July 30
100 Years ago – 1924
S. Heiner shop in Martinsville was advertising a newly arrived line of wardrobe and steamer trunks, girls school and hand bags, suit cases, etc. Also arrived at Heiner: 100 ladies’ and men’s bathing suits.
75 years ago – 1949
The city prison farm was set to open shortly, and the City renegotiated a contract with Mrs. Elsie Sims Scales to operate the quarry on her property off Mt. Olivet Road. The previous contract the City had with her was for 3 cents a ton for rock quarried there, but the new contract was for 5 cents a ton. It also guaranteed Mrs. Scales at minimum of $50 a month. The last time the quarry had been in operation, more than 1,000 tons of rock were quarried there.
One of a series of weekly square dances was held at the Farmers Warehouse, with music from an out-of-town stringed band.
1960
Martinsville’s two National Guard units, Batteries A and D, Automatic Weapons Bn (Self-propelled), 246th Artillery, left for a two-week encampment with other units at the Virginia State Military reservation in Virginia Beach. The two groups had 213 members total. They left from the National Guard Armory which was located on Water Street. [Looking at maps: Water Street makes a triangle with East Market Street and Ellsworth Street. It runs to the left of where the City’s recycling bins are now, and where the former Agape Christian Fellowship church was located.)
50 years ago – 1974
Fifteen people from Martinsville and the counties of Henry, Franklin and Patrick were among the 75 social workers and welfare administrators who met in Roanoke for a meeting on massive reform of the welfare program.
Randolph “Randy” Alez Ware, 11, of 208 Mason Court, Gaynor Heights (the area off Virginia Avenue and Smith Rucker Road) died after running into a glass door at his house. He was a member of Collinsville Church of the Brethren and had completed fifth grade at John Redd Smith Elementary School.
25 years ago - 1999
Teenagers enrolled in the Summer Youth Employment Training Program in Martinsville, through Pittsylvania County Community Action Agency, spruced up Jackson Street Children’s Park and washed and cleaned playground equipment. (Jackson Street runs between Fayette Street and West Church Street and a little bit further.) They were Danny Smallwood Jr., Shawn Reynolds, RaShonda Gilbert, Angela Mahan, Adriane Adams, Shekima Hayes, George Hairston III, Andre Adams and Joel Lawless.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.