June 25

By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion

100 Years ago – 1924

Ad for C.W. Holt: “Our ‘Down Stairs Store’ is devoted exclusively to Women’s Ready-to-Wear. You will find ample floor space with comfortable fitting rooms. You will also find our ‘Down Stairs Store’ the coolest place in town to shop. – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. – Dozens and dozens of Summer Frocks in cool, crisp Voiles, both plain and printed, Tissue Ginghams, Swiss, Tub Silks, Near Silks, Printed Crepes and Georgettes, and in fact all the new summer fabrics may be seen in decidedly the most attractive and exclusive creations we have shown this season. 79 New Frocks Added For This occasion. You should be two or three, for the prices are most reasonable. $2.75 to $14.75.”

75 years ago – 1949

The Henry County Horse show, which attracted thousands of people, was concluded with performances at Fontaine Field.

1960

The Southside Swimming Pool Association christened their new pool. Clyde England was the manager, and the lifeguards were John Swezey and Jane English.

50 years ago – 1974

Directors of the SPCA in 1974 were Richard R. Mario, Betsy Gravely, Thomas DeBusk, Madeline Wright, William H. Bryant, Judy DeBusk, Morgan Armstrong, Alice Blevins and Larry Hasson.

25 years ago – 1999

Darryl Holland, who at the time was a vocational and agricultural teacher at Laurel Park High School, won a Regional Rufus W. Beamer Excellence Award for a service learning project by his students. Their project was “Operation Job Search 2000,” about modern job opportunities in Henry County. The result was a 178-page job-search guide listing 26 area businesses and 20,000 employment opportunities. The guide was given over to student use through the LPHS guidance office and also shared with Martinsville schools.

Bassett Furniture donated a six-piece living room furniture set for the Kosovo refugee family who had moved to Martinsville. Bassett spokesman Jay Moore told the Bulletin that the idea came from Nancy Moore, who had been organizing the relief effort.

SPC/E4 Michael Pernell, the son of Lidia Hairston, was killed in an automobile accident in Denmark. He had been stationed with the army in Kitzinger, Germany was traveling with a bride-to-be, groom-to-be and the bride’s sister to be the best man in the wedding.

— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.