April 14
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 Years ago – 1924
Honor roll for Mt. Pleasant School: First grade, Alice Earles; third grade, Fred Jarrett; fourth grade, Thelma Joyce, Randolph Joyce, Oris Spencer and Woodrow Joyce – Teacher, Miss Jennie Grogan. Fifth grade, Janie Boyd and Emma Tilley; sixth grade, Katherine Tate; seventh grade, Carleen Joyce and Guy Tate – teacher, Miss Helen Bouldin.
75 years ago – 1949
Troxler Furniture Company, 26 Fayette St., advertised a 5-piece chrome kitchen table and chairs, finished in red & white or black & white, with plastic-covered backs and seats, for $49.95. The regular price was $69.95. It could be bought on credit with $4 down and weekly payments of $1.25.
1960
A full-scale gas price war was raging in Martinsville, with no signs of a truce. Predictions were that it could continue for maybe a week or ten days, possibly a month. Standard gas was going for as low as 26 cents a gallon, including tax, with high test as low as 30.9 cents among major companies, with regular for 24.9 cents and premium for 27.9 cents among independents, who were trying to stay 2 cents under major companies.
Winn Dixie offered large eggs for 45 cents a dozen, butter for 59 cents a pound, sugar five pounds for 39 cents, and evaporated milk 6 cans for 79 cents ahead of the Easter holiday. Easter candy ranged from 29 cents to 69 cents.
50 years ago – 1974
Pillowtex announced that it had signed a licensing agreement and distribution agreement with Kaltex Home, a subsidiary of Grupo Kaltex in Mexico. Kaltex would manufacture and sell in Mexico certain products under the Pillowtex name and continue to distribute American-made non-Pillowtex products in Mexico, as well as to distribute Mexican-made Kaltex products in the U.S.
25 years ago - 1999
About 1,500 people attended the first services in the new sanctuary of Blackberry Baptist Church in Sanville. The pastor was the Rev. Lee Kirkman. The new sanctuary, with a seating capacity of 600 and with seven multi-purpose rooms, cost about $240,000.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.