Feb. 18

100 Years ago – 1925

An article was published in the Palm Beach (Fla.) Daily News and reprinted in the Henry Bulletin. It was about a fishing trip made by J.D. and C.C. Bassett and their guests, W.M. Bassett and T.G. Vaughan, on their boat, The Eva. W.M. Bassett reeled in a 7-foot 1-inch sailfish and also a shark.

Officers were busy on this day, destroying eight stills across the county, including three near Philpott and one near Boxwood. Seven thousand gallons of beer and 84 fermenters were destroyed by agents in Philpott.

75 years ago – 1950

To call Western Union, the caller was to ask for “Operator 25.”

1961

The “Punkin Vine” ran its last route. The Punkin Vine was Norfolk and Western’s railway passenger trains 11 and 12, which had brought passengers in and out of Martinsville since 1891. The 122-mile track ran between Roanoke and Winston-Salem, N.C. More than 400 passengers turned up for that last ride, so railway officials tacked on five coaches instead of one to accommodate them. Veteran conductor Stanley Davis usually would buy a carton of drinks at a Broad Street confectionery, when the train stopped in Martinsville, to sell between Martinsville and Winston-Salem, but on that day he was too busy punching tickets to leave the train.

50 years ago – 1975

Memorial Hospital was developing a psychiatric ward and was searching for a full-time resident psychiatrist.

25 years ago - 2000

The level of Philpott Lake was about 14 feet below normal, and if the summer would be dry, the water level was expected to drop even more.

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