May 6 through the years

100 Years ago – 1925

The closing exercises of the Colored Grade School took place. Professor T.G. Pettyr was the principal and had been so for 5 years. Miss Edna Eggleston was the head of the department of Domestic Science. Pupils in grades 3-8 demonstrated the results of their training. Most of the equipment used in the departments was furnished by the teachers and pupils: sewing machines, tables, a large range for cooking and a hot water tank.

 The Norfolk and Western Railway cut its freight rates between Firestone and Martinsville on brick from 79 cents per ton to 54 cents per ton, to take effect May 6.

75 years ago – 1950

It was the annual Clean-Up, Paint-Up and Fix-Up Week in Martinsville. Privately owned trucks joined City garbage trucks in hauling off extra loads of rubbish. Residents and business owners were participating in the city-wide effort of cleaning their premises including lawns, basements and attics.

50 years ago – 1975

The principal of Stuart Elementary School was charged with child abuse in connection with a padding he allegedly gave an 8-year-old boy. He was in his first year of principal of the school. He was released on his on recognizance and would have to go through a hearing on June 12 in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. The warrant charged him with “unlawfully using excessive force in administering punishment upon Dwayne Blake Baliles by striking him with a paddle and causing bodily injury. Dr. John J. Engel had said that when he examined the boy he saw bruises, which he photographed. Corporal punishment by teachers and administrators was allowed in Virginia if the matter was not addressed by local school boards.

25 years ago - 2000

Brandon Lee Moore, 13, of 338 S. Creek Court in Collinsville died while he and a friend were playing with a revolver in a house on Dillons Fork Road.

— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.