Looking Back on Jan. 9
1924: During the January term of the Henry County Circuit Court, the Henry Bulletin of that time reported, Pearl Martin was found guilty of keeping a house of ill fame. The case was settled out of court by Martin entering a pleas of guilty, paying $50 and costs with a jail sentence of two months. The jail sentence was suspended on the condition of good behavior and also on the condition that Martin leave town for two years. Also, 24 cars were seized in connection with the transport of illegal liquor.
1949: Seven black men were arrested with criminally assaulting the wife of a white Martinsville store manager early Saturday night, Jan. 8: Frank Hairston Jr., 18; Joe Henry Hampton, 19; James Luther Hairston, 20; John Clabon Taylor, 21; Francis DeSale Grayson, 37; Howard Lee Hairston, 18; Booker T. Millner, 19, the Martinsville Bulletin reported. At first it was said 13 men were involved, but those who confessed said only seven. The accused assaults took place 150 yards east of the Lee Telephone Co. garage in East Martinsville. Two of the men were arrested by state, county and city police officers late Saturday night near the site, and four were arrested in their homes around 4 a.m. Sunday. The woman assaulted had been walking with 12-year-old Charlie Martin. He told police that Millner gave him a quarter and sent him on his way, telling him not to tell anyone about what happened. Officers said the boy could not identify all those at the scene but after two arrests were made, all seven were implicated.
On Jan. 9, Mr. and Mrs. William M. Bassett of Bassett announced the engagement of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, to Spencer Wood Morten Jr. of Martinsville, son of Mrs. Theodore Chester Hagood of Santa Monica, Calif., and Spencer Wood Morten, or St. Louis, Mo., with a wedding planned for early summer.
1974: Martinsville’s electoral board decided to consolidate the city’s ten vote precincts into five. Precincts No. 1 West End and No. 6 Albert Harris would be moved into a new precinct No. 1, with 2,111 voters for Albert Harris High School; Precinct No. 2 Downtown Fire Station and No. 4 Patrick Henry could be merged into No. 2 with 2,175 citizens to vote at Martinsville Junior High School; Precinct No. 3 Southside Fire Station and No. 9 Joseph Martin School would merge into No. 3 with 1,237 voters at Southside Fire Station; Precinct No. 7 Clearview School and No. 10 Martinsville High School would be merged into Precinct No. 4 with 1,694 to vote at MHS; and Precinct 5 Druid Hills and No. 8 Lake Lanier would merge into Precinct 5 with 2,204 voters at Druid Hills School.
Also on this date in 1974: State Sen. Virgil H. Goode Jr., elected as an independent in the Nov. 6 special election, was admitted to the Senate Democratic Caucus on the eve of the opening of the 1974 General Assembly.
1999: Saturday was a big day in 1999. It started with a pancake breakfast by the Bassett Ruritan Club, for $4. Brunswick stew cost $4 – at the Horsepasture Fire Department Brunswick stew sale. Willard Arnold was the cook. The Rangeley Ruritan Club held a country music show with the Dan River Bluegrass Band on Saturday night, Jan. 9. Over in Patrick County, American Legion Post 105 held a Variety Dance with music by Stagecoach.
2024: The Dutch Inn once again has a restaurant, now run by Austin Boyd and Justin Haley, the owners of Chopstix, the Martinsville Bulletin reports. It’s the first time the popular eatery will be open since the pandemic.