Martha Woodroof Hiden had to learn how to wield a 5-foot pair of scissors.

In 1928, the teenaged Miss Virginia used the gigantic scissors to cut the banner at the opening of the James River Bridge, and 30 years later, on July 1, 1958, she put them to use again symbolically merging Warwick and Newport News.

Her selection for such events is only one illustration of the prominence of Mrs. Hiden and her family in the history of Newport News. In the book, “ Newport News: A Centennial History,” she is described as someone who carried onward the story of Newport News. The north reading room of the Main Street Newport News library is named after Mrs. Hiden to honor her 26 years of service to the Library Board, according to the book. The neighborhood of Hidenwood that surrounds Christopher Newport University is named for her and her husband, Philip Wallace Hiden, who was Newport News’ mayor from 1920 to 1924 and its first mayor under the city council and city manager system.

And most recently, their names were honored again, along with those of a related Newport News family, when the dining hall at Santoro Residence Hall on the CNU campus was renamed Hiden-Hussey Commons at an official dedication ceremony on Oct. 1. The dining hall was previously called Harbor Lights.

“I know my uncle and aunt, if they were here, would be so pleased with what has been done there,” said Claudia Thomas, niece of the late Wendell and Woodroof (Hiden) Hussey. “I am so pleased with the college, and the Ferguson Center is off to a great start.”

The name change honors the gift the families made to the University as part of a real estate transaction in April 2004 through Hiden-Hussey Associates, a general partnership formed by the families. “The naming of the Hiden-Hussey Commons – one of our residential dining facilities – honors the generous gift of the Hiden-Hussey Associates,” said Judy Ford, vice president for university advancement. “Their investment in the University reflects leadership and dedication, while helping to shape and define CNU for the future. The Hiden and Hussey families have supported the Peninsula with their generosity for generations.”