Sept. 10
1100 Years ago – 1924
Advertisements for the upcoming Henry County Fair promised that an aeroplane would arrive 10 days before the fair to circle around the area and drop advertising and free tickets. New features at the fairgrounds included a ladies rest room, new quarters for poultry, new stalls for cattle and a new entrance.
75 years ago – 1949
J. Frank Wilson and Lafe Prillaman won most of the livestock awards in the Hereford class at the Tri-County Fair in Leaksville, N.C.
1960
Rieves S. Hodnett was the chairman of the Martinsville Democratic Executive Committee. Thomas J. Burch was the chairman and Whitney Shumate was the co-chairman for that committee’s committee to conduct a vigorous campaign for Sen. John F. Kennedy, presidential nominee, and Sen. Lyndon Johnson, candidate for vice president.
50 years ago – 1974
Dr. Mervyn and Mrs. Virgnia King appeared on a television program on Channel 13 to talk about “antiques and hypnosis.”
The Patrick County Fair opened in Stuart. It featured 250 individual exhibits in 23 classes.
25 years ago - 1999
At Circuit City, you could sign up with US Cellular to get a Motorola StarTAC 3000 Cellular Flip Phone with 100 minutes per month for $20, or splurge and get 600 minutes a month for $50. The phone weighted 3.8 ounces and featured a 20-number memory, up to 60-minute talk time and 14-hour standby time, and a NiMH battery.
At the Martinsville School Board’s fall retreat, board member Chuck Davies recommended closing Patrick Henry Elementary School. He said declining enrollment meant that the city would have to close a school, and PHES was the most logical since it needed $2.5 in renovatinos. Its capacity was between 380 and 425 students, but it had only 283. Clearview Elementary School had just undergone a $325,000 renovation, and improvements for Druid Hills were estimated to cost $400,000. Albert Harris Elementary School also was open. Today, only PHES and AHES remain.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.