Jan. 24

1925

A total eclipse happened, and it was tracked by telephone and telegraph reports from various points along its route. The schedule of the eclipse’s passage had been mapped out for months, but it was the duty of the traffic managers at various stations to notify the next stations if it was on time. The signal stations were a Harvard observer in Buffalo, then the Cornell observatory in Ithaca, then the Vassar observatory, followed by the Yale observatory at New Haven. Locally, the eclipse covered about 80% of the sun.

1950

Maynard West of Axton was one of the winners in the six-county 100 Bushel corn contest. His yield of 120.94 bushels per acre was the second highest in the district.  He won $25. L.A. Starling of near Ridgeway won $15 for his 92.23 bushels, and G.W. Grogan of Horsepasture won $10 for his 86.78 bushels.

City Council voted to allow City Manager Kent Mathewson to improve the city-owned parking lot on Fayette street right away. It would include grading, paving and installing 91 parking meters.

A 12-inch water line was being extended directly from the water filtration plant to the business section of the city, which would double the water supply and the flow of water from hydrants.

1961

City businessman Samuel A. Levy of 15 Moss St. had been since 1955 urging Congressmen and Senators to support a change in the Social Security Act that would remove limitations on the amount of outside income a person may earn while receiving Social Security benefits. His latest step in his crusade was to write President Kennedy a letter about it. He had written Vice-President Nixon and Rep. Edmund P. Ranwan of New York in February 1958, and his comments were entered for the record.

1975

Adult education classes offered by Martinsville City Schools included Beginning and Advanced Bookkeeping, Beginning and Advanced Shorthand, Beginning and Advanced Typewriting, Operation of Office Machines and more.

2000

Fifth District U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, a lifelong Democrat whose father, Virgil Goode Sr., had been a Democratic state senator, announced that he would run in the 2000 election as an independent. Goode Jr. had built a reputation as an independent, not party-line voter; one of his cross-party votes was a vote to impeach President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

The Textile Worker Relief Act of 2000 was introduced in the General Assembly. It had 83 co-patrons – quite a large amount; most bills had only three or four.

— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.