Oct. 3 through the years
100 Years ago – 1925
Ankle- or calf-length knitted straight-line coats were in style for fall, as evidenced by three fashion articles in the 8-page Oct. 2 Henry Bulletin. “Owing to its smart appearance, expressed through a conservative elegance which has been artfully achieved through intriguing colorings and masterly styling, the advance knitted coats are creating a thrill of genuine enthusiasm through the length and breadth of fashiondom,” reads “For Autumn Wear Choose A Long Knitted Coat” on Page 2. “What with its elegance, its loveliness, and above all, its general adaptability to practical wear, the knitted coat graduates this season from the novelty class demanding by virtue of its own worth-whileness, to be taken seriously from now on and not as a mere passing fancy,” reads “Furlike Knitted Coats Bespeak Style Prestige” on Page 3. Also on Page 3, Sam Kolodny on Brown’s Corner in Martinsville advertised frocks and also ladies coats: “In these … we have a beautiful assortment, both straight line and flare effects in all materials Fur trimmed and plain.” On Page 5 the article “Mannish Note Appeals in Fall Utility Coats” describes the new coat style as “envelops the figure, has a semi-snug adjustment and is cut with a slight flare in the skirt portion. Bone buttons and a velvet inlay on the collar strike a popular mannish note that is evidenced in utility coats.”
75 years ago – 1950
Southwestern Virginia Gas Company, across from the post office, and with phone number 7169, sold Servel gas-powered refrigerators.
50 years ago – 1975
Martinsville Sheriff James L. Carter was taking applications for a woman deputy. He had accepted about 20 so far but expected a lot more. Two-thirds of the woman deputy’s pay would be paid by the state, and the rest by the city. This would be the first female deputy in the city. Up until this point, the sheriff’s wife, Allie P. Carter, did whatever had been needed of a female deputy (mostly, doing the body searches of female inmates), but she had so much more office work lately that she was getting too busy for that. The matter went up to the wire in August when the sheriff was taking a woman prisoner to the Danville jail and it turned out she had had a knife on her. By state law, men were not allowed to frisk women.
County Central Accountant Lawrence M. Martin was fired by the Henry County Board of Supervisors. They had spent more than 20 hours over a 2-week time period to come to that action. Their list of reasons included that Lawrence hired his wife for some county work and then she was overpaid, by means such as time cards filled out, many by her husband, for more hours than she actually worked; for him leaving the office for extended periods of time on non-work-related matters and not telling anyone where he was going; taking long spells of days off on various occasions without notifying the county administrator; having his secretary type up personal papers, including his resume and 124 PTA Diplomas; and more.
25 years ago - 2000
The Henry County Industrial Authority approved issuing $3 million in bonds to help finance Arrington Manufacturing’s new plant in the Patriot Centre. The 50,000-square-foot building, run by Joey Arrington, would be used to build Dodge racing engines for the motorsports industry.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.