news-record.com

75 years ago
From the Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 22-28, 1934:

As expected, a pre-Thanksgiving deluge of tobacco hit the Reidsville market, so much that it was impossible to clear the warehouse floor before closing time.

Prices on every type of tobacco remained at their peak, with virtually no dissatisfaction among farmers. Today’s sales were estimated at 200,000 pounds with an average price close to $30 per hundredweight.

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The battered and slashed body of Belding Pulp, 55, tobacco farmer and service station operator near Reidsville, was found in woods near his home. He had been hit in the head twice with a heavy object and his throat also was cut. A man allegedly seen going into the woods with Pulp was being held in Wentworth for questioning.

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The Reidsville chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution met at the home of Mrs. Morrison Bethea and heard a paper entitled, “Present Day Tendencies in Government,” read by Mrs. R.S. Montgomery.

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Reidsville High School slogged to a 12-7 football victory over Mount Airy to capture the Class B Western Conference football title and the right to meet Edenton in Chapel Hill for the state championship Nov. 30.

The latest game was played in the rain in Greensboro after the two teams had played to a tie in Reidsville the week before.

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Debonair women’s shoes: $3.65.

50 years ago
From the Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 22-28, 1959:

Burke Davis, a reporter with the Greensboro Daily News and a novelist and biographer, spoke to the Reidsville Pilot Club, drawing material from his soon-to-be-published book, “Our Incredible Civil War.”

Among the tidbits offered to the Pilot Club ladies by Burke:

When Abraham Lincoln’s funeral cortege wound along the streets of New York City, among the thousands of spectators were two watching from a window on 14th Street:
6-year-old Elliott Roosevelt, later to be father of Eleanor, and 6-year-old Teddy Roosevelt, who would one day become president.

When Jefferson Davis was paraded down an Augusta, Ga., street as a captive, a wide-eyed lad named Woodrow Wilson peeped from the shutters of the Presbyterian Manse.

Lt. Manning Kimmel resigned from the Union army and enlisted in the Confederate army, where he eventually became a general and later became the father of Adm. Husband E. Kimmel, who was in command at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

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Spray policeman John Hodges, hospitalized as a result of an automobile accident, said he plans to resign effective Dec. 1. His cruiser ran into the steps of the public library. It was the second accident he has had in a police cruiser, the other occurring when he ran into a ditch while going to a fire.

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Sunny Jo Hubbard, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hubbard of Clarkway Street, Spray, completed WAVE recruit training at Bainbridge, Md., and has entered the Hospital Corps School at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Ill. She previously served three years as a WAF in the Air Force.

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“An egg a day keeps the ax away” is the motto of Leonard Shelton, a poultryman of Route 1, Stoneville. According to Assistant County Agent Ned Rash, Shelton culls his hens by removing those not producing, thus saving money on feed and making space available for more productive birds.

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Morehead High School came from behind in the final two minutes of the game to defeat the previously unbeaten Waynesville Mountaineers 12-7 for the Western 3-A championship and to gain a spot in the state title game in Chapel Hill later this month.

25 years ago
From the Greensboro News & Record, Nov. 22-28, 1984:

Kiker Stadium has seen some glorious days, but those are yesteryear.

It’s about to be abandoned in favor of a soon-to-be-completed facility at Reidsville Senior High.

Kiker was opened to football on Sept. 22, 1944, when the Reidsville Golden Lions lost to Danville, 18-13. 

The Reidsville school board committed to moving to the new senior high stadium and letting Kiker return to Elton H. Trent Jr., who purchased the old high school and stadium nearby four years ago. He has leased the stadium since then and has no immediate plans for the site now that it will be empty.

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To the delight of retailers, the Christmas shopping season has started.

At Belk’s in the Eden Mall, store manager Bill Foster said the crowd appeared to be heavy. K Mart in Reidsville will add between 15 to 20 employees to its staff, and Rose’s in Reidsville will add about 10 to its 50 regular employees to handle the anticipated crunch.

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The Madison Board of Adjustment has been ordered to conduct another hearing on Attorney Joe L. Webster’s request for a conditional-use permit allowing him to convert 215 W. Decatur St. into a law office. At a first hearing, the board denied Webster’s request but Webster, who is black, subsequently appealed to Judge Melzer A. “Pat” Morgan, contending the board turned him down because of racism. Judge Morgan ordered another hearing, saying the board did not give Webster a reason for its rejection.

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Bill Witherspoon, director of the county mental health program, talked to the County Mental Health Center board of directors about using a new patient referral program being suggested by the state and asked the board for its direction. The state program would allow the county to refer patients to the Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center at Butner. The board instructed him to continue his investigation into the program, especially as to costs.

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The Eden City Council agreed to pay WCTV, a Reidsville company, to produce television reports of Eden activities for airing in Eden on Rockingham Cable TV Co.’s Channel 5. The council will pay the company $10,000 a year.

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Women’s shoes: $7.99 to $14.99.

10 years ago
From the Greensboro News & Record, Nov. 22-28, 1999:

Reidsville police Chief Matt Lojko, 47, will resign next month, ending a year of strained relations with other city officials and also because his wife has multiple sclerosis.

“It was something I labored on for quite a while,” Lojko said of his decision to quit without having another job lined up. “I’m not going to get into specifics, but we just had irreconcilable differences on how the department should be run.”

Those differences showed up early in the year when his proposal to expand the department by eight men was denied. Then this spring, he was taken to task by the City Council for paying policemen overtime. When his anniversary date arrived in June, he received no raise.

City Manager Kelly Almond gave Lojko high marks, saying “I don’t think anyone wanted to see Matt go.”

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A Stoneville committee is getting ready to approve a contractor to build a community center downtown with $250,000 received from the estate of Vera Holland. The building will be named after Holland and will have a kitchen, large meeting hall and storage space.

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A petition drive is underway to get a Wentworth postmark. The drive is supported by Sheriff Sam Page and County Manager Jerry Myers. At present, letters from Wentworth carry a Reidsville postmark.

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Several home tours will be offered in Rockingham County in the coming weeks. Eden will showcase four homes and the Church of the Epiphany. In Western Rockingham, four homes are included in a garden tour on Dec. 12. Mayodan also will offer home tours on Dec. 12, with six homes and the Episcopal Church open to buyers of tickets at $5 apiece.