Feb. 28
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
1924
Fontaine & Maury opened in the Aaron building on Main street. It was a general electric contracting business and had a showroom displaying a complete line of fixtures and electrical appliances, as well as a repair department.
1949
The Henry County Board of Supervisors voted to release its equity in the abandoned Venereal Disease clinic fund to the Martinsville Community hospital for black people. City Council also had taken a similar action. The fund totaled $3,341.18. The Rotary Club sponsored the clinic until 1947. The total fundraising campaign for Community Hospital was $60,000.
The Henry County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to require all dogs in the county to be vaccinated against rabies. That came about after concerning rabies outbreaks around the county. Game Warden Edgar T. Lemons was appointed to vaccinate dogs, and dog owners would pay 65 cents per dog for the vaccination.
The Board of Supervisors saw a demonstration of two-way radio equipment for police cars and wanted to pursue getting some, but decided first to look at options from other companies as well.
1960
Smoke from a fire in the city dump behind Albert Harris School filled the downtown skies, almost blacking out the street lights.
Civil unrest was growing. Student demonstrations and picketing occurred in several southern cities and in Madison, Wisconsin. In Montgomery, Ala., about 25 men brandishing miniature baseball bats in paper bags assaulted Christine Stovall, 22. She was wounded and bleeding. There was an ensuing scuffle which disbursed in the gathering crowd before police arrived. Over 100 individuals were arrested. Picketing and other demonstrations occurred throughout the country, highlighting the civil rights bill being considered by congress.
1974
At Collinsville Furniture Mart you could get a French Provincial bedroom suite for $79.95 piece each piece, a set of Maytag washer and dryer for $399 and a 7-piece metal dinette for $59.95. Anyone shopping at Roses could take advantage of the Wednesday Shoppers Special at the Lunch Box: grilled cheese sandwich, cup of homemade vegetable soup and tea, coffee or Coke for 88 cents.
1999
On sale in Circuit City: Hi-Fi VCR, $99.99; JVC VHS-C Camcorder, $329.99; 25-channel cordless phone, $19.99; 31-inch stereo TV, $429.99;AM/FM CD Boombox with Cassette, $39.99; Pioneer RF 12-Disc Changer with Remote, $199.99; NEC Intel Pentium computer and monitor, $1,2499.99; Intel Celeron computer and monitor, $799.99
Homeschooling was picking up steam, with 90 homeschooled students in Henry County, 13 in Martinsville and 26 in Patrick County, according to school officials.
PHOTO: 1978, Sallie Hall Slate strings tobacco in Patrick County. Photo by Carl Fleischhauer, Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project collection, 1977-1981 (AFC 1982/009)
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.