1924, town manager controversy; 1949, “Joan of Arc” at the Rives; 1960, “Glass Holds the Key to the Future”; 1974, Fieldale Cab Co.; 1999, Stanley Furniture announces new home office in Bowles Industrial Park. (PHOTO: Millner Store in Pythian Building)

1924, NuBONE Corsets; 1949, Fontaine Converting Works employee electrocuted; 1960, Fred’s Skateland; 1974, first fatality at Blue Ridge airport; 1999, Don King testifies in support of Oliver McCall.

1924, mail train schedules; 1949, library trustees consider buying property; 1960, Figsboro residents lobby for school; 1974, Milestones of Freedom winners; 1999, City Council agreed to buy Tultex building.

1924, “when grandma and grandpa [were] … young and lusty in years”; 1949, Martinsville Rotary Club’s Courtesy Contest; 1960, Blue Ridge Yacht Club meeting; 1974, Mayor Francis West addresses “bitterness between black community and me”; 1999, car prices. (PHOTO: Hotel Hamilton, where Jefferson Plaza is now)

1924, outbreak of hydrophobia (rabies); 1949, movies playing; 1960, Martinsville Municipal Airport; 1999, womanless beauty pageant (PHOTO: Henry C. Lester Home on Church Street)

1924, booze bust; 1949, local Retail Merchants Association credit checks; 1960, tensions over desegregation; 1974, charming Kwick Knit ad for lingerie classes; 1999, NSBE Junior Chapter at convention. (PHOTO: curing tobacco)

1924, “Virginia Law to Preserve Racial Integrity”; 1949, notice of $600,000 for new black high school; 1960, demolition scheduled for First Baptist on Church Street; 1974, Stuart Windle’s class incubates eggs; 1999, parent-teacher workshops on the new SOLs. (PHOTO: Church and Broad Streets)

1924, 3-year reprieve for Hungarian partridges and ring-neck pheasants in Henry County; 1949, 3,000 feet of lumber washed in flood; 1960, Martinsville Hospital Auxiliary scholarships for girls; 1974, ultra-exclusive development planned; 1999, Lynn Ward’s recipe. (PHOTO: 1930s east on Church Street from Bridge Street)

1924, average of 57 radios in each county; 1949, the Hormel Girls in town; 1960, MHC Airport Development Corp. asks for lease; 1974, Samuel Hairston School’s Spring Bazaar; 1999, City Council considers city-wide curfew. (PHOTO: from courthouse balcony, 1926)

1924, the Love Nest Girls come to town; 1949, Snow White Diaper Service; 1960, Boy Scouts’ Sock Hop at Spencer-Penn School; 1974, Mason’s; 1999, Blue Ridge Business Expo in Patrick County.

1924, Junior Rifle Corps in Bassett; 1949, lawsuit; 1960, snow postpones Jaycees’ Clean-Up, Paint-Up, Fix-Up Week; 1974, proposed subdivision ordinance protested; 1999, Pluma to be restructured.

1924, Business and Professional Women’s Club; 1949, the beginning of the end of the Dick & Willie; 1960, expansion of Forest Park CC; 1974, Herbert Boaz, Jesse Kendrick, Pete Ferguson, James Harris, Paul Adams and George Martin react to gas shortage; 1999, Nancy Redd places in Virginia Junior Miss. (PHOTO: Ridgeway train station)

1924: The beginnings of Hooker Furniture announced; 1949, The Hormel Girls were coming to town; 1960, big test for juniors; 1974, Mrs. Linda Cox’s class at Spencer school; 1999, furniture prices.

1924, Bassett Minstrels at Globe Theater; 1949, third case of meningitis; 1960, MHC Women’s Club Spring Festival; 1974, new cars for MPD; 1999, ACS’s Daffodil Days fundraiser chaired by Tom Helmstutler.

1924, real estate transfers; 1949, N&S Railway asks to reduce Martinsville passenger service; 1960, snow and sleet; 1974, Secretaries of the Year; 1999, Rotary Club hosts five from Bangladesh.

1924, Cross Laundry Co. on Askin Street; 1949, 1,600 attend DuPont open house; 1960, fire, snow and wrecks; 1974, sale at Holiday Furniture; 1999, Campbell Court students teach their parents how to use internet.

1924, special rates at Shackelford Hospital for Red Cross; 1949, fire in Bassett; 1960, Jack Gilley’s snow zoo in Ridgeway; 1975, new computerized traffic lights; 1999, 90% of men’s bathrobes in U.S. made in Martinsville.

1924, Farmers Night at Kiwanis meeting; 1949, DuPont plant open house; 1960, gas fire in Forest Hills; 1974, adult education classes; 1999, construction at Bridge & Market. PHOTO: Thornton’s Bakery, corner of Moss and Fayette streets

1924, new manager of Henry Hotel; 1949, Ford Insurance Co. and the stumbling milkman; 1960, Civil Rights Act filibuster and Bland Scholarship winners; 1974, plans for new Administration Building; 1999, eight houses on Moss Street demolished, but oak tree across the road from Mildred Sink remained.

1924, letter from J.D. Bassett in Florida; 1949, racy Lee Telephone ad; 1960, cigarette tax; 1974, DMHS French Club fundraisers; 1999, Harvey Gardner Upholstery destroyed by fire.