Looking Back …

A look at the people and happenings of the area over the past 100 years

If you have information, pictures, artifacts, old company or church newsletters, family letters or anything else that sheds light on life in MHC-Patrick through time, please consider sharing them with the museum - either lending or gifting us the originals, or copies.

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

July 6

1924, big prizes for Henry County Fair; 1949, new water lines for Grayson Street; 1960, Drewry Enoch Moore turns 100; 1974, 4,000 in Leatherwood for Fiddlers Convention; 1999, Axton cannery and Hildred Moorman.

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

July 5

1924, Henry County allowances; 1949, sawmill fire in Leatherwood; 1960, liquor trial on 40 takes longer than anticipated; 1974, trade school opens in prison Camp 28; 1999, Celebration 75. PHOTO: Phospho-Lithia Springs resort in Ridgeway)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

July 4

1924, Henry Co. Short Course for Girls; 1949, Danny Greene president of Pannill Post; 1960, Carolyn Minter heads to state finals; 1974, opposition to X-rated movies in Rich Acres drive-through grows; 1999, 100 Philpotts across five generations. (PHOTO: 1921-1947 Shackelford Hospital)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

July 3

1924, man arrested in Roanoke for jumping boarding bill in Martinsville; 1949, Thomas Jefferson hotel; 1960, Lester Lumber Co.’s major expansion; 1974, tensions high between ER doctor and rescue squad volunteers; 1999, Aaron Clark as Ziggy the Clown.

(PHOTO: Dr. Jesse Shackelford’s hospital in Irisburg)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

July 2

1924, men jailed in bath cell break out; 1949, furnituremen in Chicago; 1960, Pack 71 winners; 1974, factories closed for vacation; 1999, free gift at Belk’s Lancome counter included freshly baked French bread.

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

July 1

1924, Mr. Eans’ grocery store and movies at the New Hamilton; 1949, NAACP gets Martinsville Seven trial transcripts; 1960, Fireman’s Bazaar and the new Blue Law; 1974, a new, real emergency department at Memorial Hospital; 1999, no large sign for Aiken Summit Wesleyan Church. (PHOTO: Henry County Courthouse, 1906. Note iron stairs going up the center.)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 30

1924, peaches available for 4 days; 1949, water problems on Greyson and Highland; 1960, flooding damage to carnival; 1960, dispute over Patrick/Henry border; 1974, county supervisors make plan to stop X-rated movies at drive-ins, and Martinsville native dies in restaurant fire in NYC; 1999, BHS grad Chad Bassett hits the ground running. (PHOTO: flooding in Bassett)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 29

1924, Banner Grocery builds cold storage on Franklin Street; 1949, Smith River rising, 14-year-old with polio, missing 3-year-old found; 1960, mobile X-ray unit returns; 1974, the county’s first computer (Burroughs B-700); 1999, construction for Lowe’s to begin, and Adelphia cable. (PHOTO: Smith River flooding 1937)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 28

1924, Preston 4-H Club, and Carey Asfaltslate Shingles; 1949, death claims third City Hall janitor; 1960, funny reason trucks were stalled; 1974, ANCHOR home for girls; 1999, Martinsville Christian School closes. (PHOTO: New People's Bank in Martinsville early 1900s. Bank was built in 1891 with granite from Rocky Mount)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 27

1924, the Hooker construction boss shot by a worker improves; 1949, Rev. W.H. Hobson requests black deputies be hired; 1960, free chest X-rays by Patrick-Henry TB Chapter; 1974, big prize for George Giles. and funny way of seeing popularity of TV shows; 1999, Pluma attempts a turnaround. (PHOTO: Dr. Houchins, Dr. Hundley, Virginia Betty Bondurant, Annie Minter, Dr. John Shackelford in the Square 1910)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 26

1924, work begins on Shackelford Hospital addition; 1949, lower grocery prices; 1960, Mrs. W.D. Stowe wins seeing-eye dog; 1974, new address system; 1999, laptops for students, butterflies at Bell-Jenkins wedding and big fishing prizes for Mark Cooper. (PHOTO: Globman’s in 1929)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 25

1924, C.W. Holt store; 1949, thousands attend Henry County Horse Show; 1960, Southside Swimming Pool Ass’n (Clyde England, Jane English, John Swezey); 1974, YMCA directors; 1999, award for Darryl Holland, and Bassett Furniture & Nancy Moore help refugees (PHOTO: laying cornerstone for C.W. Holt store, 1919)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 24

1924, telephone listings; 1949, taxi cab driver sues; 1960, Figsboro Community Center festivities; 1974, beginnings of IDA; 1999, German police officer gets orientation from Sheriff Frank Cassell (PHOTO: Covered bridge near Martinsville, 1911)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 23

1924, the fancy First National Bank; 1949, factories’ vacation pay; 1960, visitors to Du Pont, and a lost cow; 1974, Bassett Furniture employee hit by train. (PHOTO: eating melons on the southwest corner of Courthouse Square)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 22

1924, Oldsmobile Six at Gerald W. King, Martinsville; 1949, early store closings for summer; 1960, Henry County has “one of the worst” garbage problems in Virginia

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 21

1924, 4-H socials and “HURRAH! BASE-BALL!”; 1949, proposed street to Sylvan Ridge, and more city-wide insect fogging; 1960, Bassett folks recover wheelchair from lake; 1974, 300 donors for Dan Greene Memorial Stadium. (PHOTO: Bridge Street looking toward Courthouse)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 20

1924, the major Chautauqua program series; Hooker-Bassett superintendent shot by worker; 1949, local chapter NAACP offered to help Francis DeSales Grayson, but only if group they called Communist did not get involved; 1960, Community Recreation Center neared completion; 1974, amidst high inflation and interest rates, mobile homes edged out stick-built houses.

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 19

1924, Phospho-Lithia Springs Hotel in Ridgeway opens for the season; 1949, Father’s Day takes off as a holiday in the years after WWII; 1960, James Cox Jr., 11, injured in explosion. (PHOTO: old police and fire departments on Main Street, now the parking lot behind the Bulletin office [old Grand Piano building])

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 18

1924, Underselling Store reimburses gs for more than 50 mile travel or railroad fare; 1949, Martinsville post office takes in $12,590 in one month; 1960, tobacco allotment; 1974, K-Mart Super 9 Sale; 1999, nightlife at the Flying Dutchman Lounge. (PHOTO: Rodman cannon at the Historic Henry County Courthouse)

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Holly Kozelsky Holly Kozelsky

June 17

1924, 40 tykes seen at Dr. Newman’s free Clinic for Delicate Children; and city to stop paying for sidewalks; 1949, counterfeit money; 1960, prolonged dry spell; 1974, US Comptroller of the Currency turns down two proposed banks, including one by Worth Carter; 1999, refugee family from Kosova welcomed to Martinsville. (PHOTO: 1934 ads)

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