115 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 15, 1909
from the Mathews Journal
The ladies of Salem Church are planning to have a large time on the Haven Beach, July 28. A large supper will be served. Plenty of fried chicken, hot spots and everything that is good to eat will be there. If you want a good time and a delicious supper, come on the beach real hungry and we will try to please you in everything. This supper will be given for the benefit of our parsonage at the village.
—Rose Bud
110 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 16, 1914
from the Mathews Journal
The farmers over here on Gwynn’s Island have done well in their potato crops and realized good prices.
There was no preaching at the Baptist Church last Sunday, as the pastor was in Norfolk.
There was quite a bad storm last Saturday evening. A number of trees were blown down and several fields of corn demolished by the hail. —Rainbow
100 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 17, 1924
from the Mathews Journal
According to the new Layman Act, a person may manufacture beer and wine for his own use, provided they are made from ingredients of his own growing, but the buying of the necessary parts makes the manufacture unlawful.
The matter is receiving some attention in the cities as it is claimed that a law like this gives preference to a certain class of people, those living in the country being able to raise on their own land whatever may be needed while those in town have no such opportunity.
90 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 19, 1934
from the Gloucester Gazette
The vocational agriculture department of Botetourt High School has been placed in the first group in ratings by the authorities at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, according to a table compiled of all the agricultural high schools in the state. The average of the first group is 95.73.
Achilles High School department is rated in the seventh group with an average of 66.75. The enrollment average of the Botetourt class is shown as 16 of a possible 17; Achilles enrollment is 8.8.
from the Mathews Journal
Beaverlette: Mrs. Joe Gayle, Mrs. Howard Benser, Mrs. Joe Armistead, Mrs. Velma Albrecht and daughters, Gloria and June, spent Wednesday last with Mrs. L.G. Burroughs of New Point.
Miss Mable Callis returned home on Saturday, after spending two weeks in Baltimore with Miss Mary Starr and relatives.
Little Miss Eleanor Diggs spent several days last week with little Miss June Albrecht at the home of Mrs. Joe Gayle.
Mrs. Smith Nelson and little son, Terry, and Miss Mildred White, of Port Haywood, spent Wednesday last with Mrs. Alonzo Hudgins.
Mr. Linwood Gayle and Mr. Garland Sears are preparing to open a restaurant in the building formerly occupied by Hudgins Drug Store. We wish them much success.
80 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 20, 1944
from the Gazette-Journal
A forest fire which was said to have started near a home in North, where brush was being burned, swept through an acreage estimated at from 700 to 1,200 acres, and was not finally conquered until Thursday evening when a rain came to the rescue of the almost exhausted firefighters.
The fire swept through to the Fox Hall property on the Blakes road, through Hollybush and to the Catchpenny Road.
Everything in the area had been dried to a crisp by the prolonged drought and the fire swept with great speed through the area. Fire lanes were cut, much backfiring was done and some water was used. The fire was coming under control when the rain came Thursday.
70 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 15, 1954
from the Gazette-Journal
For sale: Modern 4 room Bungalow, screened porch, garage. On state highway. $6,450. Morgan and White, Mathews.
Mathews: Diggs P.O., 7 room house, 1½ baths, furniture, 1/8 mile to public landing, water breeze, fruit, 1½ acres of land, outbuildings, $5,750 with part cash, balance like rent. Sallie F. Tabb, Gloucester.
14 acres, old 6 room repairable house, acre pond, back to river, $3,300. Charles E. Baldwin, broker.
For sale: Two beautiful LOTS, on water, $1,250 each, or both for $2,250. More than an acre. Dial Mathews 5-XXXX
Building lots: 150 ft. road frontage x 110 ft. – open land – 1½ miles from York River Bridge. Priced at $400. W.A. Conner, Jr., Gloucester Point.
60 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 16, 1964
from the Gazette-Journal
“If Mathews County citizens are to continue to be eligible to receive blood without charge, our county must donate 115 pints of blood on each of three bloodmobile visits here during the ensuing 12 months,” said Capt. Richard T. Whitney, chairman of the Mathews County Chapter of the American National Red Cross. The bloodmobile will be at the Kingston Parish House on Friday, July 24 from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
50 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 18, 1974
from the Gazette-Journal
The Mathews County School Board has ordered a major policy change which reduces the number of credits required for graduation from 23 to 18 to be earned in the four grades, nine through 12.
Acting on the recommendation of Division Superintendent William A. Keith, the board at its regular meeting last Thursday afternoon approved a change which will eliminate credits earned in the eighth grade as part of the requirements for graduation. Under the new policy, 18 credits must be earned in grades nine through 12 for graduation rather than the present 23 earned in the eighth through 12th grades.
40 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 19, 1984
from the Gazette-Journal
Localized thunderstorms have kept Virginia Electric Power Company employees busy this last week.
Last Wednesday evening a fast-moving squall with lots of wind and lightning caused power failures for most of the residents that live along Rt. 216 down through Bena, in Glass and up towards Gloucester Court House along Rt. 17. Billy Holland, operations supervisor, said that when lightning struck a tree, it fell over a line and caused approximately 2,500 people to be without service for about 1-1½ hours.
A thunderstorm Monday afternoon also caused isolated outages in several locations. Coke was the hardest hit area, Holland said, where lightning struck a line causing a line fuse to blow out at the intersection of Rts. 634 and 636. Power was restored within the hour, he said.
30 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 21, 1994
from the Gazette-Journal
Construction of a new elementary school in Mathews will cost an additional $200,000 to $300,000 because of poor soil conditions on the site, according to architect Waverly Cox.
“I don’t think we can avoid that number,” Cox said of the $200,000-$300,000 figure. The project architect addressed board members at a special meeting on Friday morning in the school board office. He said that the project is currently $75,000 over budget and will go to $368,000 over budget if the school were built on pilings.
Superintendent of Schools Harry M. Ward stopped soil testing on the site behind Thomas Hunter School on July 8 after the first three borings failed to come up with suitable underground soil conditions to bear the weight of the new school.
20 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 15, 2004
from the Gazette-Journal
Plans to restore Festival Beach in Diggs are moving along. With all permits in hand and $235,000 of the funding to pay for the work already in the treasury, the county will put the project out for bids in late summer to early fall, said Mathews County administrator Steve Whiteway on Tuesday. He expects construction to be finished by next year. “The county hopes to provide a safe, enjoyable beach for citizens and visitors,” he said.
10 YEARS AGO
Thursday, July 17, 2014
from the Gazette-Journal
Nearly 300 youth from across the state converged in Gloucester and Mathews earlier this week, braving extreme heat to perform renovations for a number of different residents whose homes were in need of repair.
Two large mission groups happened to host weeklong camps in the area; statewide Impact Virginia and Gloucester-based Helping Hands Mission Camp. Each group followed basically the same format to achieve a unified mission of helping community members in need.