1925, new automobile dealership; 1950, movies; 1975, winds at 50 mph; 2000, second highest unemployment rates in state.(PHOTO: Dr. Hundley and his mother, by Doug Stegall)

1925, ministers condemn “reckless tendencies of times”; 1950, Ladies Night at Club Martinique; 1975, drive-in audience reduced by half after no more X-rated movies; 2000, teens break into Officer Coretha Gravely’s home, and her sister runs them off.. (PHOTO: local doctors in car, by Doug Stegall)

1925, Dr. Hundley sick in Bermuda; 1950, Penny Barrow on “Hollywood Squares”; 1975, City leery of federal funding; 2000, BHS senior Justin Helms’ internship with Arrington Engines. (PHOTO: A&P and Globman’s)

1925, KKK makes gift to City; 1950, Fayette Street residents raising money to fight trucking terminal; 1975, Curtis Lee Eanes and father trapped on island; 2000, U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode goes independent. (PHOTO: Philpott Marina)

1925, for rent, sale or trade; 1950, controversy over proposed Fayette Street trucking terminal; 1975, champion fiddler Bobby Pendleton; 2000, Debbie Hall leaves MURA for Crestar Bank. (PHOTO: Office of Dr. Jesse Shackelford and Dentist Smith)

1925, Martinsville artist’s prize-winning posters; 1950, controversies over slot machines; 1975, famous whittler Doc Ward; 2000, Mary Martin at Super 8 Motel. (PHOTO: Church Street from Walnut)

1925, a hobo caught with booze; 1950, tuberculosis X-ray machine broke; 1975, Bassett had dirtiest air in Virginia; 2000, litter prevention. (PHOTO: Rough and Ready Mill, Reed Creek Bassett Fork)

1925, Dr. Hundley operates on cruise ship; 1950, Martinsville Community Theater; 1975, lawsuit; 2000, new golf course at Forest Park. (PHOTO: looking down from old River Hill dam)

1925, ninth service station in City; 1950, NAACP turns down offer from Progressive Party of Virginia on Martinsville Seven; 1975, new state and federal pollution rules affect local factories; 2000, Fitness Connection. (PHOTO: Fort Trial Baptist Church homecoming 1930s)

1925, American Legion plans baseball team; 1950, traveling X-ray machine; 1975, first Neighborhood Watch program; 2000, free anonymous AIDS testing. (PHOTO: Fuller Memorial Baptist Church)

1925, quick rebuild of Bassett plant; 1950. lead census leaders Stafford G. Whittle III and Howard C. Bradshaw; 1975, seized liquor missing from sheriff’s department; 2000, competition at Martin Stables. (PHOTO: Train derailment at Koehler)

1925, slenderizing for stout women; 1950, Jaycees raise money for Community Hospital; 1975, tornado tore through Leatherwood; 2000, Penny Decker and Glenda Inman start string orchestra for children. (PHOTO: Bridge and Walnut)

1925, four local Hamilton Theatres; 1950, money for widening 220 and 58; 1975, FC Income Tax Service; 2000,VF Knitwear donates trailer for fire training. (PHOTO: 1895 J.B. Lavinder ad)

1925, “A Sandwich Everybody Likes'“; 1950, A Promise to “Mothers of Skinny Kids'“; 1975, albums and 8-tracks at K-Mart; 2000, Lisa Hughes promoted at VDOT. (PHOTO: Waller’s Ford in Fieldale)

1925, Virginia State Teachers Assn.; 1950, City officials meet with local dynamite sellers; 1975, funeral for Deputy Ferguson; 2000, local Christian singles group takes Joyce Meyer trip. (PHOTO: Martinsville Canning Plant, where people canned their own fruits and vegetables)

1925, bodyshaper to “achieve the modish silhouette”; 1950, City’s new arsenal near the old Poorhouse Farm; honor guard presides over the body of Deputy W.H. Herman Ferguson; 2000, MiNet’s early years. (PHOTO: Liberty Heights Pool, abandoned; where the Liberty Fair shopping center is now)

1925, First Baptist Church’s Fiddlers Convention; 1950, Bondurant Furniture Corp. and Exchange Clubs; 1975, preliminary hearing for Shanghai Thomas; 2000, The Virginia Home. (PHOTO: Philpott Marina)

1925, Comfort Corset-Brassiere; 1950, attorney attempts to delay executions; 1975, Deputy W.H. Herman Ferguson killed in action; 2000, After Sunday with Joshua Shilling. (PHOTO: Craig and Bassett store and undertaking)

1925, auction of lots on Watt Street; 1950, Patrick County woman dies in Spray jail fire; 1975, City and County look at consolidating some services; 2000, Miss MHC Scholarship Pageant contestants.

1925, Chief Forest Warden George Gravely of Sandy River; 1950, Virginia Avenue gets its name; 1975, Jaycees sell apple butter; 2000, Kimberly Rowe, 7, saves family from fire. (PHOTO: Central Grammar School on Brown and Cleveland)