August 24

100 Years ago – 1924

T.G. Burch and Company, Insurance & Real Estate, Martinsville, was offering $2,000 in prizes for fire prevention slogans. First place, $500; Second place, $250; Third place, $100; seven prizes of $50; 10 prices of $25; 30 prizes of $10; and 50 prizes of $5. The contest would close on Oct. 11, 1924.

City Council granted permission to the Piedmont Creamery Company to erect a building on the corner of Moss and Church streets. The brick building with tin roof would be used for making ice cream. Primitive Baptist Church members spoke against it, saying noise and traffic would bother church services.

75 years ago – 1949

Martinsville’s garbage was all being handled at a dump in Chatham Heights, as the incinerator south of the city had broken down and needed to be fixed. The incinerator had two fire pits and a third one without grates to burn dead animals.

1960

The newly organized Martinsville Air Patrol Squadron were helping in the search for a single-engine plane that had been missing for several days on a flight from Teterboro, N.J., to Oklahoma City. Members of the Squadron included Boyd Gray, an observer, and Madison Hubbard, a pilot.

50 years ago – 1974

Children in Villa Heights held a neighborhood carnival to raise money to fight muscular dystrophy. Attractions included a balloon fight, bean bag toss, fortune telling, book stall and refreshments. The kids included Tammy Eggleston, Timmy Cart, Mary Ann Warren, Junior Towler, Katy Barker and Laura Shrader, and Ricky Eggleston was the ringmaster.

25 years ago - 1999

Memorial Hospital had recently released its 1998 annual report, which said the hospital would be focusing on financials, seeking to cut costs to both itself and to customers. The report stated that the average length of stay for inpatients went from 5.8 days in 1993 to 4.3 days. Joe Roach was the chief executive officer.

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