50 years ago in the 70s…
At least 87% of non-smokers were exposed to secondhand smoke, including kids, often in cars that got about 13 miles per leaded gallon.
It wasn’t all bad news. Nearly every bit of free time was spent outside, and neighbors recognized each other everywhere. Greenfield had a population just under 10,000 people, or about a third of Hancock County at the time.
“Stranger Danger” was the watchword in the 70s and 80s.
“Stranger Danger” is a concept that started in the 1960s, but really became a media panic in the 70s and 80s. Strangers can be dangerous, but in truth, nearly every child who is harmed by another adult knows their abuser.
The 80s weren’t a bad time to be a kid in Hancock County. Kids hung out together, lit bonfires, and spent countless hours on landline phones talking with friends. The only screen was either at the movies or on TVs that were made of wood.
Recognize any of these local characters?
English class, Greenfield H.S. Catamount Yearbook, 1987
Above right, Senior David Pittenger shows Aurimas Jujaitis, Lithuania’s deputy minister of education, one of the applications of software in the school’s computer lab.
Greenfield H.S. Catamount Yearbook, 1992.
30 years ago…
Kids started going online in the late 90s. Remember ICQ in 99 and 2000?
Schools and communities were enamored and maybe a little worried about the future, software, and keeping track of all those floppy disks and CD-ROMs.
Hancock County’s first dial-up Internet services and cellular towers would spread across the area in the 90s, too. The precursors to NineStar Connect began offering satellite and Internet services. All this connectivity didn’t strike most people as dangerous. It was a fun time to be online!
20 years ago, childhood went fully online with the iPhone, “The Facebook”, and Instagram.
We didn’t fully know it yet, but the evidence began to mount about the dangers of online stalking, cyber bullying, and maybe a little too much screen time.
And a little over 10 years ago, kids in Hancock County were the first to experience Zoey’s Place.
The population growth, the new technology, and the increasing understanding of child development in the world adds up to our current understanding of how parents, grandparents, caregivers, and our neighbors help protect and nurture kids. Zoey’s Place was founded so kids who are victims of abuse — strangers or not, online or not — have a place that is safe and comfortable for them.
Before Zoey’s Place
Kids and families navigated a well-meaning but disorganized patchwork of people and services. Cases often failed along the way.
Now, with Zoey’s Place
Kids and families come to a single spot, where a single team of people all coordinate their efforts on investigation, prosecution, and well-being.
Childhood and our community keeps changing, often for the better. Zoey’s Place is here today for the kids who walked in a decade ago, who come in today, and who come ten years from now. Your support guarantees it.
Special thanks to archivists and librarians at the Hancock County Historical Society and Greenfield Public Library for their assistance with photos used on this page.
