May 10
In 2007, Republican mayoral candidate Richard Pasco filed a petition requesting a recount of ballots from the May 8 primary election, after losing to Brad DeReamer by nine votes. DeReamer’s victory stood and he was elected mayor of Greenfield that November, but Pasco would defeat DeReamer in the 2011 primary and later became mayor.
May 11
In 1938, electric lines were energized for some of Hancock County’s rural residents. “A little more than seven miles of line became hot,” the local construction supervisor wrote to the Rural Electrification Administration’s chief administrator in Washington, D.C. “… Looking forward to the cheerfulness, the convenience, the freedom and the economies which electricity will bring to us, we join our voices in heartfelt thanks.”
In 1910, Wabash College president Dr. George L. McIntosh addressed Greenfield High School graduates in commencement exercises at Bradley Methodist Episcopal Church.
May 12
In 1886, a cyclone hit Wilkinson, killing one person.
In 1917, the Hancock County chapter of the American Red Cross was formed.
May 13
In 1972, the Charlottesville PTO announced plans to organize a kindergarten at the school.
May 14
In 1997, house movers hoisted the Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House from a field west of Wilkinson and began the ride to downtown Shirley, close to the town’s Depot Museum and the former office of late longtime doctor Ralph Wilson.
May 15
In 1935, members of the Hancock County Bar discussed a recent Supreme Court opinion that reversed a ruling in a criminal case because no women were part of the jury. No women had sat on Hancock County juries so far. “No accommodations are provided for women in the jury room and for that reason perhaps more than any other none have been called to serve,” read the story.
May 16
In 1924, downtown Greenfield motorists noticed street commissioners had painted new parking lines overnight along Main Street between Pennsylvania and Spring streets. The new lines were for “flat-to-curb” parking. While parallel parking reduced capacity, it was also hoped to relieve the congestion caused by narrowing the street with angled parking.
