Feb. 23
100 Years ago – 1925
A fire in the varnishing room of the Bassett Manufacturing Plant at New Town Bassett resulted in an $800,000 loss. It was caused by a spark from the electric switch in the varnishing room, which ignited varnish being sprayed on furniture. The fire was contained to the third floor for about an hour, but as the water supply ran out, it spread. Edwin Bassett was credited with keeping the fire from spreading to the building where machinery was stored.
75 years ago – 1950
At the Towne House a luncheon meeting was held to look into the possibility of establishing a YMCA in Martinsville. A representative of the Southern Area Council of the YMCA came to Martinsville on the invitation of Julius Hermes, the manager of Fontaine Converting Works, and others.
1961
Martinsville City Council made an informal offer to Forest Park Country Club of $5,000 for damages in the construction of a proposed sewer line across the property, declining the country club’s proposal that an outside appraiser be called in to see the property. That money would be in addition to the work of filling in the sewer line ditch and seeding grass, which the City already had agreed to do. In October 1960, the City had negotiated a mile and a quarter’s worth of sewer line easements across the club’s property, to service the rapidly growing Druid Hills area.
50 years ago – 1975
It was the first day of Daylight Saving Time, which a lot of people complained was too soon. DST would be in effect for 8 months. Now, in 2025, DST begins on March 9 and runs through Nov. 2.
Fieldcrest Mills reported a loss of $2 million, or 58 cents a share. William C. Battle was the president.
25 years ago - 2000
Public hearings by the State Corporation Commission began, with the first one in Roanoke, on the topic of creating a new area code out of the 540 district, which would run out of phone numbers by 2001. The 540 area code included areas around Martinsville.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.