Last month marked 52 years since Mel Greenberg came to town with the specious intent to make a movie here in Lexington. This event was such big news, it was covered in two issues of The News-Gazette. This week we look at June 12 and June 19, 1974.
The front page stories for June 12 were:
- An intro to the Mel Greenberg issue, with a photo taken at the Rockbridge Commonwealth Attorney's office.
- A fire in the basement of the old Lexington Gazette damaged the offices of the Lexington Cable TV Company, which occupied that space.
- The county budget meeting expected many more than the few citizens who showed up, but there was still some participation from attendees.
- Arnolds Valley hoped for a new project to bring water to citizens who needed it.
The main story about Mel Greenberg is continued in the second image.
The front page stories for June 19 were:
- At a "lively budget meeting," the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors voted to lower the tax levy.
- The Lexington Fire Department was torn about selling their snorkel truck.
- Mel Greenberg made the front page again after he was arrested in Ohio.
- The City of Buena Vista's time crunch to find a new contract for their municipal use of electricity.
The main story updating the Mel Greenberg "saga" is continued in the third image.
Also included are a couple of letters to the editor about Mel Greenberg, the ad that he put in the paper which called for people to audition for the movie he claimed he was there to film, and an old bumper sticker that was commissioned to be printed by The News-Gazette which reads: "Free Mel Greenberg."
