April 10
By Holly Kozelsky and Pat Pion
100 Years ago – 1924
The second mass meeting to consider the agricultural credit Corporation of Virginia was held in the municipal building. T.G. Burch, president of Piedmont Bank & Trust Co., introduced Joseph M. Hurt of Blackstone, vice president of the Co-operative Tobacco Growers Association, who advocated for the credit corporation.
75 years ago – 1949
Air-conditioning equipment was being installed in the Patterson Drug Company store at Main and Walnut Streets; new railings had been placed on the counter at City Police headquarters to protect papers and other documents from the general public; and the Martinsville Coal Dealers Association held a meeting at the Henry Hotel to discuss the latest equipment and methods in heating by coal, oil and gas.
1960
Ruth Pace conducted the Cathedral Choir of Martinsville and Henry County in Schubert’s Mass in G and “The Green Blade Riseth” by Searle Wright the following afternoon at Broad Street Christian Church, featuring soloists Catherine Owens, Dan Manson, C. B. Troutman, James Hare and Nancie Carter.
Martin Processing Co, Inc., of Collinsville announced that it intended to move into a vastly improved plant in Fieldale by September 1. The 32,000-square-foot plant would be constructed on property extending to the banks of the Smith River on Route 632 between Fieldale and Stanleytown and would cost between $250k and $275k, with financial backing by DuPont. It was the only company in the world dyeing Mylar polyester film, and had clients in England, West Germany, Switzerland and India, among others. It also, in cooperation with DuPont, developed a process for dyeing a new type of orlon. They also dyed nylon for the carpet trade. They held significant patents in 20 foreign countries and the US, with others pending at that time.
Julius Hermes, secretary-treasurer and founder of the company, announced that the discharge from their new plant would not affect fish life in the Smith River. VPI chemists had used goldfish to run tests to assay possible damage.
Young Richard Petty, 22, shot through the pack midway through the Virginia 500 to win the race before 12,000 spectators. He enjoyed being kissed by Sue Williams, Miss Virginia, as part of his reward, and was delighted when it had to be repeated for photographers.
50 years ago – 1974
Martinsville Bulletin: “Several hundred magazines, sexual devices and what police suspected to be sexual stimulants were seized in a raid Tuesday night at Lee’s Confectionary [53 Fayette St.]. … Police Chief Frank A. Gard said the retail value of the seized items was in excess of $6,000 … ‘Playboy,’ ‘Esquire’ and other nationally-known men’s magazines were not seized, he added. The magazines, many of which were sealed in cellophane, were priced up to $12.95.”
25 years ago – 1999
The Virginia Museum of Natural History held an Arbor Day celebration. One of the presenters was Steve Sims, who showed primitive living skills including how to build a fire without matches.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin accessed on microfilm at the Martinsville Branch Library.