May 4 through the years
100 Years ago – 1925
Prices at W.P. Hodnett Co.: 1 lb. Maxwell House coffee, 52 cent; can of Old Dutch Cleanser, 8 cents; 1 quart of Wesson Oil, 53 cents; LUX, 10 cents; 50 paper napkins, 15 cents; Palm Olive Soap, 8 cents’ 8 lbs. of Snow Drift Lard, $1.53; 1 lb. Calumet powders, 29 cents; also, new potatoes, green beans, green peas, lettuce and celery.
75 years ago – 1950
It rained for the first time in two weeks, and Henry County farmers were grateful. The ½ inch of rain loosened up the formerly hard grounds. Meanwhile, tobacco plants had been damaged by the tobacco fly, but they were free so far from blue mold. The apple crop was looking to be good and plentiful as long as a cold snap would not cause apples to fall from the trees. A small crop – 25% at one orchard and 10% at another – of peaches in Patrick County was predicted for the year.
50 years ago – 1975
Martinsville’s first CROP Walk was held. It was a planned 15-mile trek through the city to raise money for starving people around the world. There were 611 marchers, mostly young, and another 100 or so parents and other supporters at Martinsville High School’s athletic field watching it get started. The marchers raised $16,609 (worth about $9,780 today).
25 years ago - 2000
Fifth District U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode Jr. started out as a Democrat, but he recently had gone independent. The Fifth District Democratic Committee asked him to return funds contributed to his congressional campaign committee.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.