July 29-August 4, 1951 

Elmer Rakestraw, who grew up on a tobacco farm at Baker's Crossroads west of Reidsville, has won a chestful of medals and battlefield promotions in Korea. 

Rakestraw, son of F.D. Rakestraw, recently was awarded the Infantry Medal, Silver Star with cluster and the Purple Heart. A World War II veteran, he rejoined the Army in August 1950 as a sergeant but won a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant shortly thereafter. He later was promoted to first lieutenant and then to captain. 

His Purple Heart is his third. He was wounded twice in World War II. 

Architects have submitted new plans for the proposed Morehead Athletic Stadium to be built in conjunction with a new Leaksville Township high school. The stadium with fieldhouse is expected to cost about $75,000. ... Coca-Cola of Greensboro shut out Leaksville YMCA 2-0 to win a men's district softball tournament in Greensboro. Woodlief of Leaksville gave up only two hits, both in the first inning when Coca-Cola scored the game's only runs. ... Robert Lee Penn, 25, of Route 2, Madison, and three passengers in his car amazingly survived with only scratches after Penn's car left the highway and landed bottom up in a 10-foot ditch along a highway about nine miles west of Reidsville. 

Johns Hopkins Hospital doctors have recommended that surgery on Donnie Rodgers, 22-month-old "blue baby" of Draper, be delayed until the child is older. The Draper Y's Men Club, however, will continue a fund-raising campaign to pay for the surgery when it is done. ... Historic Speedwell Presbyterian Church on Iron Works Road southwest of Reidsville will hold a revival in the coming week. The church, organized in 1759, was used as a camp site during the Revolutionary War by both Gen. Greene and Gen. Cornwallis. 

At the grocery: Lipton's tea, 1/2 pound, 29 cents. 

At the hardware store: Hammer, pliers, adjustable wrench, 98 cents each.