110 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 12, 1911
from the Mathews Journal
On account of the unclemency of the weather the meeting of the Board of Trade and of the Committee selected by them, which was scheduled to meet in Mathews C.H., on Tuesday, was postponed until next Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. The same committee is requested to meet with the Board in the Court House on that day. —By Order of the Board
100 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 13, 1921
from the Gloucester Gazette
The following deeds have been recorded at the Clerk’s office since last report.
T.J. Woodland and wife and R.T. Baily and wife to T.S. Hall and M.K. Sears, 20½ acres, $2,000. David P. Sanders and wife to Mary W. James, 7½ acres, $175. Susan V.T. Sanders and husband to J. Curtis James, 10 acres, $190. Mary B. Ashe to Lena Jenkins, 6 acres, $20. W.H. Harris to C.W. Tillage, 3½ acres, $66
from the Mathews Journal
The fine dwelling house of Mr. R.H. Callis of Moon was destroyed by fire on Monday afternoon of this week during the terrific storm which was raging at the time. Fanned by the high wind, the fire was beyond control when discovered and there was no chance of saving the building. A little furniture and the kitchen, which was separated from the main building, was saved by help of neighbors. It is thought that the fire originated in a defective flue.
90 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 15, 1931
from the Gloucester Gazette
An audience much smaller than the merits of this performance warranted greeted the Lyceum Players at Botetourt High School auditorium last Saturday night. The four-act play, “Sidetracked,” was presented in a very finished and agreeable manner, with Miss Eleanor Brandeau and Mr. and Mrs. Triplett in the leading roles. Twenty per cent of the receipts went to the gymnasium fund. It is to be hoped, if further performances are given here by these talented players, the attendance will be more in keeping with the excellence of the attraction.
from the Mathews Journal
Those visiting in the Pribble neighborhood at Christmas were, Miss Pauline White, of Glen Allen, Va.; Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Strole, of Page County, Mr. Sidney Reed, of Richmond; Ryland Reed, of Upshaw, Va; Morris Hughes of Hampton.
There are quite a number suffering with colds in this vicinity.
There will be a play at Peninsula High School Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. The play is titled “The Only Girl.” The cast follows; Mr. Robbins, Holland White; Mrs. Robins, Frances D. White; Fred Robins, Bernard Anderton; Marie Robins, Carrie Lee White; Dorothy Robins, Thelma Williams; Samuel Jones, Curtis Hughes; Victor Sanford, Linwood Pribble; Turn Key, and Jimmie MacFadden, L.S. Johnson; Rev. Smith, Holland White; Old Aunt Lindy, Lucy Griffis. Admission 25 and 15 cents. Refreshments will be served.
80 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 16, 1941
from the Gazette-Journal
Influenza, or grippe, which in Gloucester and Mathews has almost reached the epidemic stage, has brought many community activities to a standstill and caused postponement of many scheduled functions.
Dr. Harry A. Tabb said yesterday that while it was understood that there were approximately 100 cases in Botetourt High School, the school had not been closed because so much time had been lost due to the outbreak of scarlet fever some time ago. Achilles High School is still running on schedule with approximately 80 cases, according to Dr. James W. Smith,
Both physicians said that there were only a few really serious cases among the many and that most patients were suffering from a mild form and were confined only a few days as a rule.
70 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 11, 1951
from the Gazette-Journal
The first demonstration of a civilian defense volunteer mobile unit in the State was held on Tuesday evening, Jan. 9, when Middlesex County’s newly organized group staged a dress rehearsal for disaster and moved a fully staffed rescue team from Saluda to Gloucester C.H. which was supposed to have been struck by an atomic bomb.
The unit included some 50 vehicles with a field hospital unit complete with operating table, the bulldozer caterpillar wrecker and tractor for moving debris, firefighting apparatus, two ambulances, a generator for emergency power, a refrigerated food truck containing food, and all the items which would be necessary in a real rescue job except for the actual radio-activity detection apparatus.
The group of men and women from all parts of Middlesex, included doctors, 15 nurses and nurses’ aides, highway workers, electric company workers, Boy Scouts was headed by A.S. Silvia, the Civil Defense Coordinator of Middlesex.
60 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 15, 1961
from the Gazette-Journal
Miss Margaret Conner, a member of the Gloucester High School Band and a senior there, has been named to attend the All State Band for the fifth year. The All State Band will present a concert at Brookland High School, in Richmond, in February.
Miss Conner, who plays the bass clarinet, is the only member of the Gloucester band to be named to the concert band all five years in which she has been a member. In other activities she is a cheerleader and a member of the Gloucester Point Baptist Church where she sings in the choir. She is also president of the YWA of the church and chorister of the Peninsula YWA Federation.
Miss Conner plans, following graduation from high school, to attend the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester.
She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.A. Conner, of Gloucester Point.
50 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 14, 1971
from the Gazette-Journal
William A. Keith, superintendent of the Mathews County school system, has announced that no mid-semester examinations will be given this year in county schools.
He said that various tests will be given on certain subjects; however, the standard examinations to determine progress will not be used this term.
The superintendent also stated that schools will be open on Jan. 21 and Feb. 22, two previously scheduled holidays, to make up for the additional Christmas vacation this year. Schools will be closed on Jan. 22, which is listed as a work day for teachers.
40 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 15, 1981
from the Gazette-Journal
Most watermen in Gloucester and Mathews have been unable to work this week as their boats have become icebound in creeks and rivers.
A survey Tuesday of most areas where workboats are docked showed that only the Perrin River, located near the mouth of the York River, was open.
Farther up the York, the ice has formed steadily and kept the crabbers and oystermen from their working grounds for as much as a week. Sarah’s Creek, Dunlap Bay, Aberdeen Creek, Timberneck Creek and Fox Creek have as much three inches of ice spanning their banks.
30 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 17, 1991
from the Gazette-Journal
Concerns regarding conditions at Walker Elementary School dominated a Gloucester school board public hearing on Monday on a proposed $25.6 million operating budget for the 1992 fiscal year.
A standing room only crowd, which included county administrator William H. Whitley and Ware district supervisor Burton Bland, fielded 14 speakers offering comment of the board’s plans for the coming school session.
Walker P-TA president Cindy Stevens called for a better learning environment at the school, specifically, a healthier environment. She said sewer problems at the site lead to overflowing toilets and sewage backup in water fountains. She also said that the pumping out of the sewer, performed frequently to maintain the failing system, generally occurs just before lunchtime, filing the nearby cafeteria with its odor.
Neither school board members nor administrative staffers replied to comments Monday night, but Tuesday superintendent Robert L. Mitchell said he was well acquainted with the sewer problems at Walker and had no knowledge of backup in drinking fountains. “That one kinda floored me,” he said, adding that he would look into the alleged unsanitary backups. He also said that if the system pumping is occurring near the lunch schedules, that an adjustment could be made to prevent bad timing in the future.
20 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001
from the Gazette-Journal
In 1675, a man named Henry Peasley, for whom Peasley Middle School is named, bequeathed his 600-acre holding in Robins Neck, 10 cows and a breeding mare “for the maintenance of a free school forever, to be kept with a school master for the education of the children of the parishes of Abingdon and Ware forever…”
Now the last of a legacy that has contributed to public education in Gloucester County for 325 years will be destroyed with the demolition of the Kenney Building.
Peasley Free School was believed to be located initially at the Naxera home known as Free School. At a time when most Virginia planters taught their children at home, the Free School provided a boarding school for both wealthy and poor. The school and its endowment prospered through the cultivation of its lands and community contributions. Both Ware and Abingdon parishes were involved managing the school, where their rectors often served as teachers.
An act by the Virginia General Assembly in 1802 led to the sale of the lands and a subsequent 1814 act required that the proceeds be used to establish poor houses, which are work and education sites for poor children in the county. Apparently, the proceeds were combined with the Peasley endowment and trustees for the Gloucester Charity School were appointed to administer funds.
The new Virginia Constitution of 1869 provided for a system of public education in Virginia.
In 1922 the county stepped in, appointing the Peasley School Board, and the funds were deposited with the new board. The money was used to construct an addition to Botetourt High School, and the new building was named the Kenney Building, after schools superintendent J. Walter Kenney.
“For those people that are concerned about whether the building could be saved, the bottom line is it would cost more to renovate it than replace it,” said school superintendent Larry Hoover.
10 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011
from the Gazette-Journal
The Gloucester High School SCA, in conjunction with the GHS cosmetology program, will hold a Cancer Cuts for Love Haircut-a-Thon from 3 to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, in the school auxiliary gymnasium.
During the event, hairstylists who are GHS alumni and other guest stylists will offer haircuts to the public in exchange for donations to the American Cancer Society.
Only haircuts will be available, with no other services offered. Some GHS faculty members will also be getting a haircut for donation to the Locks of Love program. Haircuts will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.