Dec. 3 through time
100 Years ago – 1924
At the latest meeting of Patrick Henry Lodge No. 82 Knights of Pythias, the members decided to have their annual Christmas tree for the children of the city, and to erect it in front of the courthouse, if weather permitted. The group also decide to have gifts for more than 1,000 children. The year before, the number was 200 more than the previous year; and in 1924 it was known that Martinsville had about 500 more children than the year before, the Pythians reported.
75 years ago – 1949
A review by City Manager Kent Matthewson showed that the City of Martinsville had 44.96 miles of paved roads and 18.14 miles of unpaved roads.
Two Martinsville men – J.W. Mitchell and Coates Carter – had just gotten a 3-month-old Weimaraner puppy. They picked up the pup from the airport in Roanoke, where it had been flown in from Minneapolis. They also had bought a 2-week-old female puppy which would be shipped from Minneapolis when it got older. Weimaraners were considered to be the smartest dogs. They planned to breed the dogs, which at the time there were only an estimated 1,000 of in the U.S.
1960
A one-time Fieldcrest executive, North Carolina Gov. Luther H. Hodges, was chosen by President-elect John F. Kennedy to be his secretary of commerce. Hodges, a Pittsylvania County native from a tenant farm, became a vice president of the Marshall Field organization and had charge of that company’s entire southern textile operations.
50 years ago – 1974
Representatives of social service departments and various charitable organizations met to discuss ways to meet growing demands for special assistance, and the developed EACH – Emergency Area Council for Help. Lambert Wood was the acting chair. City and county social service agencies and the Salvation Army would visit applying families to determine if they are actually in need of help. Funds would be solicited from are businesses, churches, clubs, industries and individuals. As it was, the Martinsville and Henry County social service departments had 84 applications for food stamps in November in the city, up from October’s 46, and continuing case loads in the city at 619. The city already had spent its $800 allocation for emergency aid. The county had no emergency funds.
25 years ago - 1999
Tultex announced that it was cutting 2,600 jobs, including 1,100 in Martinsville, and would close at least seven facilities, all as part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. It would reorganize into a smaller apparel marketing company, selling products made by other companies. Meanwhile, a special claims area of the Virginia Employment Commission would be set up in the following week at Frith Hall in Patrick Henry Community College to help the laid off workers.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.