Aug. 10
In 2008, McCordsville 16-year-old Samantha Peszek competed in the uneven bars during the team gymnastics competition at the summer Olympics in Beijing. Suffering an injury during warmups, she was limited to that one event. She and her U.S. teammates received silver medals, second to host country China.
Aug. 11
In 1996, Greenfield Mayor Pat Elmore presented Greenfield native and Olympic gold medalist Jaycie Phelps with a key to the city during a community celebration for Phelps at Greenfield-Central High School.
Aug. 12
In 1921, Census Bureau data showed 1.4 percent of Hancock Countians could neither read nor write. That was a lower percentage than the state’s (2.2 percent).
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.
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.
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.”
