Two terms with not a penny spent to campaign

When Mrs. Sallie C. Booker (1857-1944) of Martinsville was 69 years old, she was recruited by her former students, who had become leaders of industry and business, to run for the Virginia House of Delegates.

In September 1925 she was elected unanimously as the Democratic nominee for the House of Delegates. In her acceptance speech, she said that one of Virginia’s greatest needs was advertising to the world her immense and varied resources and her wonderful attractions and opportunities to the homeseeker and investor.

She was unopposed in her first run and never spent a penny to campaign in her other two runs—she simply won. She was one of only two women sitting in the General Assembly at the time.

In July 1927 furniture-maker R.L. Stone of Bassett announced his candidacy for the seat, stating that a seat in the legislature is a man’s job. In October, Mrs. Booker asked for public debate, but he refused. The November 1927 elections set a record turnout of 2,700 ballots cast. Mrs. Booker beat Mr. Stone by 56 votes.

It is said that once during her campaign, her opponent told voters, “You can’t elect Mrs. Booker again. Why, she’s an old woman.” She took off her hat and stood, saying, “Your hair is a lot whiter than mine.”

She taught her first school at age 16, married at 19 and continued her teaching career for 25 years, with interruptions at the births of her seven children. 

She lived through four wars: The Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. She died on Dec, 1, 1944, at the age of 89.

In May 1945, after she had died, H.A. Ford & Co. auctioned her Martinsville property for sale. At the time, it was 46 building lots between Booker and Bondurant roads and along Church, Watt and Fairy streets, with just one house on it, hers. It no longer is there.