Friends: Hamm ‘really cared about our area’

Former Indiana State Rep. Richard Hamm stayed connected to state and local government through chats over spicy shrimp, sugar cream pie and meals at the VFW.

In addition to his years of helping Wayne County residents at the state level, Hamm was known for decades of providing jobs and supporting many nonprofit organizations.

Friends shared memories with Western Wayne News after Hamm, 87, died Nov. 30. Some of those friends provided tributes during public meetings.

“He was instrumental in talking me into running for office,” said Wayne County Republican Party Chair Beth Leisure of Milton, who currently serves on county council.

Hamm was Leisure’s first-ever boss. She began working for Paul Casket Co. while attending Lincoln High School. Leisure said the family business provided a great atmosphere for a first job, and over the years, she and Hamm stayed in touch.

“He really cared about our area, and he was proud to serve the people of Western Wayne,” Leisure said.

Another longtime friend was Wayne County Auditor Mark Hoelscher. Hoelscher said he, former State Sen. Allen Paul, former Wayne County Commissioner Ken Paust and Hamm would gather occasionally. They called themselves the “Fearsome Foursome.”

(Richmond native Lamar Lundy, along with Rosey Grier, Merlin Olson and Deacon Jones, made up the Los Angeles Rams’ Fearsome Foursome while playing in the National Football League in the 1960s).

This past summer, Hoelscher invited the group to enjoy sugar cream pie and visit with county employees. Hoelscher contacted Wick’s Pies in Winchester, which donated dozens of cases of pies for the gathering. Remaining pies were donated to the VFW, where group members would eat lunch on Fridays.

Hoelscher felt sugar cream pie would be a special treat for the former state lawmakers because while they were in the legislature, Allen and Hamm supported recognizing sugar cream pie being as Indiana’s unofficial state pie and renaming it “Hoosier Pie” through resolutions.

Hoelscher said Hamm helped him with his last campaign for auditor. They’d meet about twice a week, talking for hours about politics and sports over shrimp with hot St. Elmo’s sauce.

“Dick and I discussed everything about state government, county government,” Hoelscher said. “He gave me somebody that understood, that I could talk to, because there aren’t a lot of people that understand it, and he was one of them. Gonna really miss going over to the house with shrimp.”

Hoelscher said Hamm was knowledgeable about state government and kept in contact with Raatz.

“Just because they’re not in office, doesn’t mean they stop thinking about it,” Hoelscher said. “He’d talk about taxes, the wheel tax, property taxes, all that stuff, because he understood the system, which helped me just to be able to talk about it.”

Wayne County Council President Max Smith called Hamm “a longtime servant of this community.”

When Smith was a Wayne County commissioner, he said he worked with the legislator quite often.

“He was a good man, gave a lot to the county,” Smith said.

Misty Hollis, Wayne County councilor, agreed Hamm was very good to the community. She noted his active support of economic development opportunities and many nonprofit organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County.

“He was my friend, and he will be missed quite a bit,” Hollis said.