February 6 through the years
100 Years ago – 1926
Front-page headline and article: “Boxwood Girl Has Eloped. Miss Barker Leaves Public For Life’s School. Axton, Va. – Miss Elsie Barker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Barker, of Boxwood, a high school pupil, left school last Thursday morning and eloped with Walter Bruen of Durham, to North Carolina, where they were married. They will make their home in Durham.”
75 years ago – 1951
Joint funeral services were conducted at East Martinsville Baptist Church for brothers Howard Lee Hairston, 21, and James Luther Hairston, 23, two of the Martinsville Seven who had been executed. Burial followed in the Reamey cemetery on Route 58 east of Martinsville.
Boy Scout Troops “took over” city government. Scout Edwin Via of Troop 64 served as mayor; City Councilmen were John Page, Troop 63, Donald Johnson, 266; Vladi Yeffstig, 61, and David Goller, Troop 79; Jack Chaffin, 266, was Trial Justice; Gene McDaniel, 61, was commissioner of revenue; Tommie Willis, 63, was treasurer; and Gerald Blevins, 64, was commonwealth’s attorney. There was a long list of other involved Scouts.
In Nevada, the fifth atomic bomb test in 11 days rocked the city of Las Vegas. The windows of automobile agencies were splintered by sound waves. Windows rattled as far off as Los Angeles, 300 miles away.
50 years ago – 1976
Ad: “Shop Without Going Shopping – The Amway Way – Call Your Local Distributor. Mr & Mrs. Andrew D. Hodges, Ridgeway, Va.”
25 years ago - 2001
Danny and Wanda Willard had been running the Twin Ridge Marina at Philpott Lake, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not renew their lease. In January 2000 a fire destroyed the building, which housed a restaurant, general store and gas station. Three months after the fire, the Willards received a letter saying that their lease would not be renewed, but they would have to restore the property by April 30, 2001.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.