August 13
100 Years ago – 1924
Main St. Busy Bee Café opened. Advertisement in Henry Bulletin: “We invite you to the opening of our new café, located in a new building erected for this purpose, modern sanitary fixtures and conveniently located. The best food the market affords served in a clean up-to-date manner. We will also carry a complete line of TOBACCOS, CANDIES, FRUITS, ICE CREAM, Etc. C. Alley, Proprietor. Building No. 2, Opposite Square Filing Station.
75 years ago – 1949
Fieldcrest introduced a new “Finger Tip” towel at its towel mill in Fieldale. The 11- by 18.5-inch towel, hemmed down the sides and fringed on both ends, had become quite popular during that time. Fieldcrest noted that the Finger Tip towels were woven two abreast on regular dobby terry looms, which had to be equipped with special attachments for making fringe. The plants were running full time, five days a week.
1960
The Figsboro Road Community Club and Figsboro Road Ruritan Club joined together to host a community supper as a fundraiser for improvements to their Community Building. On the menu was fried chicken, ham biscuits, potato salad, fresh lima beans, green beans, tomatoes, pied, cakes, tea and coffee.
50 years ago – 1974
Martinsville City Council appropriated more than half a million dollars to finance a long-awaited renewal of the city’s declining downtown area, to purchase 15 of the 18 tracts in the Central Business District (CDB). That is the area bounded on the north and south by Main and Church streets, between Bridge Street and an alley between the Beckner Building on Church Street and Martinsville Office Supply on Main Street. Business there included:
· on West Church, State Farm Insurance, Eagle’s Sandwich Shop and the vacant former Piedmont Hearing Aid Center;
· on North Bridge, Warren Clothing Co., Greenwood Billiard Parlor, Busy Bee luncheonette, and the vacant, former Herman’s Shoe Shop and two other stores;
· on West Main Street, the Beckner Building, the Eagle’s Department Store building which also included the offices of attorney William Carter; the Prillaman building which was mostly vacant except for Wells Beauty Shop; the West Main Shine Parlor; three vacant stores; Law Insurance Building; Harmon Appliance Co.; and the law office of Cary Randolph.
The Powell family operated Pals Designs on Memorial Boulevard, a textile silkscreen plant: Richard Hopkins, Clarice Powell, Phyllis Powell, Forrest L. Powell Sr. and Forrest L. Powell Jr.
25 years ago – 1999
Changes in Tultex leadership: O. Randolph “Randy” Rollins was appointed as president and chief executive officer, replacing Charles W. Davies Jr. as CEO and James M. Chriss as president.
Captain Mike Rogers of the Martinsville Police Department was promoted to the position of assistant chief. Dave Edwards was the chief. Applications for the chief position were being accepted through Aug. 25, and Rogers had said he was applying for that job.
Bassett Furniture Industries opened a Bassett Furniture Direct store on Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, N.C. It was the 44th BFD store. Now there are about 100.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.