By Holly Kozelsky
Two new exhibits will kick off the new year at the MHC Heritage Museum: “From Still to Speed: A History of NASCAR” and “A History of Setting Style.”
The exhibits will open with a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at the museum, 1 E. Main St., Martinsville. Admission is free to members, and regular admission charges apply for non-members. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Stock car racing originated in Virginia and the Carolinas, a natural side effect of bootlegging. During the 1900s, much moonshine was made in stills in the hills and valleys of this area, and it only increased during Prohibition, which between 1920 and 1933 outlawed the importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages.
To evade law enforcement as they made their illicit deliveries, bootleggers worked on their cars to make them strong and fast enough to outrun police cars. Then they started having fun with their hot rods with races against each other. This led to the first generation of what would eventually evolve into the cars of stock car racing.
Cars continue to be advanced and improved. At the first NASCAR race in 1949, the cars raced at an average of 68 miles per hour for 200 laps. The current speed record for a stock car is 244.9, set in 2007 by a car made by Joey Arrington. Now Arrington is creating another car with intentions to beat that record – aiming for 250 miles per hour, celebrating the 250th anniversary of Virginia and the United States.
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Stock Car Speed with Lex Hairston
The wrap (outside design and graphics) of Arrington’s new car is being created by Lex Hairston of Streetribe Designs, who is also the curator of the exhibit “From Still to Speed.” Hairston’s exhibit tells the exciting story of stock car racing down to details such as the sport’s top rivalries, its family ties, and its technological advancements.
Hairston is assisted by museum intern Samantha Wall, a student of the University of Mary Washington’s Historic Preservation and Classic Archaeology programs. She is a 2023 graduate of Martinsville High School and a 2025 graduate of Patrick & Henry Community College.
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“Setting Style” with Garden Study Club
“A History of Setting Style” takes a look at the more formal lifestyles of the mid-20th century as enjoyed by the Fagg and Globman families, original owners of the three houses on exhibit in this year’s Historic Garden Week tour by the Garden Club of Virginia (GCV).
Historic Garden Week will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 22. On the tour will be 928 Mulberry Road, home of Dr. James Julian; 1 Dan-Lee Terrace, home of Dr. Andrew and Anna Gehrken; and 9 Dan-Lee Terrace, home of Dr. Ben and Debbie Lewis.
The house on Mulberry was built in 1936 by Martinsville pharmacist Dr. Bob Fagg and his wife, Katherine. For 40 years, he helped shape Martinsville’s direction through involvement in civic organizations, and his drug store was at Martinsville’s business intersection: Franklin and Main streets across from Public Square (the courthouse).
The houses on Dan-Lee Terrace were built by the Globman family: Martinsville’s “Merchant Prince” Abe Globman and wife, Masha (their house is not on the tour), and their children, Leon (and wife Minnie) Globman and Clara “Sis” (and husband Dan) Greene. The houses all were designed and built in the early 1950s. The landscaping of all three was designed to provide both separate areas as well as a flow from one yard to the next for the family’s socializing.
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Martinsville’s Merchant Prince
Abe and Masha Globman came to Martinsville in 1915 as shopkeepers. Their children were raised in the store, where Masha cooked meals over the pot-bellied stove. Through the years their store moved and increased in size until its final iteration: 120,000 square feet by 1961. It was one of the largest department stores in Virginia and North Carolina and also one of the first to have an escalator.
People came from miles around to shop at Globman’s, which sold the latest in styles. Its department heads shopped for the new lines season in New York City and other commercial centers. Globman’s was the place to be and was where families got the latest in styles.
“A History of Setting Style” is curated by the Garden Study Club, which, along with Martinsville Garden Club, both part of GCV, is hosting Historic Garden Week. The Garden Study Club is assisted by Davis Scott, the museum’s Staff Aide. MHC Historical Society Executive Director Holly Kozelsky provides support in the creation of the exhibits, and she is also the 2026 Historic Garden Week Chair.
The exhibit tells about the Faggs and Globmans and their impact on Martinsville. It also shows how people lived a more formal lifestyle in their time: A variety of place settings of silver, China and crystal will be on exhibit. A collection of all sorts of flower-arranging mechanics will be on display, showing the secrets to how flower arrangers create beautiful and often gravity-defying designs. A section of the exhibit focuses on women’s clubs of the 1940s through 1960s, a time when Martinsville and Henry County had 36 garden clubs, 24 named bridge clubs, and countless more without names, at least 15 book clubs, and many more types.
Not only does the exhibit show how some people live, but it also provides instructions to replicate those styles in your own home. Diagrams and examples show how to set a formal table and create flower arrangements, and museum visitors can take home tutorial flyers on those topics.
To attend the exhibit reception on Jan. 9, please RSVP to mhchistoricalsociety@gmail.org or call 276-403-5361. For more information about membership in the MHC Historical Society and the museum, visit the museum or https://www.mhchistoricalsociety.org/memberships.
The museum will be the Historic Garden Week headquarters.
Tickets to Historic Garden Week cost $25 for adults and $15 for children ages 5-17 and are free for those 5 and under. A South Region Combo Ticket for $75 gives admission to the Martinsville tour on Wednesday, the Danville-Chatham tour on Thursday, and Roanoke or Lake Gaston on Saturday. Advance tickets will be available at the MHC Heritage Museum starting Jan. 9 and will be available online at gcvirginia.org/historic-garden-week/tickets/ starting Feb. 16.
