George Beamer Davis was 4 years old when he pulled the cord that unveiled the James Whitcomb Riley statue in 1918. The retired judge was 81 when he posed with the statue in this 1995 photo. He died in 2012.
Daily Reporter file photo
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 1894, Greenfield Fire Department — now known as Greenfield Fire Territory — began operations.
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.
Nov. 19
In 1973, the City of Greenfield bought the John F. Mitchell home next to James Whitcomb Riley’s boyhood home on Main Street. The Mitchell building became the Riley Museum.
Nov. 20
In 1999, a reception in the Eastern Hancock High School cafeteria honored the school’s national championship in livestock judging earned at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville. Team members Tony Holliday, Wesley Broadwater, Jake Wilson and Luke McDonnell were coached by teacher Mike Witte.
Nov. 21
In 1967, the local Sons of the American Legion group made final shipping arrangements to send Kool-Aid packages to local service members in Vietnam.
Nov. 22
In 1864, New Palestine’s Jacob Everson and his Co. K, 100 Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, faced “one of the big battles of the war” near Macon, Georgia. He wrote in his journal that nearly 300 total from both sides were killed. His writings later became part of the New Palestine history book published in 1871 for the town’s centennial.
