December 1-7, 1949 

Matrimony Grange won $500 in the annual National Grange Community Service Contest. 

The award was presented at the National Grange convention in Sacramento, Calif. The contest was sponsored by the National Grange and the Sears-Roebuck Foundation. 

The Matrimony Grange, located in a rural community in northwest Rockingham County equidistant from Stoneville and Leaksville, was cited for its success with 13 different projects during the year. These included sponsorship of demonstration practices for prevention of soil erosion, obtaining telephone service and extension of electric service in the area, a corn contest, and road beautification. 

The annual community Christmas tree party sponsored by the Leaksville-Spray Exchange Club will be held Dec. 20 at the Leaksville Armory.... J.M. Sharp, Reidsville lawyer and farmer, was reelected president of the Rockingham County Farm Bureau by 1,000 members attending an annual meeting at Bethany School. Other officers will be R.P. Butler, vice president, and Roy Moore, secretary-treasurer, both of Rt. 2, Reidsville.... Mayor John T. Smith, following up on a resolution passed by the City Council, has issued a proclamation declaring Leaksville to be a songbird sanctuary. 

Ronald L. Hirst, a designer at the Karastan Rug Mill in Leaksville, has received notice that his painting, "Let There Be Light," has been selected by a jury as among the 150 best of 5,000 oils entered in the Art News National Competition and will be hung in the final competition in New York in January.... A quota of $6,000 has been set for Rockingham County in the annual Christmas Seals sale.... Jimmy Hardy, 178-pound tackle at Reidsville High, has been selected for the High School All-State team chosen annually by the Greensboro Daily News. A junior, he was a mainstay on the line for a Reidsville team that went to the state Class A championship game. 

Santa Claus idea: Large metal wagon with pneumatic tires, $8.95. 

Christmas gift suggestion: Slippers made of electrified shearling and padded leather soles, $2.98. 

Truck for sale: Used 1948 Ford half-ton pickup, low mileage, $1,045.