June 13
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 Years ago – 1924
Citizens were warned to take measures to reduce the population of flies in efforts to avoid vulnerability to typhoid fever, which was going around Virginia. They were warned: not to leave toilets open or filth exposed; protect the water supply with a concrete curb and tight top; put in a pump instead of using an old bucket and chain; screen the doors and windows of the home with 16-inch mesh wire screen; and have your family doctor administer the anti-typhoid treatment, which would be good for 2 years, especially before going camping, fishing or swimming at the seashore.
75 years ago – 1949
ATF agents caught a truck loaded with 150 gallons of moonshine following a chase on Mount Olivet Road. The whiskey was poured out through a drain at the Martinsville police headquarters.
1960
City Manager Julian F. Hirst wrote letters of praise to the seven Patrol Mothers who directed traffic and children around the larger schools in Martinsville during the school year. The Patrol Mothers were Mrs. Hazel Rist, Mrs. Victoria Kalbaugh, Mrs. Ann Dove Johnson, Mrs. Pauline Clark, Annie Mae Jones, Mrs. Sammy E. Torre and Mrs. Maria Millner.
Patrick County residents had raised well more their required half of the $600,000 cost of a new hospital: The drive brought in $636,629 pledged or donated, more than twice the $300,000 they had to come up with. Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Geoffrey T. Mann went to a reception at Fairystone State Park, attended by 500 of the people involved in the fundraising drive. Judge John D. Hooker also participated. The funding included: $129,981 from industrial employees, $18,512 from business employees; $13,733 from school employees; and $6,175 from clubs and organizations. The general solicitation committee turned in donations of $87,190. The money would be used to build a 30- to 32-bed hospital by early 1962. The extra money would make the hospital larger than originally planned. With their (more than) half of the funding assured, Patrick County could expect a federal grant of $330,000 for construction.
50 years ago – 1974
Morton Wade Lester, a Martinsville councilman and president of the Lester Corp., was injured in a forced airplaine landing about 20 miles north of Jefferson, N.C. He was recuperating at Ashe County (N.C.) Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in satisfactory condition. He had injuries on his back and a cut on his head which required 34 stitches.
25 years ago – 1999
Brand new high school graduates Stephanie Brinegar, Jason Biggs and Jeannine Hale completed their education with perfect attendance.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.