October 24 through the years
100 Years ago – 1925
The Retail Merchants Association and Tobacco Board of Trade organized a booster campaign for the business interests of Martinsville. They planned to buy and place substantial road signs in the region promoting Martinsville and its businesses. Also, fleets of automobiles loaded with Martinsville businessmen would go everywhere within 50 to 75 miles to advertise Martinsville as the tobacco market for that territory, and as a live, growing and modern young city with splendid trading facilities, strong and progressive banks, handsome churches, fine public schools, well conducted hospitals and great people.
75 years ago – 1950
Two of the men on strike at Fontaine Converting Works were arrested: W. Robert Bowman of Park Street and Daniel Via Meeks of Ridgeway Road. They were charged with blocking a city street leading to the dye plant. Three days later their case would be dismissed for lack of evidence.
The strike at Fontaine Converting Works continued, after negotiations between the company and the Textile Workers Union of America the day before failed. The main point of the meeting, according to plant manager Julius Hermes, was whether or not the company would re-hire all of the workers who went on strike four weekdays before. When the strike started, 131 men did not show up to work, but by the fourth day 36 had returned. The workers were demanding a raise of 20 cents an hour.
50 years ago – 1975
The Martinsville Jaycees’ Haunted Castle reopened in the old Western Auto store on Main Street and stayed open through Halloween. The Jaycees charged admission, but the main point of the haunted house was to keep kids safer than if they were to be out in the streets.
25 years ago - 2000
Tiffany and D.J. Adkins opened DJ’s Billiards on Greensboro Road across from Kmart.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.