news-record.com

100 years ago
From the Greensboro Daily News, Oct. 11-17, 1909:

Typhoid fever has struck in Reidsville, with the little daughter of L.H. Hardy Jr. being ill with the disease. It is feared she may not survive her sickness.

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Leaksville’s First Baptist Church will be the scene of a rare double wedding on Nov. 4 when sisters Daisy Evelyn King and Myrtle King will take their vows, with Daisy marrying James Hayes Barker and Myrtle marrying Joseph Watt Turner. The girls are the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. D. Frank King.

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There was a heavy break of tobacco on the Reidsville market Saturday, with the warehouses being nearly full at the start of the day’s sales, notwithstanding their floor space having been increased by a third.

Sales lasted well into the afternoon.

But this year’s crop is proving to be inferior, with good color but no body in the tobacco. Much of Saturday’s offerings were nondescript grades, green tips and primings. There were few good piles, and these brought only fair prices.

The averages paid for the tobacco were low. Even on medium grades, it was agreed, averages were lower than those paid last year at market opening or in early spring this year.

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Reidsville attorney F.H. Wrenn Jr. was in Yadkinville and Danbury on professional business this week.

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Electric flat iron: $3.50.

75 years ago
From the Greensboro Daily News, Oct. 11-17, 1934:

What was expected to be a light sales day turned out to be one of the heaviest yet on the Reidsville tobacco market, with more than 200,000 pounds being auctioned Wednesday.

Prices were steady, with all grades selling well but tips predominated on the market. Because tips tend to bring the lowest prices, the average for the day was relatively low. But there were some wrapper grades that brought good prices.

No figures were compiled for Wednesday’s sales, but it is thought it probably was about $33 per hundredweight.

In Madison, that market sold 90,000 pounds on Monday for an average of about $32 per hundred. A good deal of medium grades were offered, and farmers appeared to be pleased with the price their tobacco was bringing.

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Data on soil erosion in Rockingham County has been tabulated and shows 100,000 acres of land has been made useless for farming purposes by the erosion.

Plans are being made for a number of interested farmers to visit the Deep River soil erosion project near High Point next week and to see if a similar service can be made available in Rockingham County.

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The Woman’s Missionary Society of Stoneville Christian Church watched a playlet presented by Mrs. Clyde Smith. Afterward, Mrs. Steve Smith, hostess, and Mrs. Otis Joyce served refreshments.

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Two elementary school buildings in Madison are being renovated, but classes are meeting regularly nonetheless. But rooms are crowded because of the repair work.

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Electric flat iron: $3.95.

50 years ago
From the Greensboro Daily News, Oct. 11-17, 1959:

Gov. Hodges and university officials were present to accept a gift of the Chinqua-Penn Plantation to the University of North Carolina, along with a supporting gift of $750,000 from Mrs. Jefferson Penn.

The $6 million, 831-acre plantation was developed by the Penns some 30 years ago and includes greenhouses, gardens, barns, lakes, vineyards and the elaborately furnished mansion.

Mrs. Penn reserves the right to live there for the rest of her life, but the university is expected to put some of the plantation to immediate use.

N.C. State University will build a model camp for 4-H clubs, and Woman’s College will eventually take over the mansion, which houses a notable collection of art.

Treasures of the house, which was built in 1925, include antiques, tapestry, statuary and paintings gathered from around the world. A ceremonial throne chair from King Tut’s tomb is located there, and a powder room is said to be an exact replica of Marie Antoinette’s boudoir. Outside, a Chinese pagoda is set in an Oriental garden with linking temple bells and dominates the site of the swimming pool

Mrs. Penn is the widow of Jefferson Penn, who died in 1946. He was a principal, along with his father, of the F.R. Penn Tobacco Co., which became a part of American Tobacco Co. and now is Reidsville’s No. 1 employer.

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The number of polio cases in Rockingham County has climbed to nine for the year, with one case resulting in death. All the cases are paralytic. Four cases were reported this week.

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Paul C. Case has begun duties as police chief of Madison, having been appointed to the post by the town board.

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Morehead High School’s Black Panthers routed Bessemer High 27-0, their second victory of the week over a Greensboro team. On Monday night, they defeated Page High School 19-7.

Meanwhile, Reidsville’s Golden Lions punched over two touchdowns in the first quarter as they beat Winston-Salem Gray 13-6 in Reidsville. The Lions are now 4-1 on the season.

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P.W. Glidewell Jr., 50,  of Reidsville was sentenced to 15 months in jail for failing to file tax returns for 1954, 1955 and 1956.

An Internal Revenue agent testified that Glidewell and the IRS had agreed on a liability of $24,576.

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Hoover steam and dry iron: $12.95.

25 years ago
From the Greensboro News & Record, Oct. 11-17, 1984:

Sheriff C.D. Vernon charged a 23-year-old man with the theft of a car from the home of a Moss Street Elementary School teacher early Sunday morning about the time the teacher was stabbed to death.

Kenneth Hurley, 49, was stabbed 11 times at the home that he rented about one mile north of Reidsville. A murder charge has not been filed so far.

The car, a 1975 Chrysler Cordoba, was found by Danville police in an alley after police were alerted to it by an anonymous caller. The car apparently was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Danville and also reportedly was driven away from a Halifax County, Va., service station without the driver paying for the gas.

Hurley’s body was found by a neighbor. He had been employed by Reidsville schools for 26 years.

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Ads promoting Rockingham County are appearing in two internationally distributed magazines: Area Development and Plants; and Plants, Parks and Sites. Mac Williams, director of the county’s Economic Development Commission, said the ads are designed to make the county more visible to people who decide where to put plants. The magazines have a circulation of 32,000 each, and the ads in them cost $4,000.

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WCBX radio in Eden will be sold to Good Samaritan Broadcasters Inc. in Reidsville pending approval of the FCC, according to WCBX President Chuck Stone.

The station, 1140 on the AM dial, will go from an adult contemporary music format to Christian programming if the $425,000 sale is approved.

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Furniture and appliances worth an estimated $2,435 were stolen from an Eden home that is part of the Don Phillip Burris estate awaiting settlement. Mark Phillip Burris of Route 3, Albemarle, reported the theft from the house at 1211 Robin Road.

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It was a tough night on the football field for Rockingham County teams, with Morehead High falling to Southeast Guilford 14-7 in Eden, Reidsville High being shut out by Ragsdale 20-0 in Jamestown, and Rockingham High being beaten by Northeast Guilford 14-7 in Wentworth.

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Hamilton Beach steam/dry iron: $15.99.