Sept. 23

100 Years ago – 1924

Clothing store advertisements and fashion articles of 1924 were showing straight, flat dresses (or frocks) that fell to the calf or below, with ribbing and wide collars. Newspaper articles now and then were claiming that the bob had fallen out of style, and women were growing their hair out long instead. “’Bobs’ Doomed? Beauty Crown to Unshorn Girls” appeared in the Sept. 23, 1924, Henry Bulletin. It stated that at the beauty pageant at Atlantic City, only long-haired girls won. The article also quoted unnamed women: “ ‘I cut my hair three years ago,’ said a young business woman in a downtown office yesterday. ‘I thought I’d save a dreadful lot of time. But, gracious, my ‘King Tut’ cut means oodles of bother and hairdressing expenses – far more than my old coiffure cost.’ ‘And bobby does destroy a girl’s personality,’ chimed in her companion. ‘You look like every other girl, at dances, theatre, parties. We all look like orphan asylum inmates. No individuality. Yes, I’m letting mine grow again.’”

Garden Club met at the home of its president, Mrs. Glenn. Miss Bessie Tuggle won the special prize of $10 in gold, offered by Mrs. J.H. Spencer, for having the most attractive summer flower garden.

75 years ago – 1949

The Blue Ridge Soil Conservation District celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tour of the W.H. Davis farm near Horsepasture Christian Church and the showing of the movie “Dirt Cheap” at the Rives Theatre.

At County Trial Justice Court, a Meadows of Dan dealer was fined $100 on a charge of selling inedible eggs. He also received a suspended sentence of 90 days. He was accused of selling bad eggs in Bassett after he had been warned that inedible eggs were included in the lot that he had distributed in Martinsville on Sept. 19. S.T. Vaughan, inspector for the Virginia Division of Dairy and Foods, tested the eggs with the candling method in court. Vaughan told the court that a strong effort was being made to prevent dealers from selling storage eggs which had not been marked properly – which had been a big problem in Martinsville and Henry County. Selling inedible eggs was a misdemeanor.

1960

Frith Construction was awarded a contract for the construction of a new post office building in Collinsville. Arthur E. Summerfield was the Postmaster General there. The building would have 2,869 square feet, an outside loading platform and a hard-surfaced parking lot, modern lighting and equipment and a low, open service counter, at a cost of more than $50,000. Under terms of the agreement, the construction company would own the building and lease it to the federal government for 10-year periods. (According to Henry County GIS, that post office, at 3365 Virginia Avenue, is now owned by Palmetto Visions LLC of 775 Barker Road, Axton, since 2012.)

Saul Morris Schreibfeder, 72, died. He was heavily involved with Martinsville’s industrial, civic and religious life. He was born in Russia but came to the US early, first in New York City, then in Baltimore, in 1919, where he worked in textiles. When the Jobbers Pants Co. (called Standard Garments in 1960) opened in 1933, Schreibfeder and his family moved to Martinsville. He was plant manager until he retired in 1958. He was active in Ohev Zion Synagogue, Piedmont Lodge No 152, Roanoke Scottish Rite Masons, Kazim Shrine Temple of Roanoke, Patrick Henry Lodge No. 82 Knights of Pythias, Raja DOKK Temple in Ronaoke and Martinsville Kiwanis Club. He was on the board of directors of Martinsville General Hospital, a past president of the synagogue and a past president of Fusfeld-Heiner Lodge, B’nai B’rith Lodge in Martinsville. He and his family lived at 901 Mulberry Road.

50 years ago – 1974

Fieldcrest Mills Inc. in Fieldale was closed for the week because of what division vice president W.O. Stone called a slowdown in business. The shutdown would affect between 1,250 and 1,300 employees.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors voted to get Sheriff C.P. Witt a new county-owned car as soon as possible and stop paying him mileage payments for the use of his own car for sheriff business. That action came after they learned that the county had paid Witt $8,041.24 over a 27-month period, paid at a rate of 9 cents a mile. Meanwhile, recent police cruisers were costing the county $1,250 – and they would resell the car after 60,000 miles for $1,000. Witt was the county’s only law enforcement officer still driving his own car.

Henry County Dog Warden L.E. Kidd told the Board of Supervisors that the numbers of stray dogs in the area had increased drastically, and he attributed that to people dumping off and turning loose their dogs because the price of dog food had gone up so high. He suggested the county enact a leash law, requiring dog owners to keep their dogs on their own properties. The county at that time had just two dog catchers and no pound or shelter. Stray dogs that were picked up were kept for a few days at Kidd’s home, then shot if not claimed. Commonwealth’s Attorney Roscoe Reynolds suggested perhaps building a dog pound near the landfill on King’s Mountain Road [and there is a dog pound there now].

The Henry County Board of Supervisors authorized architects to seek bids for a four-story office building to be built on Kings Mountain Road.

25 years ago - 1999

Hal Prillaman was recognized by the Virginia Economic Development Association as Virginia’s Volunteer of the Year. Prillaman was the vice chairman of the Patrick Henry Development Council’s board of directors. In 1955, after graduation from Virgina Tech, he started the Prillaman Chemical Corp. in Martinsville. He was lauded as being instrumental in the construction of two shell buildings to attract new business to the area.

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