Jan. 16 through time

1925

Word came out across the greater community that Confederate veteran and Grandbery United Methodist Church founder W.P. Emmerson died at the age of 81 on Jan. 5. He was the builder of Emmerson school. (The church sign spells it “Granbery," but the newspaper then spelled it “Grandbery.")

1950

Five thousand veterans of World War II were living in Martinsville, and about 4,000 of them were eligible for GI insurance dividends. The GI insurance amount estimated to come into the city was between $700,000 and $875,000. Checks ranged from 90 cents to $528 and were being mailed out during the last two weeks of January.

A meeting was held to study the possibility of building a community center for Bassett. They met at the Riverside Hotel. The Rev. Garnett Phibbs was president of the temporary organization, Mrs. Hugh Hill Chatham was the secretary and Robert S. Jordan was the treasurer.

1961

Chess games were very popular and played often at the Community Recreation Center on Cleveland Avenue. A chess tournament was held on Jan. 16. Jack Burgess was the director there.

Televisions were set in the Albert Harris High School cafeteria and library so that Priscilla Hairston’s classmates could see her sing on TV. The soprano sang on Channel 10 at 1 p.m. that Monday. The champion singer had just returned from an all-expense-paid trip to San Antonio, Texas, to perform in a national talent hunt show.

1975

Local furniture makers were at the furniture show in Dallas. That included Ray Edwards, the president of Jessup Furniture Corp. Jessup had a new plant under construction on U.S. 220 near Oak Level.

2000

About 100 people attended a Dr. Martin Luther King birthday observance at the National Guard Armory. The keynote speaker was Linda Byrd-Harden, director of the state Department of Minority Business Enterprise. She and Horsepasture District Supervisor Debra Buchanan talked about the importance of small businesses to a community, local industry job losses and efforts to attract new jobs.

Dr. Elizabeth Roycroft, director of the Henry-Martinsville Health Department, reported that nearly 1,000 people had received flu shots at the health department. Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan at Vaughan Medical Center was giving flu shots as well, including to Connie Hairston of The Great Road.

— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.