Oct. 15
In 1982, A Dayton, Ohio, trucker suffered second- and third-degree burns over 20 percent of his body when the semi he was driving swerved to avoid a car, instead striking the median on Interstate 70 near the Mt. Comfort Road exit. His cab and trailer burst into flames on impact.
Oct. 16
In 1881, an explosion blew up the New Palestine saloon.
In 1975, Greenfield-Central became the first school district in Hancock County to adopt a non-discrimination policy on the basis of sex, as mandated by the federal government for all school districts receiving federal funds.
Oct. 17
In 1967, the City of Greenfield won the first round of a legal battle over who would provide electricity to the new Green Meadows Shopping Plaza at 1500 N. State St. Circuit Judge George B. Davis denied a temporary injunction sought by Hancock County Rural Membership Electric Corp. (REMC) after the city ran lines to the center.
In 1999, Greenfield native and Indy Racing League driver Mark Dismore won the Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Oct. 18
In 1934, Greenfield City Council had its discussion about the city buying poet James Whitcomb Riley’s boyhood home.
Oct. 19
In 1965, Greenfield-Central school trustees voted to appropriate $198,000 to buy 77 acres south of McKenzie Road and between Franklin and Broadway streets. They bought the land from Mary Moore for a new high school, with plans to remodel the previous high school on North Street for use as an elementary school. The target date for completion of both projects at Sept. 1, 1967.
Oct. 20
In 1917, two airplanes from a training field near Columbus, Ohio, passed over Greenfield around 12:30 p.m. en route to Indianapolis. They and other aircraft were being sent to drop literature about the Liberty Loan program. People were gathered in streets and alleys after 11 a.m., when word came the planes had passed over Knightstown.
Oct. 21
In 1974, Mt. Comfort United Methodist Church had its first service in a new building after a May 1972 tornado had shifted the frame of the previous church building off its foundation.
In 1985, Hancock County Council endorsed plans for a new 60-cell jail with basement.
