110 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 23, 1913
from the Mathews Journal

A beautiful marriage ceremony was consummated in Holly Grove Church on yesterday at 12 a.m., when Miss Helen M. Freeman, a accomplished and very popular young lady of Cardinal, became the bride of Mr. C. Edward Forrest of Trinity. Rev. George Gowen performed the ceremony in a simple but impressive manner.

The church was beautifully decorated in evergreens and chrysanthemums, the color scheme being white and green, the bride, who was gowned in gray taupe suite with hat and gloves to match, was given in marriage by her father, Mr. J.J. Freeman. Miss Virginia Billups, maid of honor, wore light blue crepe-de-chine.

Immediately after the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Forrest left on the steamer “Hampton Roads” from Auburn Wharf on a bridal tour. They will reside at Foster.

100 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 25, 1923
from the Gloucester Gazette

Fire was started under three buildings of Mr. J.D. Williams at Wan one day last week, catching from a burning trash pile, across the road.

Fortunately, the flames were extinguished without any serious damage being done.

from the Mathews Journal

A delightful “Measuring Party” was given at the Gwynn’s Island High School last Thursday night. The Junior League gave a splendid program, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

Mrs. E.E. Callis visited her mother, Mrs. Blake, recently.

90 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 26, 1933
from the Gloucester Gazette

The number of families in Gloucester County in actual want this winter is much greater than ever before, according to Miss Mary C. White, visiting nurse and welfare worker under the direction of the Gloucester Board of Public Welfare. Many citizens have no conception of the extent of the destitution in the community.

Asked how many families could be set down as destitute, Miss White was unable to give exact figures. The number, she said, however, was at least three and possibly four times as many as last winter. The county has about 75 families on the county aid list, who received a regular monthly “dole” sufficient to keep them from starvation, but this does not, by any manner of means, constitute the entire number in need of help.

In a number of instances families which manage to get along in the matter of food and find the clothing of their school-age children beyond their means. The local charitable organizations have assisted many of these to clothe the little ones decently for the school room.

from the Mathews Journal

Miss Anne Foster, of Mobjack, gave a delightful party on Thursday evening, the occasion being her 17th birthday. Music, dancing and games were enjoyed until a late hour when the guests were invited to the dining room where a huge birthday cake formed the centerpiece. The color scheme of pink and white was carried out in the refreshments. Among those present were Misses Mary Otey, Nancy Roane, Marion White, Marie Foster, Mary Aleston Williams, Inez Ward, Imogene Miller, Celestia Davis, Margaret White, Marguerite Hodges, Messrs. Joe Marchant, Bennett Miles, Linwood Pribble, Edward Forrest, William Hammond, Donald Bryan, Woodrow James, Clarence Foster, Wesley Nelson and Allen Foster.

80 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 28, 1943
from the Gazette-Journal

All state liquor stores which have been closed since the night of Jan. 21, and all this week have been registering residents of the State and furnishing them with liquor ration books, will reopen for business Monday, Feb. 1. Liquor will only then be sold to residents who applied, at ABC stores or, if members of the armed forces, to their commanding officers, furnished positive proof of their identity and received the necessary ration book.

The amount which may be secured for each coupon will not be announced until just before the stores reopen, as it will be based on the number of registrants and liquor stock available.

70 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 29, 1953
from the Gazette-Journal

Fast-moving flames fanned by heavy wind today quickly destroyed the Mathews Chapel M.E. Church on State Route 198, between Cobbs Creek and Blakes. In an hour’s time, the fire, which apparently started from a defective chimney shortly after 9 a.m., wrecked the two-story frame building despite firefighting efforts of six units from four communities.

Church leaders estimated about $50,000 will be needed to construct a new building to accommodate the 380-member congregation. The loss was covered in part by insurance.

Sunday School classes will be held temporarily between Cobbs Creek Elementary School and Foster Funeral Home. For the preaching service, they will join the congregation at Locust Grove Church for the 11:15 a.m. service.

60 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 24, 1963
from the Gazette-Journal

Thousands of homes in Gloucester, Mathews and Middlesex Counties were without electricity for three hours from 10:30 Saturday night until about 2:30 Sunday morning when service was interrupted by a single car crash on Route 14 near Gloucester Court House. Also, between three and four hundred telephones, including all Mathews toll circuits, were out until about 3 a.m. Sunday.

State police said the crash was caused when a car went off the highway as it approached the bridge over Beaver Dam Creek. It slammed broadside into a large Virginia Electric and Power Co. pole and finally stopped right-side up in the swamp.

50 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 25, 1973
from the Gazette-Journal

U.S. Army personnel from Fort Meade, Maryland, were scheduled to begin yesterday a clean-up program to remove all roadside dumps in Mathews County, it was reported Tuesday at the regular meeting of the board of supervisors.

Leslie Turner of Dutton, a representative of the Izaak Walton League and a member of the clean-up committee, said that a crew of twenty Army personnel and sixteen pieces of equipment were dispatched to Mathews Tuesday, with the campaign to begin Wednesday morning at Bavon Beach.

T.E. Dinwiddie, county extension agent and coordinator of the project, said that there an estimated 49 illegal dumps in Mathews, and arrangements are being finalized to have the trash taken to the county dump on Gwynn Ridge Road.

40 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 27, 1983
from the Gazette-Journal

Governor Charles Robb’s proposed transfer of literary loan money to the state retirement fund would jeopardize proposed school construction in Mathews, Superintendent Ira R. Hanna told the Mathews School Board Tuesday night.

He was authorized by the board to write Del. Harvey B. Morgan and state Senator Elmo G. Cross Jr. to protest the shift of $53 million from the Literary Loan Fund to the Virginia Supplemental Retirement System. Hanna said that if approved by the General Assembly, this transfer would freeze funds available to local systems at least until June 1984.

A loan of $1.5 million at 3 percent interest has been approved from the fund for Mathews to construct an intermediate school addition for elementary grades. The county is on a waiting list to receive its share, and will not know until it makes first application for reimbursement whether funds will be available.

30 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 28, 1993
from the Gazette-Journal

Gloucester Volunteer Fire & Rescue representatives said they want to expand Station #4 at Harcum. Chief Andy James told the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors Jan. 19 that one capital improvement request for the fiscal year beginning this July is to add a day room and bathrooms to the station.

“Station #4 is presently a two-bay garage with one bathroom (commode and sink) in the corner,” their written report said. James said that “25 members at Station #4 need a day room and two bathrooms at their station.” Estimated total cost of the project is $25,000.

James said the department has been trying to put up basketball hoops and acquire used billiards tables to provide some recreational features at the stations. If volunteers spend more time at the station, he said, they should have quicker response times for emergency calls.

20 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003
from the Gazette-Journal

The George P. Coleman Bridge failed to close properly after opening to let a ship pass through on Monday morning. Vehicles could not cross the bridge for almost four hours, resulting in long lines of cars and trucks at both approaches to the bridge and some vehicles being rerouted for the long ride through West Point.

Because Monday was observed as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, many Virginia Department of Transportation officials had the day off which slowed response time for repairs. Jim Harrison, facility manager of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, which also maintains the Coleman Bridge that carries Route 17 over the York River between Gloucester Point and Yorktown, said that VDOT had trouble getting enough crewmen to the scene. He said several supervisors studied bridge designs and telephoned information to the few crewmen who could reach the bridge. Their usual ride across the river to reach the bridge—the U.S. Navy—also had the day off Monday, he said.

10 YEARS AGO
Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013
from the Gazette-Journal

The Gloucester Library will launch its winter reading program for young children with a kickoff event at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at the main library in Main Street Center.

The kickoff will include crafts, dancing, games and rubber duck prizes, said children’s coordinator Kathy Barrows.