Nov. 25 through time
100 Years ago – 1924
“The Flapper Grandmother” was presented in the Public School Auditorium, under the auspices of the Business Women’s Club. The play was directed by Mary Shelton of Douglas, Ga. The plot was about an old grandmother who invested her savings. She went to Europe in search of beauty. It worked, and with her new face, she returns to America to became a Flapper Grandmother with all the charm and beauty of her granddaughters.
75 years ago – 1949
Twenty women of Martinsville met at Martinsville General hospital to plan a blood drive. Mrs. Francis R. Webb was named general chairman of the drive, Mrs. William C. Barnes the telephone chairman and Mrs. Robert Haskell the publicity chairman. Dr. J.A. Ravenel said the drive had been at a standstill for the past few weeks, and he invited any interested women to attend the meeting. Plans had been made to get a constant supply of blood by having relatives of patients donate to the blood bank. Civic organizations were expected to help with the project. In 1947 plans for a Martinsville blood bank were discussed by the Kiwanis Club, and before that, the Rotary Club had offered help. The Knights of Pythias also had become interested, and they brought a speaker from Duke University to talk about the subject. Once a blood bank became established, different types of blood would be stored in a refrigerator in the hospital.
1960
Santa Claus left the North Pole by sleigh, wired Martinsville Retail Merchants Association President Jimmy Paris that he’d be in town for the Christmas parade, then boarded a plan in Nome, Alaska, bound for Martinsville. He road on a float in the parade which began on Liberty Street. The last line of the Western Union telegraph was, “Tell and the children to make their mamas and papas bring them to see me. This should be the biggest Christmas Ever = Santa Claus =”
50 years ago – 1974
The Fieldale Mill closed for the week, affecting 1,000 employees at the towel mill. Employees in shipping and a few other departments would continue working. Stanley Furniture Co. plants also closed for the week, to adjust production to a lower demand.
25 years ago - 1999
A free community Thanksgiving meal was served at The Gallery on Memorial Boulevard. Owner Richard Sarver donated the use of the facility for the event. Frank and Jeannie Draper organized the cooks. They cooked 50 pounds of turkey and other fixings the night before Thanksgiving. The Sportsman’s Club held a dinner at the club building on Fayette Street; Melvin Carter was the club president. Club members cooked 12 turkeys, 10 hams, dressing, yams, green beans, potato salad, dinner rolls, sweet potatoes and cakes. It was the club’s sixth year of serving that dinner. At Fontaine Baptist Church, Sheilla Coplin organized a dinner. Santa Fe Southwest Grill on Virginia Avenue in Collinsville offered a free traditional American Thanksgiving meal to Hispanic residents.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.