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If you’ve lived here awhile, this column will come as no surprise, but for my friends who have moved here from afar, or are too young to know, this one’s for you.
I got my license to drive in 1976 and I found myself out early most days earning a few dollars here and there. It was around that time that I first noticed what Martinsville was: a manufacturing powerhouse.
Before the sun came up, you could see the miles of headlights heading toward Martinsville every day from Danville, Greensboro, Roanoke and Stuart. In the afternoon, you could see the taillights of those vehicles going the opposite direction.
A couple of years before I got my license, I was a student at what is now Martinsville Middle School. We called it “Martinsville Junior High” back then, and kids in the eighth and ninth grades went there.
Pannill Knitting was just up the road a few hundred feet and the factory shift let out about the same time the school bell rang at the end of the day. It was absolute mayhem.
The only thing today that comes close to what Martinsville was like back then is race weekend, and that example pales in comparison to the crowds of people coming out of factories, the kids coming out of schools, the cars and trucks and delivery vans passing by under the direction of a police officer at the intersections directing the traffic.
Rita Watson runs a Facebook group called “Sharing memories and history of Martinsville and Henry County.” It’s a private, hidden group, which means only the 1,100 members can find it and those same members are the only ones who can see who’s in the group and what they post.
Quite frankly, I don’t know how I became a member, but its certainly been enjoyable viewing the posts from Rita and the other members.
On Tuesday, Rita posted “What Martinsville was” with credit to Lisa Taylor Lambeth and it really hit home with me to see exactly why it was that back then, people may have lived in the bigger cities, but they worked in Martinsville.
The publication was not mentioned, but it appears on page 68 under the footnote “Welcome to Martinsville and Henry County” and titled “Martinsville and Henry County is the home of:”
The largest nylon plant in the world.
The world’s largest manufacturer of wood furniture.
Three of the largest manufacturers of wood furniture in the nation.
The nation’s largest mirror plant under one roof.
The nation’s largest manufacturer of sweatshirts.
The world’s largest manufacturer of knit outerwear.
One of the largest independent telephone companies in the nation.
The nation’s only plant to dye mylar.
The world’s largest manufacturer of grandfather and grandmother clocks.
The nation’s largest table plant under one roof.
Virginia’s largest upholstery factory under one roof.
The South’s largest manufacturer of pre-built homes.
I never knew if it was true, but back then I often heard that Martinsville was also home to more millionaires per square mile than anywhere in the country. In support of that statement, I did find where Beth Macy, author of “Factory Man,” was quoted in the July 25, 2014, edition of the New York Times as saying on NPR’s “Fresh Air” while promoting her book, that “In the 60s they used to say of Martinsville that it had the most millionaires per capita in the country.”
Regardless, I still find it against the grain of history that our economy now depends on the hiring of someone to recruit business elsewhere to locate here. If you name the companies that represent the list above, you’ll find they were created by local people, people who were born here, had family here and were known in the community.
I’m grateful for the recruiting successes of industry we’ve had here, but I often wonder what has happened to the creators and risk-takers among us. Where have they gone? Why have we allowed ourselves to become so dependent on the kindness of strangers?
Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-591-7543. Follow him @billdwyatt.
Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!
Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-591-7543. Follow him @billdwyatt.
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