​(SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Doug Settle, middle, holds a special plaque that was presented to him recently in honor of a towering home run that he hit when playing Perry Township Pony League baseball in 1965. Settle is with teammate Dr. Ed Wills, left, and Barry Hix.

By Barry Hix
Historian

As a youngster growing up in the early 1960’s, I always looked forward to the arrival of spring which signaled warmer weather around the corner. 
It also wouldn’t be long before lots of kids living in Perry Township would be playing organized summer baseball. Boys 8 to 12 years old played Little League baseball at fields in Edgewood, Southport and University Heights. 

Edgewood Little League was located on the grounds of Edgewood Elementary, Southport Little League was at Homecroft Elementary, and University Heights Little League was at Indiana Central College, now University of Indianapolis.

From 1953 until 2007, thousands of 13-14 year old boys continued to play baseball in the Perry Township Pony League with diamonds at 5391 Shelby St. 

I played ball at the Edgewood LL (1953-1963) and Pony League (1964-1965). I still have a lot of fond memories of those summers I played ball at the Edgewood Little League (‘59-‘63) and Pony League (‘64-‘65). My most memorable summer was 1965 on the Temperly Trucking team that became league champions with a 15-3 record. We played the majority of our games ‘under the lights’ which give most of us a major league feeling.
 
One special event that summer turned out to be my most cherished Pony League memory. It was a warm mid-July evening and our team was down a run in the next to last inning. With a runner on second base, one of our best hitters, Doug Settle, stepped up to the plate. I was standing against the fence next to the third-base dugout when I watched him hit what has been considered the longest home run ever hit at the field.

The ball nearly hit the lights in left-centerfield which stood 25 feet above the top of the fence. It finally landed in a yard across Shelby Street and those who witnessed the blast estimated the ball traveled an amazing 420 feet.

The entire team ran out on the field and greeted Doug as he reached home plate. As we headed back to the dugout we noticed he had tears running down his cheeks. A few of us patted him on the back but none of us said a word because we understood the reason for the tears.

As he sat down on the bench Doug told us he hit that home run for his father, Chuck, who had passed away just one month earlier. It was an extremely emotional experience for everyone who attended the game and that special moment has stuck with me for the past 55-plus years.
 
On a beautiful day last November, a small group gathered at the former Pony League Field, presently Bulldog Stadium, where we presented Doug with a plaque commemorating his historic home run. Joining in the celebration was our former teammate and SHS classmate Dr. Ed Wills, former longtime Pony League coach Steve Harnedy, Bulldog Stadium administrator John Parmalee and former Pony Leaguer Ted Lobdell who coordinated the photos on the plaque.
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His homerun is a special memory that still echoes throughout Perry Township wherever today’s youngsters play organized baseball.

​Commemorative plaque shows Doug Settle, Pony League team, and parents.

(SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTO BY AL STILLEY)
Firefighters from four different departments put out blaze that destroyed a grain elevator on East Main Street near downtown Greenwood on April 27. Top photos, firefighters also had to pour water continuously on nearby trees directly east of the grain elevator. Firefighters reported to the scene around 3:30 p.m. Traffic was blocked on Main Street for several hours until the blaze was fully extinguished. Two nearby businesses were damaged.

​By Al Stilley
Editor

A spectacular fire destroyed a vacated grain elevator in Greenwood that had stood for 80 years during the late afternoon on April 27.
The blaze also heavily damaged two adjacent businesses – Sports Plus and You Are the Artist – at 200 E. Main St. Sports Plus owner Scott Beasley, a standout student-athlete at Greenwood High School (Class of 1991), said that the building could be reopened in three months but that damage from smoke could call for a complete rebuild that would take nearly a year.
“I started shoving stuff out the front door with that inferno behind me, but so many people – strangers that I don’t even know – came in and helped move things out of the front part of the store,” Beasley said. “It restores a little bit of my faith in humanity; they helped me out of their kindness and at great risk.”
Beasley said that all customer clothing left for sewing or embroidering was saved and placed in a trailer provided by Tillman’s. Clothing inventory and equipment for screen printing was lost. However, Beasley mentioned that screen-printing competitors have offered their facilities and equipment for use.
Sports Plus opened in 1983 and was founded by Beasley’s parents, Jerry and Linda Beasley.
Teresa Taylor, who owns a small art studio in the same L-shaped single story building, estimated that most of the studio cannot be salvaged and that up to 70 paintings were destroyed. Taylor has leased space from Sports Plus for five years for the art facility where classes are held with lessons in canvas and wood painting and tumbling decorating.
An estimated 25 percent of the building may be salvageable.
Firefighters from Greenwood, White River, Indianapolis, and Whiteland battled the blaze and also continuously sprayed several burning trees east of the adjacent railroad tracks. 
There were no injuries. Traffic was blocked for several hours in the area on Main Street.
Greenwood historian Brad Nemeth reported that the first grain elevator was built on the site in the 1820s. Fires in 1909 destroyed that building and two barns and another grain elevator in 1952.
The grain elevator was a familiar site to motorists traveling east and west on Main Street near the CSX railroad tracks. The tall facility that had not been used for years had a familiar Co-op logo. It was a long remaining symbol of the importance of agriculture in Greenwood when it was a small rural town.
Investigators began searching for a cause of the fire that remained unknown at press time.

​(SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTO BY GENTRY APPLEGET)
Greenwood aerial fire apparatus and fire trucks spray water on historic but abandoned grain elevator to prevent fire from spreading. Firefighters also from White River Township, Whiteland, and Indianapolis reported  to the scene. Smoke from the blaze could be seen from several miles away.