine Creek south of the city were swept away. Several downtown businesses, including a hotel, had flooded basements; so did a church. Martha Duncan, a widow, left her home on Fourth Street near the ditch at about 1 a.m. to stay with friends, having moved furniture and other belongings — except the piano — to prevent their being damaged.
In 1988, a group of students from Weston Elementary School, the Weston Community Problem Solvers, approached Greenfield City Council about changing the city building code to allow planting seedlings within 10 feet from the sidewalk. Students had sold doughnuts at school to buy 150 seedlings to plant around Greenfield in the yards of interested homeowners. Their tree-planting efforts led to the formation of Regreening Greenfield.
March 25
In 1943, Wilkinson native Col. Harvey Weir Cook died in the South Pacific during air combat in World War II. He was 50. Cook shot down seven German pilots in World War I. The Indianapolis airport bore his name from 1944 to 1976; when Indianapolis International Airport’s new terminal opened Nov. 11, 2008, it was named the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal.
In 2008, Chelsea Clinton visited Arbor Café and Tea Room in Cumberland to campaign for her mother, Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
