Nov. 8
100 Years ago – 1924
Article-ads in which local residents vouch for the benefits of Doan’s Pills continue, with the latest being Mrs. J.P. Covington of 320 Moss St.: “I suffered with pains across the small of my back. My kidneys didn’t act right, either. I used Doan’s Pills and they have never failed to rid me of an attack.”
The Business Women’s Club hosted a Chinese Supper at the Municipal Building. Decorations were of cherry blossoms, Japanese lanterns and wisteria, arranged under the supervision of the Fusfeld sisters. Sixteen tables were set up for 70 guests. The tables had hand-painted menu cards and Chinese-designed napkins. Eight dozen roses were used. Sixteen members of the club were dressed in Chinese costumes, with fancy slippers and striking parasols. The Piedmont Serenaders performed music. Fund from the supper were to be part of the payment of a balance of $1,000 made by the members of the club to the Community House Fund. The musicians and the florist donated their parts at no charge.
75 years ago – 1949
More than 100 members of the Roanoke River Basin Association met at Club Martinique for their annual meeting and to talk about the future of Philpott Dam and Buggs Island, both of which were in development at the time.
A few minutes after To Burnette of Horsepasture walked out of Piedmont Trust Bank, he realized that he had left his wallet, which had $1,900 in it, on the counter. A small crowd gathered around him when he announced that loss – and Leonard “Mutt” Isley stepped up and handed him the wallet.
1960
A total of 5,633 out of 7,778 registered voters went to the polls in Henr County, surpassing the 1956 record of 5,018 voters. It was also a voting record in the city, with 3,516 votes cast, beating the 3,493 cast in 1956. Democrat John F. Kennedy got 3,298 votes in the county, and Republican Nixon got 2,323. In the city, 1,729 people voted for Nixon, and 1,699 voted for Kennedy. Patrick County also got more votes for Keedy – 1,655 over Nixon’s 1,362 – even though Nixon carried 10 of Patrick County’s 18 precincts.
Sen. John F. Kennedy won the mock presidential elections at local high schools, taking a total of 1,643 for Kennedy and 1,060 for Richard Nixon. Voting was heavy in the city and county. Frank L. Barros of Axton was determined to get to the polls to vote, despite being in poo health following a heart attack. An ambulance from McKee Funeral Home brought him to and from the polls.
50 years ago – 1974
J.L. Pace of Ridgeway counted that there were 5,310,000 leaves in the yard of his neighbor, MRs. Nellie Cox. He did not count the one by one but rather he took an average of how many leaves he counted in four 1-foot squares of the yard and multiplied by the size of the yard.
25 years ago – 1999
It was announced that a new housing subdivision would be built off Blankenship Road near Hooker Field: Pebble Creek Subdivision, with 37 dwellings at estimated costs of $90,000 to $95,000.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.