Nov. 12
In 1979, Mt. Vernon School Board voted to close and raze the Fortville Elementary School building in downtown Fortville when Mt. Vernon Elementary School opened. Years later, the Fortville Elementary name was given to a school building on County Road 200 West, north of Mt. Vernon High School.
Nov. 13
In 1973, a bridge over Little Sugar Creek at County Road 400N collapsed into the creek when a cement truck crossed it.
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Nov. 14
In 1902, George and Fannie Andis’ only child, a son, was born and died. Believing her son might have survived if there had been a hospital near, Fannie Andis later advocated for and donated toward one; Hancock County Memorial Hospital was established in 1951.
In 1908, the cornerstone for the Carnegie library on North Street in Greenfield was laid during a snow storm with “brief but impressive” ceremonies. Among the items placed in a box inside was a copy of the Daily Reporter.
In 1973, Irving Materials Inc. purchased in an auction the hand-crafted black walnut desk where James Whitcomb Riley wrote many of his poems. It was taken to the Riley Home on Main Street.
Nov. 15
In 1884, Charles Lee O’Donnell was born in Greenfield. He would grow up to become a Catholic priest; in 1928, he became the eleventh president of the University of Notre Dame. In 1947, Greenfield Kiwanis Club paid tribute to O’Donnell with a bronze plaque in Riley Park.
Nov. 16
In 1973, Greenfield-Central High School’s football team won the Class AA state championship, defeating Blackford 21-12.
In 1975, the original Doe Creek Middle School was dedicated at 2279 S. County Road 600W in New Palestine.
Nov. 17
In 1984, hunters found a body later discovered to be 11-year-old Margaret “Peggy Sue” Altes. In 1986, 29-year-old Jerry Watkins was convicted on two counts of murder in the sexual assault and stabbing death of the girl, his sister-in-law. Watkins was released in 2001 after DNA tests cleared him but implicated Joseph McCormick.
Nov. 18
In 1909, an unidentified man was buried in Park Cemetery. The body, estimated to be of a man around 70 years of age, was discovered in a field near Cumberland by a farmer gathering corn when his horses apparently saw it first and were startled.
