April 26
100 Years ago – 1925
Evangelist Victor Lightbourne preached five services at different churches, starting at 9:45 a.m. at the Baptist Church, then 11 a.m. at the Methodist Church, then at 3:30 to a Mass Meeting of Men, at 7 p.m. a group of young people from the Christian Endeaver Society of the Christian Church, the Presbyterian Church,, the BYPU and the Epworth League, and finally, at 7:45 p.m., a night service.
75 years ago – 1950
The new Albert Harris Elementary School was dedicated, and an open house and tours were held for the entire Albert Harris School. Many state officials attended. Albert Harris Parent-Teacher Association president R.E. Foster, who was the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, unveiled and presented a plaque to Mary E. McDaniel, member of the school faculty. Fayette Street Christian Church Pastor J.L. Law rendered invocation, and Lillian O. Fisher directed the school choir in rendering music. Albert Harris School was for black students and was said to be one of the best black schools in the state.
50 years ago – 1975
Fifteen-year-old Deborah Rigney Hankins of Axton was in court, where charges against her in connection with the shotgun slaying of her husband were dismissed. She had been charged with killing Larry Engle Hankins, 26, after an argument in their Mountain Valley home. Witnesses testified that Hankins, a Vietnam veteran suffering “total and permanent disability” and treated several times at a Veterans Administration hospital for “psychological” problems, had been drinking heavily the day of the shooting. Witnesses said that he often talked of wanting to commit suicide; that he had held his wife against the hot water heater earlier in the day; and that he pulled the gun to his chest when his wife held it.
25 years ago - 2000
The “Montel Williams Show” which featured Martinsville’s Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan aired. During April Dr. Vaughan had been featured on several national media outlets on the topic of dressing in sexy outfits at work. That came to the forefront in the wake of the movie “Erin Brockovich,” which addressed the topic of appropriate women’s attire in the workplace. Vaughan operated a practice in Martinsville from 1991 to 2002, and from 1986 to 2000 she was the director of emergency medicine at Memorial Hospital. She also was involved in the community, including announcing the Jaycees’ Hot Legs contest, being the emcee for a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser and donating a car the Martinsville Police Department raffled off for $10,000 in 1995. She became so popular that little girls dressed like her at Halloween, with miniskirt, ankle bracelet, high heels, red hair and a doctor’s bag. She told the News & Record that her practice in Martinsville had grown too large, and she was working 75 to 80 hours a week, and it was becoming more and more of a hassle to deal with insurance companies and HMOs. In 2003 she opened a new practice in Greensboro, N.C., following a new business model in Greensboro, N.C.: Patients would pay an annual fee of $1,500, which would cover an annual exam, office visits and house calls. Patients would be given terry-cloth robes to wear, not short paper gowns. She would not deal with insurance companies or HMOs (though her office would file insurance claims for patients). (“Patients check in to check out great legs,” Stan Swofford, News & Record, Jan. 25, 2003, accessed 2/19/2025 on the GoUpstate website)
Homes open for the 2000 Historic Garden Week tour were: James and Dot Montgomery, “Hills and Hollows” at 203 Westover Lane; Mrs. Gorman T. White, 202 Westover Lane; Dr. W.D. and Lauren Prince at 201 Westover Lane; and Barbara and Morgan Holland, 721 Mulberry Road, with Master Gardeners on site to answer questions and give advice.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.