FARMVILLE – Forty is a good benchmark of time. Yes, yes, 50 is a nice, round figure, too, but we thought we'd take a look back at the news 40 years instead. (Besides, The Herald features the 50 years ago page each week in our Friday edition.)

What better time to look back than the beginning of a new year? And, as we discovered, 1971 was a rather monumental one for the community.

As Thursday, December 31 tripped into January 1 at midnight, Farmville would grow by some two and a half times its size and the population rose by 31 percent, adding more than 1,500 new residents.

Addition by addition.

A three-judge annexation court in November of 1969 granted the Town 396 acres in Cumberland County and some 1,700 acres in Prince Edward County.

“In its wisdom, the annexation court delayed annexation until January 1, 1971, in order to give the town time to prepare to accept its new responsibilities,” it was detailed in a front page story in the January 1, 1971 edition. “The one-year's time delay has been put to good use. New equipment has been purchased by the town, including such items as two new police cars, with three new patrolmen, a new snow plow, a larger, new garbage packer, chemical spreader, etc.”

The expanded town gained six residential subdivisions, including The Greens, Agee, Putney, Longwood Hills, Westhill and Price.

It wasn't long before Town services were needed in its expanded area-a photo on the January 6, 1971 edition shows a snowplow rendering service in The Greens.

Area residents were also informed in the January 6 edition that a new shopping center was planned to be located at the intersection of Highway 15 and Gilliam Drive, according to building permit taken out at the County Commissioner of Revenue's office. It was to be next to the afore-noted Greens subdivision and-though no one was quoted-the permit states that it will be built on 7.6 acres of land at a price of $400,000.

The College Plaza Shopping Center, as it would come to be known, has been the home of many memorable businesses over the years including Drug Fair, Winn Dixie, Hardees (built, rebuilt and then demolished), The Book Nook, a dentist's office, First Virginia Bank, and Pic'N Pay Shoe Store.

The shopping center, later joined by others in a southward expansion and four-lane growth, has since received a facelift and new life.

Also, on the front page of the January 6 edition, was a photo of the area's first baby of 1971. Margaret Helen Perry, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Perry of Farmville, arrived New Year's Day at 6:51 p.m. at Southside Community Hospital. She received a number of prizes from area businesses in a special community promotion-a dozen diapers from Roses, a $5 gift certificate from Grants (a department store in the former Farmville Shopping Center), a $5 savings account from First National Bank, a vaporizer from Gray's Drug Stores, a sterling silver baby cup from Martin The Jeweler, a dozen diapers from Leggett, a case of baby food from Bob's Super Market, and an arrangement of flowers from Carter's Flower Shop.

A rather nice beginning.

Incidentally, there were many newborns that just missed out-three boys were born on December 31, 1970, another boy was born January 3, and a girl was born January 4, according to published “Hospital News.”

Those interested in family film fare could pop into the State Theater on South Main Street. The featured “G” rated flick was Cougar Country.

“'FOLLOW WHISKERS,' an independent and curious young cougar, through two exciting years in a mountain wilderness known as 'COUGAR COUNTRY,'” the ad in the January 6 edition read.

For the curious, it was to be presented “IN COLOR,” but there was no word on high definition, surround sound, 3-D or available stadium seating.

The population seemed to be expanding (at least in the maternity ward at the hospital), though not as much as one might think in the community overall. Every ten years census workers bang on residential doors across the country and tabulate population numbers for local, state and national statistical data. This go-around in 1971 offered a mixed bag for the area in a front page story in the January 6 edition as most localities saw their numbers dip from 1960 numbers.

Buckingham was down 280, to 10,597.

Cumberland was down 181, to 6,179.

Charlotte was down 1,817, to 11,551.

The notable exceptions were Prince Edward, up 258 to 14,379, and Powhatan-perhaps foreshadowing of what was to come-was up the most 949, to 7,696.

It's hard to image Powhatan with less than 8,000 residents.

January also meant growth for Prince Edward County elementary school, as detailed in the January 8 edition of The Herald. A second, eight-room campus-style building would be ready for occupancy soon after the semester break. (A photo on the front page of The Herald shows what appears to be the two main structures looking at the current elementary school.) The cost for the two new facilities was approximated at $352,000. School board members at their January 1971 meeting opted to move 163 Rice Elementary School children in first through third grades to the building.

Over the years since 1971 all of the County's community schools have been gradually consolidated into single elementary, middle and high schools, located off of Zion Hill Road just south of Farmville.

Further south-well, just south of Keysville-construction on the John H. Daniel Campus of Southside Virginia Community College was underway. An aerial photo of the site with an outline of walls was featured on the front page of the January 13 edition. Built by Andrews Large and Whidden, the campus was expected to be open for students in September.

A remarkably fast construction schedule.

Youngsters were getting involved, too. Miss Bonnie Hall, an 18-year-old from Buckingham, was first in line in that county to register to vote under a new federal law and was featured in a January 15 front page photo. The new law lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 for federal elections, but would not apply to state elections-meaning Virginia would have to change its law for those under age 21 to vote in local and state elections.

Well, it seemed that way at the time the photo was printed. The 26th Constitutional amendment, adopted July 1 of 1971, would lock in the right of 18-year-olds to vote in federal as well as state elections. Thus 18, 19 and 20-year-old men conscripted into service and sent to Vietnam would then have a say-so in those making decisions.

Virginia ratified the Constitutional amendment after the necessary three-fourths of state legislatures gave their approval.

Back on Main Street, Farmville shoppers could take advantage of “famous name brand suits” at the Squire Shop for the low price of $69. Roses had a January sale on “popular stereo tapes” (AKA eight tracks) for $4.99 each-a savings of $1.96. One could pick up some Sugarloaf, Merle Haggard, or Grand Funk Railroad, which were all featured in the ad.

Yes, good deals for music, but it was a different time, when dollars were harder to come by. Consider that a seven-room house with two baths on a large lot “near downtown Farmville” was offered in a January 8 classified ad at $7,700 to settle an estate.

Sweet land deal.

Bob's Super Market, on West Third Street, had fresh ground beef for 53 cents a pound in an ad printed in the January 13 edition, two dozen of eggs for 89 cents and golden ripe bananas for 10-cents a pound. High's Ice Cream store (located, interestingly enough, on Farmville's High Street) was having a winter carnival quart sale. Customers were encouraged in a January 8 ad to stock up now. There were 20 flavors to choose from at a sale price of 49 cents, or a 10-cent savings.

Sadly, the once prominent Ice Cream store chain only exists in one location today, Portsmouth.

Be careful driving downtown, though. According to a front page story in the January 20 edition, there were 71 automobile accidents in the Town of Farmville in 1970 with the total amount of damage from those wrecks at a record $40,770. September was the worst month for damage ($6,475); the least damage occurred in May ($700).

Town Police Chief Otto Overton wasn't optimistic about 1971.

Well, the Town had grown in size and this a day when Route 460 still flowed through the middle of Farmville, instead of looping around via the bypass.

Yes, we found it interesting to turn back the clock 40 years. And someone in another 40 years may be reading about the events of 2011, too.