October 17 through the years
100 Years ago – 1925
Lightning struck a large stable of the T.H. Morris Lumber Company, causing a fire which destroyed the building and killed five mules and two horses. All were very valuable, with two of the mules considered the best in the county and for years the employees’ favorites. The burned horses and mules were the property of Mr. R.S. Brown. Several other head of stock belonging to Mr. Morris were rescued.
“Make Her Happy on Her Wedding Day,” an ad for A.D. Beckner & Co. Jewelers read. “Let your wedding present be a piece of Jewelry, Cut Glass or Silverware. Something that in the years to come will be a source of joy to the one who receives it.”
Two representatives of the Grand Lodge of the Masonic Fraternity visited Martinsville looking into the possibility of establishing here a New Home For the Aged. The visitors were brought to several points of interest, including Fieldale and the Club House and Lanier Farm, where the home would be located. The visitors were highly complimentary of Martinsville yet they did not commit to locating the home here. The area of greatest competition with Martinsville for the home was Danville which, like Martinsville, promised to donate land for the home, but unlike Martinsville, also pledged to support the home with $50,000 a year.
75 years ago – 1950
Ed Wood, who worked at Atkin’s Men’s Store, received orders to report for active duty with the army in Fort Meade, Md., on Nov. 3. Meade had served for 3 years a master sergeant in World War II, most of that time on an army hospital ship.
50 years ago – 1975
At Martinsville High School football games, Bunny Stadler dressed in a bulldog costume to cheer on the team. She portrayed the school mascot.
25 years ago - 2000
Douglas Hairston renovated the Wizard of Car business at 35 Lee St. in Collinsville and opened a second Wizard of Cars location at 814 Brookdale Road, Martinsville. The car wash had self-service bays with unlimited water and vacuuming. Employees were Phaedra Philpott and Carl Anderson.
— Information from museum records and the Henry Bulletin and the Martinsville Bulletin.