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75 YEARS AGO
From the Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 14-20, 1935
Instead of bringing tobacco to the market, many farmers remained at home because of inclement weather.

But there was a good side to this, also: Reidsville warehousemen were able to clear their floors and make room for heavier sales later in the week.

And heavier sales did indeed come. The day after the rain, the Reidsville warehouse floors were filled, and by the end of the week, the market sold nearly 300,000 pounds a day for an average between $21 and $22.

The end of the week sales brought the seasonal poundage to 7.5 million pounds, within a day or two of the previous market record.

All grades were selling high and grades bought by exporters were the highest they have been this season.

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Reidsville’s proposed National Guard Armory for Headquarters Company, 120th  Infantry, seems assured, with Congressman Frank Harris being notified by Washington authorities that the appropriation has been approved by federal authorities.

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Mrs. Guy M. Simpson was elected president of the Women’s Missionary Society of Madison Methodist Church at the annual business meeting. The society also observed a week of prayer.

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J.F. Flowers with the U.S. Department of Labor office in Charlotte was in Reidsville this week for a hearing on the scale of labor to be required in the construction of a new post office. Representatives of local building trades were present and provided information on the rates of pay. Mr. Flowers will present the various classes of unskilled workers needed to build the new post office.

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Mount Airy, playing at home, defeated Reidsville High 12-0, with its powerful defensive line keeping Reidsville’s smooth-running backfield from crossing the goal line.

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Women’s sweaters: Easy-care acrylic, $17.99.

50 YEARS AGO
From the Greensboro Daily News, Nov. 14-20, 1960
Greensboro Daily News Reidsville Bureau Chief W.C. “Mutt” Burton expressed his thanks for the help he got in reporting election returns last week to the Associated Press and to the Daily News.

He noted, first of all, Leon W. Worsham, chairman of the County Board of Elections, who had set up an excellent system for getting returns in from sundry precincts. Then he noted that Russ and Mimi Spear of the Madison Messenger came over with their charts and tallies.

Next Deputy Sheriff Curtis Land spent several hours on the telephone, “taking, giving and setting down returns.” And Jule McMichael, county Democratic chairman, was most cooperative and so were members of the Reidsville police force “who provided me and others with trunk lines over which to telephone our results.”

All in all, wrote Burton, “it was a hard night on many people, I know, but it was hard on me because of the tedious details involved in getting all those totals which I periodically telephoned in to the Associated Press and to the Greensboro Daily News.”

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The Tri-Cities Christmas Parade will be staged Dec. 3, beginning at 2:30 p.m., at the corner of Washington and Hamilton streets and then going down Washington street in Leaksville and eventually making its way through Spray and on to Draper.

To date, 10 professional floats, six bands, a color guard and a drill team have been entered in the parade.

In addition, a prize will be given to the merchant with the most attractively decorated window.

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Pat Brady has opened an impressive combination of service station and auto appliance store, under the name “Pat Brady Firestone Store,” at 725 S. Scales St.

Clyde Jones is manager of the store.

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A summary of results on Rockingham’s three tobacco markets for a single day this week: Madison, 32,478 pounds averaging $51.76; Reidsville, 72,924 pounds averaging $54.38; Stoneville, 52,908 pounds averaging $51.19.

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Reidsville had a good football season, making it to the conference playoffs. But it ended there, with Brevard beating Reidsville 39-6 in a playoff game in Asheville.

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Women’s cashmere sweaters, $8.99 and $12.99.

25 YEARS AGO
From Greensboro News & Record , Nov. 14-20, 1985
The Reidsville City Council, in its last session before reorganizing, approved a stormwater improvement plan and settled on $514,000 in water and sewer projects.

The $68,000 stormwater drainage improvement plan is part of a larger $171,000 five-point plan to handle present and future storm water problems in a 127-acre area known as South End Basin.

The first phase will alleviate homeowners’ problems, including water backing up into their houses.

The other projects include $171,000 to expand water mains on nine streets and $348,870 for construction of sanitary sewers to serve eight streets.

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The Madison aldermen debated the wisdom of hiring a consultant to advise them on recreation areas in town. Town Manager Steven L. Routh said the town would need such a professional study to qualify for federal funds.

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Sallie Puckett Rakestraw of Route 4, Reidsville, has been named Farm Woman of the Year and received a plaque and a cash award.

Mrs. Rakestraw, who took over management of the family farm after her husband died, is the first woman to get such an award. She manages a 794-acre farming operation that includes 25 acres of tobacco, 60 acres of corn, 60 acres of wheat, 45 acres of hay, 50 acres of soybeans, nine acres of alfalfa, 300 pigs and 75 head of cattle.

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Stroh Brewery and state and local officials opened an aluminum can recycling center on Barnes Street in Reidsville.

Lillard Beverage will operate the facility for Stroh. It will feature a $17,000 crusher that mashes cans into a 20-pound aluminum block.

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Reidsville High lost to Parkland High 42-15 in a first-round state 4-A playoff game.

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Women’s cotton sweater, $17.99.

10 YEARS AGO
From the Greensboro News & Record, Nov. 14-20, 2000
Rockingham is about to take another blow from its once thriving textile industry, with Spray Cotton Mills and VF Corp. laying off a total of 270 workers.

Spray Cotton, the county’s longest-running industry is laying off 50 workers but does plan to continue operations despite a decline in demand for its product.

VF Corp. will shift 220 Reidsville jobs to South Carolina, where the Greensboro-based company expects to build a larger distribution center and it is being offered more incentives to relocate there.

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Owner-manager John Edwards says he is ready to retire at age 81 and plans to either sell his Penn Hardware store on Murphy Street in downtown Madison or close it down if no one offers to buy it.

Edwards is the fourth owner of the store, which was started in 1902 by a Penn.

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Mayodan is making a concerted effort to locate the museum of the N.C. Music Hall of Fame in the historic Tultex building. The Music Hall of Fame was started six years ago in Thomasville but is without a permanent home.

Mayodan officials and the County Tourism Authority put on a catered dinner, ice sculptures and live music to show off the Tultex building, which first opened in 1896 under the name Mayo Mills and later became Washington Mills before Tultex bought it. Tultex closed last December.

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David Dominguez was named Firefighter of the Year by the Rockingham County Fire/Rescue Association. Dominguez, 46, is a volunteer firefighter with the Wentworth Fire Department.

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No. 14 seed Reidsville High defeated Edenton Holmes 35-19 in Edenton to advance to the Class 2-A state quarterfinals for the second time in three years. The strong arm of quarterback Joey Porter carried the Rams to victory, with Porter throwing four touchdown passes.