May 21
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 Years ago – 1924
“The Whipping Boss” was shown at the Hamilton Theatre. The film, by the American Legion, had been running across the nation to great acclaim, with endorsements such as by the General Federation of Women’s Club. The film exposed cruelties of the convict-leasing system.
75 years ago – 1949
Plant Manager W.D. Hartford announced that the Martinsville Nylon Plant of the E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company Inc. had won its tenth consecutive Board of Directors’ Safety Award. The plant had by then operated 2,487 days (6.8 years) and accumulated 19,274,736 exposure hours without having a lost-time injury to an employee.
1960
The 17 Girl Scouts of Troop 22 at Chatham Heights Baptist Church, and one Brownie Scout, all completed the requirements for their proficiency badge in roller skating. They were the first troop in the area to accomplish the badge en masse, requiring 16-18 hours of practice, playing three games on skates, skating backwards and executing three dance steps.
The annual Industrial Arts show at Martinsville High School included displays ranging from salt and pepper shakers to hi-fi and electrical exhibits. There were tables, chairs, desks, beds, chests, bookcases and gun racks made by students in Shop classes. Also included were student art in various mediums such as pastels, water colors, crayon, pencil and charcoal.
50 years ago – 1974
“Hercules” and “Hercules Unchained” were playing at the 220 Drive-In Theatre. “American Graffiti” (with the slogan “Where were you in ’62?”) was playing at Town & Country; “MadHouse” (“Dare you spend a night with Vincent Price?” was playing at the Rives; “Zardoz” with Sean Connery was at the Martin Theatre; “The Dynamite Brothers” and “Kung Fu Mama” were at Castle Drive-In in Collinsville, and – for adults only – Martinsville Drive-In was showing “Naughtiest Show in Town,” “Vice Versa,” “Poor Cecily” and “Sensation Generation.”
25 years ago - 1999
Construction was underway on the new building for Piedmont Community Services, to consolidate all its services under one roof.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.