Swearing-in ceremony set for 11 a.m. Friday

The City of Greencastle will swear in its 45th chief executive and its largest-ever City Council in a public ceremony Friday, Jan. 1 at City Hall.

The 11 a.m. ceremony will see William A. (Bill) Dory Jr., 56, sworn in as Greencastle mayor, succeeding two-term Mayor Sue Murray as the city's chief executive.

Mayor Murray will do the individual swearing in for Dory and the new City Council, including her husband, Dave Murray, one of three men elected to the trio of at-large seats.

The City Council will become a seven-member unit for the first time on Jan. 1, adding two at-large seats to what had been a five-person panel.

Joining Dave Murray, a Democrat, as at-large representatives on the Council are Republican Mark Hammer, the longest serving city councilman at 20 years, and newcomer Gary Lemon, a Democrat.

Also elected to serve on the new City Council and slated to be sworn in either at Friday's event or prior to the Tuesday, Jan. 12 City Council meeting are:

-- Adam Cohen, a Democrat incumbent, First Ward.

-- Stacie Langdon, a Republican, Second Ward.

-- Steve Fields, a Democrat, Third Ward.

-- Tyler Wade, a Republican incumbent, Fourth Ward.

Also set to be sworn in for her second term at City Hall is Clerk-Treasurer Lynda Dunbar, a Republican.

Greencastle city department heads are also scheduled to be sworn in prior to the first 2016 Council session on Jan. 12. That public meeting will begin at 7 p.m. with the swearing-in ceremonies expected to start as early as

6:30 p.m.

City's chief executives at-a-glance

William A. Dory Jr. becomes the City of Greencatle's 45th chief executive on Friday, Jan. 1.

The others who have served in that capacity, according to records kept at City Hall, have been:

Susan V. Murray, 2008-15

Nancy Michael, 1996-2007

Michael M. Harmless, 1988-95

Robert G. Albright, 1987

Gerald E. Warren, 1984-87

Jane Harlan, 1980-83

C. Clifford ("Abie") Frazier, 1976-79

Raymond Fisher, 1974-75

Fred Snively, 1972-74

Norman W. Peabody, 1968-71

Raymond Fisher, 1960-67

Evan Crawley, 1952-59

Harold W. Stewart, 1948-51

Walter S. Ballard, 1942-47

W. D. James, 1938-41

Charles F. Zeis, 1934-37

William L. Denman, 1930-33

Charles McGaughey, 1926-29

Charles F. Zeis, 1922-25

E. Rupert Bartley, 1918-21

J. Walter Cooper, 1914-17

John R. Miller, 1910-13

James McD. Hays, 1904-09

John H. James, 1902-03

Jonathan Birch, 1894-1901

Charles B. Case, 1890-93

Elisha Cowgill, 1888-89

Joseph S. McClary, 1884-87

John R. Miller, 1880-83

Lucius P. Chapin, 1876-79

William D. Allen, 1872-75

William A. Brown, 1870-71

Henry W. Daniels, 1868-69

Milton A. Osborne, 1866-67

Marshall A. Moore, 1862-65

Edward R. Kircheval, 1861

And before Greencastle became a city led by a mayor, it functioned with a town government, led by:

J. S. Bachelder, 1860-61

Reuben S. Ragan, 1859-60

Joseph F. Farley, 1857-59

Dillard C. Donnohue, 1856-57

Hiram Marshall, 1854-56

John Hanna, 1851-54

Russell L. Hathaway, 1850-51

Delana R. Eckels, 1849-50