Oct. 17
100 Years ago – 1924
Awards from the Henry County Fair included – Corn Category: Best 10 Ear Caseys – first place, B.W. Barrow $2; second place, Tom Hairston $1.50; third place, Harden Hairston. Best 10 Ears Boone County – first place, Vesta Self, $2; second place, G.W. Barrow, $1.50; third place, Harden Hairston. Awards also were given for Reid’s Yellow Dent Pop Corn, Best 6 stalks and Single Ears.
This obituary: “Mrs. Mildred Franklin Floyd, wife of Mr. Robert W. Floyd, died at her home on Starling street Monday afternoon from an attack of pneumonia. Mrs. Floyd was one of the most popular of the younger women of Martinsville and a fine Christian character. She united with the Methodist church of this city when a mere child and ever took an active interest in church work. She was eighteen years old and besides her husband and little two-months-old baby, she is survived by her parents …”
75 years ago – 1949
The Community Fund campaign opened, under the management of co-directors Carroll Thomasson and Dr. Leon Lackey. Over the years various civic groups have taken turns to conduct the campaign; in this year, it was the Exchange Club. The goal was $15,347 for 11 participating agencies. The aim was to raise all that in three days, but if it didn’t get raised in that time period, the campaign would remain open until it reached its goal. The funding would go to: Boy Scouts, $4,500; Girl Scouts, $2,500; T.B. clinic, $1,800; emergency relief, $1,800; cancer control, $1,500; City School Cafeteria, $1,200; South Martinsville cafeteria, $225; Children’s Home Society, $500; Library Association, $750; National Travelers Aid Association, $72; and United Service Organization, $500.
A delegation from Martinsville went to Richmond to ask the State Highway Commission for a new street to relieve some of the traffic on Church Street and Starling Avenue. The group included Peter S. Ford, W.R. Broaddus and Mayor Nick Prillaman, representing the Kiwanis Club; Henry County Supervisors Chairman Brice L. Eggleston; and City Manager Kent Mathewson.
1960
The annual Christmas Cheer meeting was held in the Henry County Courtroom at the Henry County Courthouse. Each organization was invited to send a representative. The outgoing chairman was William R. Martin, publisher of the Martinsville Bulletin, and the incoming chairman was Sam S. Gusler, Collinsville businessman and chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors. R.R. “Jim” Young was the vice chairman; Geneva Harrison was the secretary-treasurer; the board of directors was Martin, Morton W. Lester, Ina McKee Holland, Kenneth M. Covington, Julian F. Hirst and K.L. Thompson Jr.. Riger Winn, Clyde Kinney, Mrs. John Shumate, Robert Ward and J.A. Steagall. The 1960 budget was set at $6,250. Harrison reported that in the previous year, Christmas Cheer gave food and toys and other help to 418 local families, and 186 families received clothing from a food drive.
50 years ago – 1974
Ad for a pharmacy: “DISCO: The ‘DOIN’ IT’ People. The area’s finest FULL-Service Drug Chain. DISCO. Druid Hills, Kings, Hospital Drive, Bassett.
Ad: “The 4 Best Ways To ‘FIND-A-HOME’ in Martinsville in Henry County – Mike Tilley, Margaret Weaver, Ann Marks, Don Humphrey. Donald B. Humphrey Realtor, 624 Church St., Martinsville.
25 years ago - 1999
Versharn Scales gave a tour of his new mansion, Somerset, on Va. 58 west. The mansion was built in self-sufficient sections, like apartments, so that he could host relatives. That included three ktichens, one in the main area, one in the swimming pool area and the third in the “entertainment/Super Bowl” room. The handicapped-accessible house included three fireplaces, a room for a pool table, a glass-enclosed solarium and a beauty salon for his mother. Outside there was a basketball court, tennis court, a volleyball court, a track and a 4-acre pond with 10,000 bass. There were four villas in the back of the home for guests. Scales was the owner of MTI Construction Inc. in Washington, which specialized in government contracts through his certification from the Small Business Administration. Projects he built included a runway at Andrews Air Force Base for 747 jets, part of Lorton prison, the metro subway stations in DC under a $1 million contract and a vehicle maintenance garage under a $25 million contract. There was room in the house for his mother, Nannie V. Scales, and the parents of his wife Patricia, Tommy and Irene Bowles. Several cousins also lived there to help take care of his mother and the home. On his property he hosted jazz festivals, political events and activities for Magna Vista High School teams.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.