Four mayors to offer reflections on three decades of governing Greencastle

Friday, April 28, 2017
The last four mayors of Greencastle pose together following the swearing in of current Mayor Bill Dory (second from left), who took office Jan. 1, 2016. From left are Nancy Michael (1997-2007), Dory, Sue Murray (2008-2015) and Mike Harmless (mayor of Greencastle, 1988-1996). The four will be together again for a Friday, May 5 program at DePauw University. Banner Graphic/ERIC BERNSEE

The four individuals who have served as mayors of Greencastle since 1988 will come together on Friday, May 5 to reflect on their experiences as mayors and on their city -- past, present and future.

The four participants have headed Greencastle city government for nearly three decades: Mike Harmless (mayor of Greencastle, 1988-1996), Nancy Michael (1997-2007), Sue Murray (2008-2015), and current mayor Bill Dory, who took office in 2016.

The event will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Watson Forum in DePauw University's Pulliam Center of Contemporary Media and is expected to last approximately two hours. The public is invited to attend.

To most Greencastle observers, the shocking closure of the IBM parts distribution plant in November 1986, has shaped the economic, political and social fortunes of the city ever since. (The former IBM plant on State Road 240 now houses the Area 30 Career Center and the Ascena retail group). The surprise departure of the largest local employer three decades ago sparked community efforts that led to significant industrial, commercial and recreational (Big Walnut Sports Park) development on the east side the city. The mayoralties of Harmless, Michael, Murray and Dory have all followed that pivotal moment in Greencastle history. The event organizer, Professor Bruce Stinebrickner of the Department of Political Science at DePauw, will serve as moderator of the discussion. Stinebrickner said he got the idea of getting the four Greencastle mayors together from an event he attended at the University of Indianapolis in 2011. That forum featured the five Indianapolis mayors who had served since the inception of Unigov in 1970, the city-county consolidation that many observers credit with setting Indianapolis on its upward trajectory over the past 45 years or so.

Stinebrickner hopes that the "Four Mayors" event on May 5 will be of interest to current Greencastle residents as well as to those studying local history in years to come.

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