Oct. 4 through the years

100 Years ago – 1925

 Millner’s Variety Stores sold a 14-lb. Winter Weight Unionsuit for men for $1.25. Union suits were first made in Utica, New York, patented in 1868. The one-piece garment was traditionally made of red flannel with longs arms and long legs. It buttoned up the front and had a button flap on the back to cover the derriere.

75 years ago – 1950

T.J. Burch and Company, 16 Church St., had a four-room house on Scuffle Hill for sale at $6,000 ($80,000 in today’s dollars). Terms were $600 down and the balance at 4% interest. Loan closing costs were $31 ($414 today).

50 years ago – 1975

Mrs. Minnie Bell of 207 Moss St. made so much apple butter that not only did her 10 brothers and sisters help her, but she also issued a public invitation for anyone who would like to join them. She chopped 80 gallons of apples into her copper kettle. People operated the push-pull stirring paddle for 17 hours – from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning – to make 32 gallons of apple butter.

25 years ago - 2000

Martinsville Middle School students were starting to do their research over the internet at the school’s computer lab rather than use encyclopedias. The school’s website had six web pages, but over the course of the school year it was expected to get a total of 36 web pages. The school’s faculty learned how to design instructional web pages during a 2-day workshop. The school’s vice principal, John Hall, said he had learned about web-based instruction when he was working on his doctoral degree at the University of Virginia. He brought experts from Florida to MMS to teach about it.

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