March 16 through time
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 Years ago – 1924
A building on the corner of Askin and South streets was under construction for The Cross Laundry Co., expected to open May 1.
A raid in Chestnut Knob resulted in the destruction of a 60-gallon copper still with cap and worm and the arrests of John Spencer, Jessie Pruitt and Will Picker.
75 years ago – 1949
City Health Official R.M. Wilson announced that Gladys Martin, the 7-year-old with spinal meningitis, was getting better, and the quarantine on her family’s home would be lifted by the end of the week.
More than 1,600 people attended the first open house at the DuPoint Nylon plant, arriving in more than 800 cars.
1960
As winter weather visited the area again, a family of five was ousted from their Third Street home around 11 p.m. as flames destroyed the house and all possessions within. By the time firemen were able to reach the conflagration, the five-room, story-and-a half home was gutted. Firemen battled into the night to prevent the flames from spreading to another nearby house. Thankfully, no one was injured and the displaced family was taken in by a neighbor.
The weather continued its war on motorists in the area with another spate of skid and crash accidents. Dr. Murray Scott and his wife, Ethel, of Ohio, who had been in a four-car pile-up on 220 two weeks prior as they headed south toward a Florida vacation, were grateful to the doctors and staff at Martinsville General Hospital who had repaired their broken bones and other severe injuries. As they recuperated at the hospital, they became friends with other hospital patients and staff and left with hearts full of friendship and gratitude.
50 years ago – 1974
“Fantastic Bargains” at Holiday Furniture Co., Holiday Shopping Center, Route 220 North: Queen-sized mattress, %29.95; end tables, $7.95 – coffee table - $12.95; decorative pictures, $19.95 (regular $39.95); odd dinette and dining room chairs, as low as $7.95 each; two slightly damaged Whirlpool washers, $150 each; 9- by 12-foot rugs, $44; free 8-track tapes of assorted artists free to first 25 customers aged 18 and older.
25 years ago - 1999
At Campbell Court Elementary School, parents attended a program at night in which their children showed them how to use computers and the Internet. Elaine Clower was the service learning coordinator for Henry County Public Schools who coordinated that program. Ashley Hale taught her mother, Rose Hale, and Katie Slate taught her mother, Teresa Slate.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.