May 18

By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion

100 Years ago – 1924

C.W. Holt Specials: Shadow Voiles, 59 cents per yard; Pure linen table damask, $1.39 per yard; Velvex knitted wash cloths, 59 cents; Men’s Pure Irish Linen Handkerchiefs, 29 cents; Hemmed Napkins, ready for use, $1.75 per dozen.

75 years ago – 1949

The Kiwanis Good Roads Committee (P.S. Ford, chairman) received notice from the State Highway commission that a new highway between Martinsville and Stuart would be built with prison labor. It was presumed that a new prison camp would be established between Martinsville and Stuart. There had been a prison camp near Stanleytown, but it had been moved to Woolwine the year before.

Mrs. Anna Massey Marshall of Stuart, a past matron of Stuart Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, was elected associate Grand Conductress of the Grand Chapter of Virginia, OES. That meant that in four years, Mrs. Marshall would be the Worthy Grand Matron of the state organization.

1960

Martinsville hit the big time with a full-page ad for Lester Homes in New York’s Saturday Evening Post. The ad referred folks interested in their products to the Martinsville office.

Martinsville High School was slated to present “Oklahoma!” for their spring drama production. “’Oh, What a Beautiful Morning’ it will be the morning after you see Oklahoma by Rogers and Hammerstein” was their slogan.

50 years ago – 1974

[Check back next week for this one. We’ve fallen behind]

25 years ago - 1999

The Henry County school system held the first of several planned “school safety summits.” The meetings, organized by superintendent David Martin, were to let parents know what safety features schools had in place – in the wake of the school shootings at Columbine.

— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.