Oct. 2

100 Years ago – 1924

Statistics from the State Department of Education showed that percentage of high school graduates who were boys was increasing. In 1921-22, 32.6% of high school graduates were boys; in 1922-23, it was 35%; and in 1923-24, it was 40.6%. State Superintendent Harris Hart attributed some of the increase to not having boys go off to war as they did during World War II. Also, in the earlier years, wages were higher, so many boys left school to work, but the wages weren’t so impressive during 1923-24, so staying in school seemed to be a better option. A system of accrediting high schools began in 1912-13. In the ,previous spring, 44,508 pupils were enrolled in high school, and 5,866 were graduated.

75 years ago – 1949

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, began with services at Ohev Zion synagogue in the evening, followed by a day of fasting and meditation concluded at sunset the next day. Many of the significant stores in Martinsville were owned by Jewish families.

1960

The open house for the Martinsville and Henry County Community Center, at 18 Cleveland Ave., was held. The center and its equipment cost $228,000, raised by the Jaycees. R.M. Simmons Jr. was the president of Community Recreation Center Inc. The center had an indoor 32- by 75-foot indoor swimming pool, among other amenities. That center admitted white people only, and would only last about 7 years as it was before it was closed in May 1967 due to integration attempts by black teenagers and young adults. The Center was supported by the United Fund and was operated as a non-profit organization. In August 1967, the United Fund of MHC announced that among its fund drive for 1968, money would be raised to build a Family YMCA to replace the Community Recreation Center in the same building. In September 1967, Dr. R. Denby Lewis was the chairman of a group intending to establish a YMCA; charter memberships were available for $25. The proposed YMCA would be integrated. The YMCA opened there in July 1968, under the direction of executive director Jack Sizemore. That building is no longer there.

50 years ago – 1974

William F. Stone Hall at Patrick Henry Community College was dedicated. Stone represented the Martinsville-Henry County area in the Virgnia General Assembly from 1954 until his death in 1973. He was instrumental in getting legislation and financing to make the community college a reality. Stone Hall, both an auditorium and a gymnasium with classroom space, was the only such facility at any Virginia community college. It was authorized when PHCC was still part of the University of Virginia.

25 years ago - 1999

A crowed of at least 10,000 danced like crazy when Ricky Scaggs and Kentucky Thunder played “Get Up John” for Speed Fest. All in all, an estimated 25,000 people were in uptown Martinsville that Saturday for Speed Fest activities. Speed Fest was sponsored by Coca-Cola, the Chamber of Commerce and the Jaycees.

Walk for the Heart raised about $37,500 for local aid and for the American Heart Association. Hundreds of volunteers walked from Cleveland Avenue and down Mulberry Road. Carrie Collins was the director of the local chapter.

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