"Serving Rockbridge County and the City of Lexington, Virginia for One Hundred and Sixty-Nine Years."
That's at the top of the April 7, 1971 issue of The News-Gazette. It was only 15 cents per copy and all the photos were in black and white. Our newspapers have color photos now and articles can be read online, but we're still serving Rockbridge County, the City of Lexington, and now the City of Buena Vista. We're approaching 225 years of service and we're proud to provide local news and events to our communities!
The front page stories for April 7, 1971:
- The budget for Rockbridge County schools, which includes a few items on the budget.
- Lexington adopts a new zoning ordinance for apartments.
- The budget for Lexington schools is proposed and also contains a few key points of the budget.
- The Historic Lexington Foundation gets it's first historic preservation award.
- The 1971 Miss Rockbridge is named: Carol Ann Dixon. Pictured with her is 1970 Miss Rockbridge, Pandora Olivia Dixon.
A staple of newspapers, until the mid 20th century, was the society section. It's called 'Personal Mentions' in The News-Gazette, and it functioned as a way for communities to stay connected on a more personal level. Basically, it was social media before the internet. You could read about your neighbor going on vacation, who had family in town, and in large, affluent areas there were details about prominent families and local debutants. In this issue's Personal Mentions, you find out that Mrs. Francis P. Gains visited her family in Tucson, Arizona. Mrs. Lyle D. Harlow was in D.C. for the Cherry Blossom Festival and stayed with Mrs. Elmer Guilford. Mrs. Christian Holland and her three daughters spent Easter weekend with Mr. and Mrs. M. W. Paxton Jr.
This issue also included an installment of a column titled, "Lexington Days Well Remembered." It's a reminiscence of Louise Kelly, former managing editor of The Rockbridge County News.
The SPCA Poster Event winners were selected and pictured with their posters, plus a big ad for The Aristocats was featured along with other movie showtimes.
