June 7
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 Years ago – 1924
Robert’s Drug Store gave over a window to the Ladies Aid Society of Broad Street Baptist Church, where the women displayed cakes, pies and other foods for sale.
75 years ago – 1949
The executive committee of the Henry County Chapter of the National Infantile Paralysis Foundation met in the evening at the Burch Building, 16 Church St. Harry Fusfeld was the chair; E.A. Sale, vice-chairman; W.W. Clingenpeel, secretary; Robert Morse, treasurer; and members Mrs. Ann Brown, Horace G. Dyer, H.C. Finney, Henry Reed, Dr. Fred T. Renick, Dr. Claude P. Sherman, Mrs. James C. Smith and Wm. T. Turner, all of Martinsville; and Dr. L.A. Faundree of Bassett; Mrs. R.E. Snapp of Collinsville; E.H. Goode of Fieldale; Dr. Robert L. Mason of Ridgeway; S.G. Minter of Spencer; and Mrs. Hugh H. Chatham of Stanleytown.
1960
Two Cincinnati investors purchased Standard Garments Inc., which had 500 workers across two plants in Martinsville. The investors said they had no plans for any changes. The plants produced sportswear and work and dress pants.
Martinsville Schools Superintendent M.L. Carper was authorized by the City School Board to hire teachers at an increased salary scale of $3,700 to $4,800 per year.
A needle-nosed Bomarc missile at McGuire AFB, New Jersey, battle-ready with an atomic warhead in its concrete launching pen, caught fire, touching off a radiation scare, the Associated Press reported. Some radiation had seeped out of its nuclear tip. The weapon, totally destroyed, had cost $7,200,000.
50 years ago – 1974
The Martinville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce scrambled for ways to recruit new member, as figures showed that only 52% of local firms and professionals were members, outgoing president H.W. Bathrolomay told Chamber members at his final meting. James Van Vleck was the incoming president. Also during the meeting, the board of directors voted to give $400 to an advertise campaign to encourage tobacco farmers to sell their crops at local warehouses. Other organizations who were encouraged to contribute were the Tobacco Board ($400), the Retail Merchants Association ($400), banks and lenders ($400), and two Martinsville tobacco warehouses ($200 each). Warehouses already had spent about $7,000 for ads and mailers to farmers.
25 years ago - 1999
Martinsville High School social studies teacher Jason D. Turner was one of 10 teachers across Virginia to attend the two-week Teachers’ Study Seminar in Germany, to study material that would be covered on Virginia’s new Standards of Learning (SOL’s).
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.