Aug. 13
In 1956, Greenfield police released two runaway boys to Ohio authorities. The boys, ages 12 and 13, said they had been on their way to Texas. They admitted to a string of petty thefts in Cambridge City, Dublin and Lewisville. “They carried hand bags containing dozens of packages of cigarettes, candy, fountain pens, a sling-shot and a head of raw cabbage to bolster their candy diet,” according to the day’s Daily Reporter.
Aug. 14
In 2011, Chris “Lights Out” Lytle of New Palestine fought in his last Ultimate Fighting Championship bout before retiring.
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Aug. 15
In 1919, a vocational agriculture department was introduced in Greenfield schools under the direction of Purdue University. At the time it was one of about 35 departments in Indiana. With it being the only such school department in the county, any Hancock County boy could enroll there and receive credit toward graduation.
In 1932, carpenter and former Hancock County recorder Thomas L. Huey was injured when a nail keg gave way and caused him to fall. His carpenter’s pencil was in his mouth at the time of the fall and penetrated his throat, breaking into three pieces. The Fortville physician who treated him said the injury, while very painful, was unlikely to prove serious.
Aug. 16
In 1977, local stores sold out of Elvis Presley records and cassettes as fans of the singer learned of his death. “If we had had enough, they’d still be lined up to buy them,” Ron Kaczmarek, manager of the Greenfield K-Mart, said the next day. Dan Riley, a disc jockey for Greenfield radio station WSMJ-FM, said the station paid tribute: “During a 24-hour period … every other song we played was an Elvis song.”
Aug. 17
In 1977, Greenfield Parks and Recreation Board voted to hire an architectural firm to prepare a cost analysis for renovation of Riley Park Pool or construction of a new one. The decision came on the heels of the pool being closed for the 1977 season, due to a lack of funds to make necessary improvements. The latest renovation of the pool was completed in 2019.
Aug. 18
In 1942, Hancock County’s War Price and Rationing Board gave the guidelines for home canners applying for sugar to preserve produce during wartime sugar rationing. Unlike other rationing programs, it operated largely on the honor system, with users answering a series of questions, such as how much canning sugar they used the previous summer, before the United States’ entry into World War II. The application form appeared in the Daily Reporter.
Aug. 19
In 1996, Eastern Hancock Middle School opened for its first day of classes. The building was built between the district’s elementary and its high school, which newly renovated.
