March 1 back in time
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 years ago - 1924
State Agent B.A. Anthony and Policeman H.H. Dudley discovered a still set-up half a mile outside Martinsville limits, one-quarter of a mile east of the D&R RR crossing highway bridge and a few hundred yards north of the railroad.
75 years ago – 1949
Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Louis announced his formal resignation from the sport.
The Collinsville Community Association held a meeting to talk about improvements such as making a constitution and by-laws as a first step in getting a charter from the state, naming and marking streets and forming a community center.
Martinsville’s first city manager, Kent Mathewson, had his first day on the job.
1960
In the vote on the issuance of $2,300,000 in sewer bonds, there were separate ballot boxes for property owners and non-property owners. In addition to the bonds, the remainder of construction would be made up by increasing sewer tariffs leveled against water consumers, equal to the consumer’s water bill. Turnout was lower than expected for the sewer bond referendum, considering the turnout for the vote in 1957 had been three times the volume. March 2 would tell the tale, reflecting whether Martinsville-Henry County would get the green light to invest $3,700,000 to improve and extend sewer service to its residents.
At dawn the US Senate voted 55-6 to continue to filibuster civil rights legislation.
Martinsville High School Seniors would present their class play the following Friday in the high school auditorium. Highlights of “Inherit the Wind” would include a real live monkey, a picnic, a revival meeting and several courtroom scenes. Ben Gardner, Walker Holt, Roscoe Reynolds, Barry Greene, Elizabeth Simmons, Anne Morris and Barry Westfall were among the performers. The prior year, this class had performed “Teahouse of the August Moon” to sold-out audiences.
50 years ago – 1974
It was the gas shortage, and tank trucks carrying Martinsville’s March allocations were rolling into town. Lee Sigmon, who operated two American Oil stations, said his March allocation was 75% of his March 1972 sales, but it would only meet 40% of the demand. W.L. Wiseman told the Martinsville Bulletin that motorists are starting to get used to the mandatory even-odd rationing plan, so things should go smoother this month than they had in the past. A 2-cent per gallon pump price went into effect, which would raise prices at some stations to close to 60 cents.
25 years ago - 1999
Dianne Pace’s fifth-grade students at Spencer-Penn Elementary School were learning science based on following balloonists who were competing in an around-the-world race, with a $1 million prize by Budweiser. The students include Jordan Rea and Ian Hulsey. The students launched their own balloons using a propane launcher and studying the weather for optimal times.
In Patrick County, Economic Development Coordinator Michael Burnette was saying that Patrick County’s economy was on the rebound, after losses in 1996. The county was hoping to attract a company to take over the 56,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by Bassett-Walker and had about half a dozen possibilities.
PHOTO: Patrick County tobacco farmer Tim Slate, 1978, Photo by Carl Fleischhauer, Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project collection, 1977-1981 (AFC 1982/009), Library of Congress
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.