March 10
100 Years ago – 1925
Mr. Sheilds Cross of Axton and his brother, who lived in Cascade, “made a flying trip” to North Carolina.
At a meeting of the most prominent businessmen in Bassett, a stock company was formed for the construction of a modern hotel building which would be built next to W.W. Smith’s store building. Smith’s store had just been bought by Mr. Green Webb, who had sold his interest in the Valley Vener Co. Mr. Smith would be in charge of the new hotel to be built.
75 years ago – 1950
The local newspaper now and then carried stories of people charged with illegal fishing. One such was the case of Ernest Wigginton of Route 3, Martinsville. He pleased guilty in County Trial Justice Court and was ordered to pay $26. He had gone fishing the previous Saturday in Horsepasture Creek. Game Warden Edgar Lemon testified that he saw Wigginton pull four trout out of the stream, and he had eight trout in his possession when arrested. Wiggington told the court that he didn’t know trout were in that stream when he went fishing. The stream had been stocked with trout on Feb. 10, and trout season would open on April 20. Wiggington’s fine included the $20 illegal fishing fine plus another 75 cents per fish.
50 years ago – 1975
A Norfolk & Western freight train derailed about ½ mile from Martinsville, just before the Rives Road overpass. A broken rail cases 25 cars and four of six diesel locomotives of Train No. 50 to fall off the track. Rails were inspected nearly every week, and this rail break was thought to have been caused by an internal weakness that was not spotted. The train had its 45-engineer, a fireman and two brakemen and they were not injured. Some of the freight cars carried fertilizer, pulp and paperboard.
Schools in Martinsville and Henry and Patrick counties were out because of snow, but Patrick Henry Community College classes were still on, and most of the students made it. The Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation cleared the roads in Patrick County but just put sand on the Henry County roads. The State Police said people should use snow tires and chains. About 75 people attended a meeting about roads in Patrick County despite there being 3 inches of snow there.
25 years ago - 2000
The General Assembly voted to raise the maximum unemployment benefits from $232 to $268. Several legislators and people from this area had lobbied for much more, in the wake of mass layoffs. The original Textile Workers Relief Act of 2000, sponsored in the House by Del. Ward Armstrong, D-Collinsville, and in the Senate by Sen. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Ridgeway, had called for a 43% increase.— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.