In this series, we’re going to talk with the area leaders of a wide breadth of denominations, religious organizations, and groups. We’ll learn about how they view their place in this area, the diversity of beliefs in our community, and their opinion of how religion affects people and their community. 

This week, I spoke with McKinley Anthony Williams of First Baptist Church on N. Main St.

How long has this church been here in Lexington and how long have you been with this church?

Since 1867, so 159 years. I have been the pastor since 2017.

Why do you think there are so many churches in the area, and especially just in Lexington?

Well, I would say that each church has its own focus or emphasis. So, you got people who want to follow that particular leadership, in that particular parish or congregation. You couldn't find two people in Lexington who think alike. But you've got a variety and diversity of churches and I guess that would satisfy their religious needs.

Why do you think churches are typical elements in all cities, big or small?

Well, I think we need, as humans, to have a sense of moral authority. Religion binds together. We need something that helps us to, kind of, grasp the things of life that we don't understand. Religion helps us by faith - it helps us to wrestle with the things that are mysterious to us as humans that our minds can't grapple upon. We, the religious community, believe we have a God that answers all, understands all, and can do all and that nothing is impossible through the power of God.

What affects do you think religion has on a group of people or a community?

I think on, a positive note, it can be very, very beneficial because you have a people who are together in terms of  their views. Whatever is transpiring, if it's negative, then it's not the end, and if it's positive then it is through and only by the help and the power of God.

What do you think your religious organization brings to our area?

First Baptist Church in Lexington brings a sense of hope to a people who are oppressed. It brings a sense of unity, a sense of oneness. They may have been oppressed and rejected in the wider society, there is a sense of "somebody-ness" in this particular church, you know, we're counted. Even though the society may say one thing, that doesn't count because ultimately God has counted us. So this church is a constant reminder of the struggles that took place to get the people to where they are. 

There's another church they broke off from, 160 years ago roughly. They decided: 'we don't have to deal with this. We can band and have our own. We can celebrate the freedom of Christ through our own way, we can worship, and we can serve in the manner we see fit and we don't have to apologize for it.

How would you describe your congregation’s demographics?

We're mostly older, middle age to older - the older ones who have a sense of their history. There's a lot of legacy here, a lot of family ties. We get some of the college students who, you know, they're searching. They can embrace the church worship style. I think it's mostly older because Lexington is almost a retirement center, so you get old, and older.

How has your service attendance been over the years?

It was very, very good, considering we're predominantly African-American and you only have 499 African Americans here. You get a few others but they're in and out. And then, this is a transient community - a college community too. Even if you get them, you're going to wind up with them two or three years, and then they're off to life. And Lexington is limited in job offers and expansion. 

The pandemic hit, but we were open during the pandemic. We stayed open every Sunday. While other churches, some of those closed for two years. First Baptist was open and what we did was stream live, and the community appreciated the fact that we were having worship because it was the only worship service they had. But I think, hit or miss, we're doing okay, considering.

Have you seen any changes, shifts, or evolution of the area?

Yes. It's more diverse since I've been here. It's seemingly a little more welcoming. When I first got here, it seemed like it was a little polarized. Now it seems like, people may not understand or they may not agree, however they do give you the space and they do respect whatever it is that you represent.

How do you see the future of this area?

Well, I think as long as people have the spirit of cooperation, to work together, I think this area can always make it. I think that you would have to, I would say, take the bitter with the sweet. Some people are going to be hard-lined and they're not going to get involved, but there are people in Lexington who seem like they don't mind change. They're open to new things and that's always good for the future: having newness, having youth taking chances, seeing where you can make it, and what you can't see physically but you can see it with a spiritual eye.

The front page stories for April 24, 1963 were:

• The Natural Bridge fire details, continued on page7 (third image).
• Story about how the Natural Bridge Hotel manager is handling the aftermath.
• Another fire took place that week, with one fatality.
• A little background on the numerous owners of the Natural Bridge.
• A mobile x-ray unit was in Rockbridge County. During the first five days, 4,321 free x-rays were taken. 

All of the photos of the fire and the complete story are included below. The second page with the photos of the Natural Bridge Hotel fire also has the movie ads for that weekend. The story is continued on the third picture, along with the continued story from the front page about a car accident fatality, and a large Kroger ad. 

Rounding out this week's flashback are a couple of photos: a class from Lexington High School visited The News-Gazette and learned about the typesetting machine, and four young trumpet players participated in the country band workshop. 

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.

This week, I spoke with Dr. Michelle Schenley from Animal Clinic of Rockbridge.

What services does this location provide?

We are a veterinary hospital.

Does this location have a high volume of animals?

We're a two-doctor practice, so I would say a moderate amount.

How does this location handle the volume of animals?

We see appointments every half an hour from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon, with a break at lunch. We have two doctors here most every day, a whole amount of staff, and we have five licensed veterinary technicians 

What do you like most about working with animals?

I think it's the challenge and it's never the same thing. It's always something new. You always get to learn. You see something different and see a variety of different species and wounds and things.

What is a major challenge for animal care in our area?

I think the biggest problem in our area is the lack of large animal veterinarians. This location only [handles] small animals.

What is the most common animal seen at this location?

Cats and dogs, that's all we do here.

What was the most unusual animal seen at this location?

We just do cats and dogs. I mean, in my career I have seen other animals but now we just do small animals.

What advice would you give to new animal owners in this area?

Do your homework. Be selective about what you choose to get, whether it's the breed of dog, or a cat, or whatever. Be prepared for the cost of veterinary medicine, it's very expensive. It's a responsibility, you can't get an animal and then not be able to take care of it. So, if you're not financially prepared to do that, you know, there's pet insurance and everything else but you need to be prepared to take care of it for 12 to 20 years.

This week, I spoke with Charissa Morris who is a licensed veterinary technician at Edgewater Animal Hospital in Buena Vista, Va.

What services does this location provide?

We provide veterinary services for small animals, mostly dogs and cats. We offer preventative care: vaccines, wellness exams, supplements, preventative medications. We also do a wide range of surgeries, dental procedures, cleaning, and senior wellness care as well.

Does this location have a high volume of animals?

I would say yes, just based on what we see on a daily basis. I would say, probably, we average about 20 to 30 appointments per day. Right now, we only have one veterinarian working so we stay very busy. We do see new patients, if not daily, definitely weekly.

How does this location handle the volume of animals?

We just try to see as many as we possibly can in the span of a day. We do only have one veterinarian but we have three licensed veterinary technicians and two assistants. They're able to jump in and help get things started, do as much as they can for the veterinarian to support her, and take care of the pets that we see daily. 

A licensed veterinary technician, in the state of Virginia, is essentially kind of like a human nurse: we're licensed to take care of pets in the capacity of working under a veterinarian. So, we are able to do almost everything the veterinarian can do. The only things that we are not licensed to do is perform surgery, prescribe medication, or provide a diagnosis. Other than that, we can assist in surgery, we can provide treatments under the direction of a veterinarian, we can do vaccines, draw blood, give medications and treatments as needed.

A lot of the times we do require that some of our clients drop their pets off, so that they are there for the majority of the day. That just gives us time to see them, evaluate them, run diagnostics, and provide treatment. Sometimes it just takes a little bit longer than usual, but we're able to get more done that way.

What do you like most about working with animals?

It's just something I've always enjoyed. I don't know exactly how to describe it. It's just something that makes me happy, just being able to help them, you know? They can't tell us exactly what is wrong with them, or what's going on, so it's always kind of a learning process to investigate and figure it out. Part of the fun is doing the science, the work, figuring it out, and then being able to provide the treatments that they need and make them feel better. They're always thankful and happy and loyal. They can't really complain too much, so that's always a nice thing too. I just grew up loving them and just always wanted to work with them. So I just followed that dream and it's worked out for me.

What is a major challenge for animal care in our area?

I would say the biggest challenge, obviously with most things, is going to be cost. Veterinary care is becoming more expensive, along with everything else. Just the cost of having a pet in general is expensive, even if you don't have any emergencies or don't have any medical issues come up. Just the preventative care and maintenance - vaccines, flea and tick prevention, keeping them feeling as good as they can. Their food is even expensive, especially living in this rural area that we live in. You don't have a high salary in our area, you know? It's hard for people to afford just general care. So that's our biggest hurdle that we cross basically every day. Just trying to provide the best care that we can, at the lowest cost, that still gives us the ability to be open every day and have the medications on hand that need to be given. 

What is the most common animal seen at this location?

More dogs than cats in general. We have probably a bigger cat population in our area, but we don't see a lot of them. Mostly because they are feral or owners just have them as outside pets that they aren't able to bring for their illnesses. Dogs probably are bigger, probably about 60 to 40 ratio. It's not a big difference but we see more dogs than cats on a daily basis.

What was the most unusual animal seen at this location?

We did have somebody bring in a fawn once, that their dog unfortunately had attacked. We aren't able to provide care for wildlife, technically. We can provide emergency critical care when needed. What we did was just put the fawn on some oxygen and waited for somebody to be able to pick it up and take it to the Wildlife Center. 

Other than that, we really don't see many cool pets. We just don't do exotics. There's just a lot more information that other places can provide and help with the exotics. It's just a lot for us to undertake. We'll do nail trims on guinea pigs, we've done some bird nail trims and wing clippings before, but it's very rare. We haven't done that in a while.

What advice would you give to new animal owners in this area?

Probably the biggest advice that we give to most of our new pet owners is: look into getting pet insurance. It's becoming more popular and we have seen it help our clients tremendously. Mostly unexpected calls or, you know, illnesses and injury, but it can help with other aspects as well. Just like human insurance, you don't usually need it everyday but when you need major help. Pet insurance, especially with a new pet that's going to live for 10+ years, it's becoming a bigger thing and something everybody should be thinking about when they're looking to get a new pet. 

In celebrating Encourage a Young Writer Day, we're featuring a article by one of The News-Gazette's past interns:

Back in 2018, The News-Gazette had an intern named Mattie Marsh who was working on her master's degree in English at JMU. She went on to become a full-fledged member of the News-Gazette staff and won an award in 2020 for Best Breaking News Story. 

The News-Gazette has nurtured many young writers in it's long history. Mattie Marsh was one such writer and she grew to be beloved at the paper, not just for her writing skills but her sunny disposition as well. She's Mattie Montgomery now and works as the assistant editor of the Communications Team for the VMI Alumni Association.

The ability to write is a fundamental skill that wasn't always available to everyone. We now live in a society that promotes education for all, and encouraging and nurturing young people to write is paramount. Whether they're small children, teens, or even young adults, being encouraged to write can lead to a love of the written word. It may not become a career, like it did for Mattie, but we should all do our part to encourage the young writers in our lives. 

The front page stories for October 17, 2018 were:

• Governor Northam went on a tour of downtown Lexington to see all the recent new businesses.
• The lawsuit of Senator Deeds regarding the death of his son was settled out of court.
• There was opposition about a new cell tower at a public hearing of the Rockbridge County Planning Commission.
• The final installment of the News-Gazette series on domestic violence called "Eternally Hopeful."

This issue of the paper is a bit unique in that it shows the introduction of a few community features that we see and use in our lives today. First, there's the story that Mattie Marsh wrote about the Buena Vista Food Lion remodel. People who don't shop at that location can still walk downtown and see the new business that opened in 2018. The timber frame reading area is standing strong at the Lexington library and there have been more timber framed structures assembled in our area. The painted life-size horses can be seen around the community, from Buena Vista to Fairfield, and we always look forward to the Mountain Day festival in October! 

The News-Gazette is proud to report on the lives and events in our community, whether they happened 8 years ago or 85 years ago. 

The issue of the Rockbridge County News we're looking at this week is very old and thus very brown in color: April 6, 1933.

The front page had stories about:

• The death of a certain prominent woman named Elizabeth Preston Randolph Allan. She was so well known and revered that her death is announced on the front page four times.
• The naval airship, Akron, crashed into the ocean during an electrical storm. The story includes a first-hand account of a survivor of the crash. 
• From the section 'In Neighboring Counties' - "Miss Francoise E. May, brunette daughter of the Belgian ambassador, will be queen of the tenth annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom festival"
• And in the section 'News in a Nutshell' - High schoolers in Chicago were on strike in deference to their teachers, who were not being paid.

Included this week are many articles about budgets, which puts our current budget projections into perspective. There are also some Easter ads and a story titled "The Fable of the Monarch of Western Hemisphere." It tells of a man named Mr. Jelby who gets really upset at trends and fads. 

Sources: 

This week, I spoke with Anna Cohen. She is the manager of the Blue Ridge Animal Clinic in Lexington. 

What services does this location provide?

We provide both large and small animal services. Small animal services: cats, dogs, we see the odd chicken or two, couple of ferrets but not recently. Primarily cats and dogs. As far as large animals go, we do sheep, goats, pigs, llamas, horses, bovine - dairy and beef.

Does this location have a high volume of animals?

Yes, most definitely. We are right smack dab in the middle of this rural shortage area. Rural shortage areas are established by the federal government. We have over 620 large animal clients. That doesn't mean that we see them all the time but as far as active clients across all counties, it's quite a lot.

How does this location handle the volume of animals?

We just have an amazing group of receptionists. There are three of them. One has been here over 30 years, one for 20 years, and then one that is relatively newer but they steer the ship. I mean, they take the calls, they triage things, they know how to schedule so that the travel time is right and the doctors are going in the right directions at the right times. It's not easy to do. A lot of times, what they can't fit in the schedule themselves, they will leave a message for the large animal doctor saying, 'I put it in here, I got it in there' and then they pop it in the schedule. So it's really a team effort. The receptionists really hold the boat together, I'd say. They're great ladies.

What do you like most about working with animals?

I myself don't directly work with them because I'm the business manager. I fell into this position because I have a background in farming and animals. I would say, speaking generally for everybody, I think they're in this profession because they love animals, they care about animals, care about food animal producers, and people who try to make a living through farming, and the people that own these animals. It's amazing what people do for their pets; they're really like their children.

What is a major challenge for animal care in our area?

I would say the shortage of veterinarians and licensed veterinary technicians. It's been challenging to find a strictly small animal veterinarian. I don't know if it's because our practice is unique in that we're truly a mixed animal location. I mean it's really about 50/50 or 60/40. There's equal division between the large and the small animal. There's a shortage of veterinarians out there and then there's also a shortage of licensed veterinary technicians. So, I think finding people to fill those positions is not always easy. 

We're up against corporate owned practices, so being a private practice and having been around for over 40 years now, it's hard to compete with corporate supported practices. They will offer a whole lot of money and signing bonuses and things like that. We don't have the corporate manpower behind recruitment and all the stuff that they do. 

Also to make sure that it's the right cultural fit as well because, I think for us particularly, it's important. We've been part of the community for such a long time, so we're not concerned with shuffle in and shuffle out. I think we pride ourselves on being part of the community, knowing our clients, and developing relationships with them and their pets. So, you're not just in and out.

What is the most common animal seen at this location?

Either canines or bovines. It’s probably pretty close. If you count when you do a herd visit: the large animal doctors will go out, and if they're going to preg check 150 cows, that's 150 cows in a day versus however many small animals we see. So it's hard to actually answer that question and have it be like, apples to apples, because it's not. 

What was the most unusual animal seen at this location?

Since I've been here, probably the most unusual is either the baby kangaroo or the penguin, but that was when we had a staff member that also worked at the Safari park. She was, like, the assistant curator over there, so she would sometimes bring unwell pets. But since she's not here anymore, we haven't really had any strange ones like that.  We have a parrot that comes in every once in a while to get his beak and his toes trimmed. Nothing super strange, I would say.

What advice would you give to new animal owners in this area?

Enjoy your pet, time goes by fast. Never hesitate to call if you feel like something's wrong. Your pets will let you know when something's wrong. Socialize your pet. I've had pets my whole life and farm animals most of my adult life. You can't know the amount of love you get back from a dog or a cat. It's hard to quantify. Just be there for your pet and look for signals. Enjoy them. Mess with their feet a lot. 

This week, I was fortunate to sit down with the executive director of the Rockbridge County SPCA, Tara Rodi. 

What services does this location provide?

We serve as the municipal shelter for the area: Rockbridge County, Lexington, and Buena Vista. We are an animal shelter and an SPCA, so we take in homeless, abandoned, and unwanted animals.

Does this location have a high volume of animals?

It does, yes. Right now, we're full with dogs and we have just a couple of cats, but cat season's coming around so we'll probably be seeing a lot more cats come in the near future. But we do have easily over 500 animals here a year.

How does this location handle the volume of animals?

We care for them. When they first come in, they're here for a hold time which depends on if they are a stray or if they look like they belong to somebody. It's seven days if it's a stray. It's 12 days if it looks like they belong to somebody and that could be because they have a collar on, they have a microchip, they're well groomed, or we can tell that they're neutered. After their hold time is up, if no one has come for them, then we put them over to the adoption side of the SPCA and we put them up for adoption. We hang on to the animals for as long as we can, as long as they don't get sick, or injured, or bite somebody. So some animals we've had here for a couple of years. 

We serve as the pound, essentially, for the localities. If we were only a pound, after the hold time was up it would probably be euthanasia for those animals. But since we were also an SPCA, we then take the animals into the SPCA side of our shelter, where we care for them for as long as we can. That's why we rely on a lot of donations and community support grants to help us do all that.

What do you like most about working with animals?

Being around animals is great, but it's even better when we see them go home with somebody and see the adoption and watch them drive out of the driveway. It's very touching for the staff, especially when they've been taking care of them for so long. Just to see that they got a home. Then, we love hearing back from people two or three, maybe even sometimes seven years later, telling us about the dog or cat they adopted and sending us pictures. So, knowing that these animals get a great forever home and are in good hands is always good.

What is a major challenge for animal care in our area?

Funding, of course, for getting them spayed and neutered. We're required, since we are a municipal shelter, that all animals leaving here have to be spayed and neutered by Virginia law. It's hard sometimes when somebody wants to adopt a dog or cat and that hasn't been done yet, because then it puts that on them to pay for it and do it. So we are super excited because in May we are opening our own spay neuter clinic just up our driveway. So we will have the ability to spay and neuter every animal that comes in the shelter and have that part of the adoption process already done. So that's one of our biggest challenges. 

Of course, we have a lot of cats in this area. People have issues with cats multiplying and living in their neighborhoods and on their streets. Again, our spay and neuter clinic is going to be a great way for people to be able to manage cat colonies and make sure that the cats are not reproducing. A cat shouldn't have to be having kittens over and over. A [female] cat can come into heat anytime it's around a male and, you know, that's a hard wear and tear on a mother cat. So getting them spayed and neutered is always good. 

Also, for the feral cats, we will be ear tipping them. We'll recut the tip of the ear straight across and that'll signify to people that this cat has been spayed or neutered and is vaccinated. So people will know, if they see that cat, 'that's the one we want to leave here, this one we want to catch and make sure it gets spayed or neutered.'

What is the most common animal seen at this location?

We are a pit bull and hound shelter. Lots of pit bulls and hounds.

What was the most unusual animal seen at this location?

We got a really big lizard. It was a huge, Argentine Tegu lizard. We've gotten a chinchilla in before. We've had some snakes, but I wasn't here for the snakes. There's different, like, pocket pets or domestic pets, that sometimes we get. Your typical rabbits and birds and stuff like that. But this huge Argentine Tegu lizard, that was a big guy. We drove him all the way to Norfolk to a lizard rescue. He was found just walking the streets. Definitely not an indigenous type animal for our area, but somebody found and picked him up. No one claimed it. He wouldn't have survived, obviously, in this climate, so he ended up at a rescue in Norfolk.

What advice would you give to new animal owners in this area?

Just make sure that you have the means to take care of your animal. There's going to be food costs, expenses every once in a while. Make sure you have a safe environment for your pet. If it's a cat, please keep it indoors so it'll be safe, you know, it won't run away and be another lost cat. Make sure you microchip all your animals. We microchip every animal that leaves here but if you didn't get a pet from us, getting it the microchip is always helpful because it helps us find the owner. Then just consider the yard and where you're living, you know? If you live in an apartment, a pit bull or hound is not an animal for you. As much as some people don't like to hear us say that, we have to explain to them, that that's just not going to work.

So just consider where you're living, your financial means, and being able to take care of the pet for the life of the pet. It's not a temporary thing, when you adopt, it's for the life of that pet.

The Rockbridge County SPCA is located at 10 Animal Place, Lexington, VA 24450 and can be reached at (540) 463-5123

Ah, the 90's! The trends, the fashion, the slang! For many, it doesn't feel like the 90's were that long ago, but 1995 was 31 years ago. A lot has changed, but there is something very important that has stayed the same: The News-Gazette is still reporting on the lives and events in our community! 

The front page stories for March 22, 1995 were:

• A story about who will be on the local ballot in the fall elections, which would include the school board and sheriff's office.
• Two school board stories - One for the budget of Rockbridge County Schools, and another for the 'year-round' calendar of Buena Vista schools.
• A rural development specialist helps local officials plan for the future of economic development in our area
• An update on the Justice Department's suit against VMI in 1990 to "formulate, adopt, and fully and timely implement a plan to remedy fully their discriminatory policies."

The Lifestyle section features stories about a spring concert, the Blue Ridge Garden Club's historic homes and gardens tour, the Happy Cook offers a couple of spring recipes, and we get to see which movies were showing that weekend. Check out the "Tightwad Tuesdays" special price for Valley Cinemas in Buena Vista!

Next, you get to see what the typical 90's bride looked like in the Marriages section. 

We finish up this blast from the past with the School Scene to look back on some school fashion and who made the honor roll! 

The newspapers we're accustomed to seeing have at least one large picture on the front page, and often have a few smaller ones. This makes it easy for us to see which stories hold the most importance, according to the editor. Conversely, newspapers during the 1940s had front pages that were dominated by text and generally only featured one moderately sized picture. This issue has two small photos on the front page, one of a singer named Frances Sims and the other was the newly appointed acting attorney for Rockbridge County - Dan W. McNeil. 

Here are just a few of the many stories on the front page of the March 19, 1942 edition:

• A few stories about a town-wide blackout that was planned for Lexington: the preparations and people in charge, the duties put on the wardens to aid police in clearing the streets, and first aid stations in case of emergencies during the blackout.
• Virginia's supply of gasoline had decreased by 20%, which was believed to be a precursor to the possible implementation of gas rationing.
• A Bazaar was being arranged as a fundraiser for Bundles for America. It was going to include a narcissus show, a pet show for children, a fortune teller, and vendors selling supplies for victory gardens.
• Plus, the added feature that the Rockbridge County News had on every front page - News in a Nutshell. This was often national and global news.

Next is a segment, which is still featured in our current newspaper, called 'Out of the Past' and shows what happened in Rockbridge County 25 years prior and 50 years prior. Along with that is an excerpt about summer work for boys, a jab at The Groundhog for the weather (I think we're all feeling that right now), and an amusing graphic titled "The New Tenant." It's supposed to illustrate the season of spring, personified, coming into a new domicile after winter leaves the place cluttered and undesirable. Is that winter leaving through the window?

Then there is a story about how nutritious soy beans are, an announcement about welding and auto mechanic jobs for women, aged 18-25, in Manassas, and VMI to receive a portrait of Gen. George C. Marshall. 

Finally, there are some large ads featured in this issue. Most of them are for the spring fashion trends, particularly to look your best for Easter. 

This week I sat down with the publisher of the paper: Matt Paxton. Having familial ties to the paper, it's no surprise that he's been working here the longest, 46 years. Although he is the son of the previous publisher and editor, he didn't start out at the top of the organization. His various jobs within the paper, as well as his educational background, gave him the skills needed to handle the complicated and weighty position as publisher. Not only does he devote himself to the well-being of the paper, but he also creates a thriving work environment where employees enjoy the work they do; as evidence by the previous interviews in this series. 

Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?

That's kind of an interesting story because I didn't really think about coming back to work for the paper when I was growing up. My dad was the editor and publisher. He never put any kind of pressure on me or even brought it up as a possibility that I can remember. I think he wanted me, if I was interested in it, to come to that decision myself. But it was his non-family member partner who got me to come back. We were having lunch one day. I was working in Lynchburg at a bank. He asked me one day, did I ever consider coming back to work for the paper? And I said, 'well, I didn't really enjoy writing.' He said, 'well son, there's a lot more to do with the newspaper than the writing part.' So I came back on the business side. I started off as an ad salesperson and then became the ad director. Then, when that non-family member partner was ready to retire, I took over his job as the business manager.

What made you stay here instead of looking for another job?

I like what I do. I've always enjoyed doing this and I love living where I grew up. It's a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I just never thought about moving anyplace else. And I like being my own boss.

What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?

Oh, that's an interesting question because I didn't go to journalism school. I was an economics major in college. I think my liberal arts education was probably the best preparation, aside from one course that I did take in college. That was accounting, basic accounting, which has been extremely helpful. Beyond that, the broad spectrum of knowledge and the promotion of curiosity that a liberal arts education affords, I think is probably the best background I could have gotten.

What are three things you love about working at The News-Gazette?

Number one is the people that I get to work with and have gotten to work with over the years. We've had some fantastic folks, and lot of people that I stay in touch with, who've worked here and have moved on to other things. 

The second thing is that every day is something new. That's one of the perks of working in the news business. Every day you're covering things that are new, things that are right on the cutting edge of what's happening in our community. 

I guess the third thing is the ability it's afforded me to stay here in the place I really love.

Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?

One of the funniest stories happened years and years ago. One of our long-time employees, Gay Lea Goodbar, her mother worked here. She was a terrific cook and baker and she would always bake cakes for people for their birthdays. We had this one employee who was a bit of a curmudgeon and he didn't want his birthday remembered. He kept saying 'I don't want a cake, don't make me a cake.' So after hearing this, year after year, Ella Gay Potter brought in a cake for his birthday. It was this pretty sheet cake, chocolate cake, with candles on it. He blew out the candles, she gave him a knife, and he proceeded to try and cut the cake. He couldn't cut it because she had iced a box. But then she went around the corner and brought back a real cake. He actually did laugh. We got a laugh out of him. 

How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?

I think they're essential. I think that we must have in our communities some trusted source that can provide information about what's happening in the community, what's happening with our local governments, with local business, what's happening in our schools, what our people are doing - their special accomplishments. I think somebody needs to be there to recognize and applaud people who do great things. 

I think that a community that doesn't have some sort of a local news and information source, and one that has people that have some training to be able to determine what's important and how to organize a news story so that it's understandable  to readers is really very important. There are studies that show that communities that don't have a local newspaper or local news organization pay higher interest rates on their municipal bonds. There are greater instances of corruption locally. There's lower civic participation in terms of voting and there's also more polarization. So, I think that all of these are pretty good reasons to keep your local newspaper around and healthy.

The newspapers we published in 2000 had so many sections, because we could only print color on the front and back of a section. There was a table of contents on the front page. There was a business section, agriculture section, and even a section for equestrian news. My favorite is the education section, which has news about the local K-12 schools. The News-Gazette still covers education news, just not in a dedicated section. We cover our local school board meetings, personnel changes, the honor rolls of the school systems, stories on local student accomplishments, and coverage of our local colleges, but there is always more to report on.  Just this week, three of The News-Gazette’s front page stories dealt with education. 

The front page stories of the March 15, 2000 issue of The News-Gazette were:

• A story about where to build a county/city court complex
• Three stories about budgets for the local school systems
• David F. Partlett is named the new dean of Washington & Lee Law School

In the Education Section there was a top story about the contestants for the title of Miss PMHS. The honor roll list for area schools was in this edition, and it was extensive. Do you recognize any of the names? Buena Vista Women’s Club announced the winners of its art contest in this edition, and the school lunch menu was printed there as well. What kinds of foods to you miss from school lunches?

Finally, I’ve included a few other features that have appeared  in The News-Gazette in the past. There used to be a dining guide and a recipe by The Happy Cook. This issue has a special recipe for St. Patrick's Day! The last feature this week is from a special section called The Spring Home Improvement Guide. Two of the articles from that guide have been included below, which are particularly helpful as spring is approaching.  

If you would like to see these kinds of sections or features in our current editions, let us know on our Facebook page or contact us!

This week I sat down with Ed Smith, who has been working at the paper since May of 1994. Ed is the assistant editor, so when the editor isn't in the office, Ed handles his responsibilities. On a regular basis, he's in charge of covering local government news for Buena Vista and Rockbridge County. He also writes editorials. For the sports section, he does processing, adds copy, and writes headlines.

Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?

Well, I was at Radford University. I graduated in 1982 and so I followed my wife to this area. Neither one of us is from here but we both met in college. I was a journalism major at Radford and Becca was an education major. She got a job teaching at a school in Buena Vista. She's a year older than me so she came up here in 1981 and I followed her in 1982, and I got a job with the paper in Buena Vista in '83. I worked for that news organization for, like, eleven and a half years and then came here.

What made you stay here instead of looking for another job?

I just sort of enjoy our life here, small town life. We've raised a family and it's just all worked out. I never really planned out my life. Just circumstances led me here, you know? And you might say I'm resistant to change so if I'm comfortable in a situation, I just stick with it.

What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?

Like I said, I majored in journalism at Radford University. I didn't really have any long range aspirations for doing that. I was interested in photography when I was younger so that was the main thing that drew me to journalism, but over time I've transitioned more to being a writer and reporter than a photographer. So, you know, like I said: life circumstances just kind of pushed me in this direction. There was no great plan to end up here. It worked out and, you know, I stayed employed in this business for a long time.

What are three things you love about working at The News-Gazette?

Okay, well it's a family owned and operated business. We all seem to get along real well. You know, a lot of papers haven't survived in recent years with the internet and different other news sources. It’s nice that Matt [Paxton] has kept the paper going and it’s still around after all these years. I'm comfortable in the situation and I enjoy it. 

Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?

I'm not sure but I know with the other paper [in Buena Vista], we had an issue one time where, let's just say, a prominent individual had died. There was a story about some person being in concert or something. The picture of that deceased prominent individual appeared in the space where this person was supposed to be in concert. That was kind of a bad mistake.

But I mean, it's a reflection on the different way that we did things in those days. When the pages were laid out, they just had blanks where the pictures went. Then you had, like, an envelope full of pictures with numbers on the back of them. If the paper was printed elsewhere, they were just supposed to match up the pictures with the numbers and they got them wrong. I forget exactly who was at fault but the wrong picture got in the wrong hole. Another thing that happened at that paper one time: We had a tractor trailer accident and the picture was placed in the hole upside down. But again, those happened to another paper. I'm sure we've had some things here too.

How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?

I'm worried, with the changes that have happened over the years. I guess because of the rise of social media and the internet, there's just a lot of false information out there. I worry that people can't distinguish between what's real news and what's fake news. The credibility of all of us that are in this business is sort of at stake here. I think it extends to newspapers in general just because people don't know how to distinguish between what's real and what's not a lot of times. I mean, I'd like to think most people do, but there are a lot of people that don't.

The 1962 Christmas issue was full of Christmas greetings from local businesses. The front page had stories about:

• The annual Christmas Basket program
• How the snow that season affected the area's traffic and community activities. The story cites 10 inches of snow from a recent storm.
• A proposed sales tax of 3 percent, with two-thirds of the revenue going to the localities on a 'per capita' basis.
• And the photo in the bottom left corner of the front page is a nurse, at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital, holding the smallest baby to be born and survive at that hospital. Her name was Tamara Kay Mays and she weighed 1 lb. 12 oz. on her birthdate in October of '61. In the photo, she weighed 4 lbs. 6 oz.

The New Year's issue for 1963 had front page stories about:

• Three men getting arrested on suspicion of burglary and possessing burglary tools.
• The price of certain kinds of mail for the US Postal Service was due to increase.
• A questionnaire was distributed to high school dropouts in the area as a way to understand why they dropped out. The results would be used to find out what could be done to help them with vocational training and to keep current and future students in school.
• And of course, the first baby of the year born in Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital is pictured in the bottom left corner.

The rest of the paper was mostly taken up with The News-Gazette's usual 'Year in Review' but we're going to look at the classified section and some New Years greetings. 

This week I sat down with Stephanie Blevins. Her official job title is the layout designer but over her 38 years at the paper, she has acquired many skills and jobs. Currently she is also a photographer, does photo processing, and has other responsibilities relating to layout and photography.  

Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?

Well, I graduated from high school in '84. I graduated on Friday night, I believe it was, and went to work Monday morning at the Buena Vista paper which was the News and County Press. I worked there for four years and then on a Tuesday night, deadline night, they called us in and said 'we're having to change things up. We're not going to be a weekly anymore. We're going to just be a freebie.' So they were cutting their staff. Wednesday was my day off. On Thursday I went to the employment office. They sent me here on Friday.  Jim Dedrick called me on Sunday to come to work Monday. So I've never been unemployed!

What made you stay here instead of looking for another job?

I just really like what I do. It’s fun, it's different all the time, and the Paxtons have always been very, what's the word, family friendly. If you needed to be off for any reason, with your kids, or bring your kids in for a little bit. It just worked well for me.

What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?

I did not go to college but in high school I took four years of communications, which was an introduction to electricity, to drafting, printing, and photography. I think I got that right. I really liked it, especially the printing and the photography end of it. So then I worked on the yearbook staff while I was there, too, and I just  enjoyed it.

What are three things you love about working at The News-Gazette?

I like the flexibility, with time, on most days. Some days you know you have to be here. I like that it's family friendly, you know, as far as our kids - if our kids are sick, we can be off. I don't have [young] kids now but I did. I like getting to go games. I like that there's always something to do, on the photo end, and somewhere to go. 

Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?

Okay, one time: we used to cut and paste everything, so we had our obituary page which had an 'Obituary' heading on it and we had the opinion page which had 'Opinion.' One of the ladies that worked here was just rushing around through it and put the 'Opinion' heading over the obituaries. So it was kind of like 'it is our opinion that these people have passed on.' I thought that was pretty funny. It was embarrassing at the time but now it's funny.

How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?

I think local newspapers especially are very important. Local news channels, like Roanoke (Channel 7 Channel 10), they'll cover a little bit of the local but they're not here all the time. 

We're going to give you your news every week: what's going on in the courts and what's going on with your councils. It's also a great place to see your kids when they're playing basketball and football. You have radio, which will cover games, but you can't clip that out and save it, you know? So if you like to scrapbook, you can still get that story, get that picture, and save it for your kids. So that's where I think it's very important - to keep up with the local end of everything.

This week I sat down with Gay Lea Goodbar who is the advertising coordinator. She has worked at The News-Gazette for almost 42 years. 

Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?

Because I wanted something different. I was working at Leggett's and I just wanted something different. My mom told me that this was available but, you know, that was when they didn't know if they wanted to hire me because she worked here. But Jim, who worked with the print shop, his daughter worked here too. There were multiples. Matt and his dad. Johnny - his mom used to work here too as a photographer. 

What made you stay here instead of looking for anther job?

I like what I do.  I put the ads in for billing. If there are any ads to makeup, I make up the ads. If there are any ads to check for the right colors, or that kind of thing, I'll make those up. 

When I first started, we made up a lot of ads and now we don't. There are a few ads that people would make up but when I first started, that were pasted up. It wasn't on a computer. You had a light table and you pasted it up with the little lines. Then if the picture didn't fit, like for real estate because we had a lot of real estate, you had to go back on the cutter and cut it or shave a little off. Or to make them fit, move all of them up. If you got to the bottom and it didn't fit, then you start all over. It's different now. It's a good different. 

Back then, I would go out and see people on Mondays and Tuesdays. I'd have to go to the car dealers and to Buena Vista. There were two. Anyway, I just go visit because if they see you, it was hard to say no right to (your) face. Harder than it is over the phone or email. 

What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?

Well, nothing really because I finished school and I went to Dabney, which is Mountain Gateway now. Then I went to Radford but my major was merchandising. So yeah, kind of a business-y. 

What are three things you love about working at The News-Gazette?

I guess the people that I work with. That's what I told April [Mikels]. It's like my family - near 40 some years. I grew up with Matt because when I came in, he was doing what I do now. You didn't have a computer to put it in, you had this little journal that you put it in. Then you had to do the dummy [ad] from that. Anyway, soon to be 42 years and I feel like I grew up with them. Darryl was already here, Matt was already here. Lori came a month before I did. I like what I do and I like the people that I work with.

Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?

There was one of the sales guys [here] and he went to Lexington Motors, which was over where CVS is. It was a car ad and it was in the spring. It was actually a President's Day sale so we were putting the clip art we had to use but they didn't want the typical Abraham Lincoln or George Washington. The guy that owned Lexington Motor Sales was Buddy Derrick. He was always president of the company but he was also the mayor of Lexington. So he wanted his picture in the ad for the President's Day sale. Well, the sales person was Pete and he took the  Abraham Lincoln hat and put on him [Buddy Derek] just to show it around here. Well actually got in the paper! And the next morning we're like, 'oh my God, it got in. It's in there.' 

He called and well, they loved it! They loved it so they wanted copies of it. Of course in the city of Lexington wanted copies because it was the mayor, you know? So that was the funny story, I would say.

How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?

Oh I think it's good. What I hate is, I'm in the old generation who still wants to pick up a newspaper or a magazine and now people don't. That's why we're a dying business, I think. And it's sad and I hate it for us. I mean, this generation does phone or Internet or whatever.

This girl that used to work here, Nancy Bidlock, I ran into her at the post office one day. She was talking about where she came from and her little local newspaper. It's not really local anymore and it's mostly, like, AP stuff. She said it's not like our newspaper. We try to do local, you know? What's going on in the meetings? What's going on in sports? That kind of stuff. Then she said, "I never really realized it until I see how my paper is and see how things are here."

So this week, I wanted to find something that made history in our community that is still relevant today: the opening of the new hospital in Lexington. This was such a major addition to our community, and surrounding communities, that the January 21^st edition of the Rockbridge County News in 1954 was basically just reporting about the hospital! The entire issue talks about the facilities, the staff, the journey to opening, and the future of the previous hospital - The Jackson House. 

The photo after the front page is from 1950, when the plans for the new hospital were proposed. After that, the page of the 1954 issue has the final, official layout for the hospital. 

You will notice that there are also very few ads in the paper. That's because there were so many congratulations and well-wishes from local businesses. It shows how much support the new hospital had from the community. 

Bonus content: If you read the interview this week with Gay Lea Goodbar, you'll see why there is a ad for Leggett's from the next week included in this week's flashback. 

This week I sat down with our editor, Darryl Woodson. Darryl has worked at The News-Gazette since 1983 and has been the editor since 1994. What the editor does is run the newsroom: oversees the reporters and the layout people every week, organizes the stories covered in the paper, talks reporters about their stories as well as any possible news that comes in. He also takes care of anything people want us to print or any advanced notices of events for different organizations, churches, schools, etc. 

Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?

I'm a hometown boy. Part of my family's been here since the 1740s. I developed a desire to go into journalism in high school and decided to pursue that in college. The News-Gazette was family to me even back before I started working here. There were a lot of nice people. Matt [Paxton]'s father was the publisher and the editor back then. He was very nice. The reporters I worked with were all very nice. Before one of the reporters left that summer, she recommended me to Mr. Paxton. He already knew me, so I got the job. I don't know that I intended to stay here all this time or not, but I enjoyed it here. I enjoy the small town atmosphere. I enjoy the people here. It just became a career.

What made you stay here instead of looking for anther job?

A lot of my W&L peers and classmates went on to large papers, even from the get-go. In general, the way it used to work in journalism anyway, is you would work at a small paper to get your feet wet, go on to a daily, go to a bigger daily, and that would be your career. A lot of people would do that and then end up in PR work because PR work pays more money than the newspapers, even at the daily level. But I've always just enjoyed working here. I like being in a small town. I never want to move to a city, a big city. The people here, this place, it's like a family and we all care about each other. 

We've always had a staff of 13 - 17 or whatever. We celebrate birthdays. We celebrate the holidays. We've watched each other's kids grow up. Having lived here all my life, I want to give back to the place that reared me. So I've tried to help this community as much as I can, in every way I can. 

What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?

I got a bachelor's degree in journalism. Actually a double major in journalism and history from Washington and Lee, which has a very good journalism school. I started actually working here when I was in high school, as a photographer. I worked here off and on during college. When a reporting position came open in '83, I took that.

What are three things you love about working at The News-Gazette?

Again, working with the staff, the people here. I've always liked talking with people and meeting new people. I tell the school kids this: one of the reasons I've liked this job all along is that I got to meet people I never would have met otherwise. I've met some dignitaries, not very many. I met Willie Nielsen one time, briefly. I got to know veterans and have talks with them. I've talked to city managers, mayors, council members, supervisors, legislators. But I wouldn't trade any of that for the type of experiences that I've had with just regular, normal people. I really have been enjoying this job. I'm getting to know people that I wouldn't have otherwise.

I guess learning maybe another thing. I've learned a large variety of things. I've learned so much from the people here. When you work in the newspaper world, you have to know at least a little bit about a lot of things. I've loved doing that. I love politics, I love history, I love the pieces that we do about education. 

The newspaper world is very exciting. You're never bored and I have never been bored since I've been here. Usually it's a matter of not having enough time to do things, rather than being bored. That's what makes the job fun. I deal with so many great people all the time. There are so many people wanting to do great things here and I'm trying to help them achieve their goals. A lot of our stories are about causes, like the Chessie Trail group trying to raise money, or hospice, or whatever. We do try to make a real positive difference in the lives of everybody here.

Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?

My memory is not a steel trap, but back when I was reporter - in the days when people didn't cuss - I quoted a supervisor. I don't remember whether it was 'hell' or 'damn' but it was one of those words. The quote was from the wrong supervisor. He called me and he was very upset. His fellow supervisor said he didn't say it. This is days before we used tape recording. It was one of those things when you're taking notes: the supervisors spoke one right after the other and I wrote the wrong name by the quote. So he wanted me to call up his pastor and tell him he did not say that. Now, it's one thing to, you know, say we'll correct any mistakes - we'll write corrections the next week. But I actually had to call that pastor and boy, did I feel bad about this this is, like, 24 years ago.

I've made some headline boo-boos that rank right up there. Most of these we would catch [before it goes to print] and it's just funny between us, but there was one of the funniest typos recently: it was public dorks! In a story about Public Works. What I did was I tried to lowercase the 'w' but instead of that, I lowercased a 'd.' So that happens. Most of the time I catch them but that was the funniest one I've had lately. 

How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?

I feel that newspapers and objective journalism is very important. I think that newspapers have always given people a chance to delve more into a story than what they get with TV. Journalism is vastly important. Trying to sort through the mess we have on the internet these days, when people get most of their news through Facebook.  Everybody's scrolling. But a lot is just not true whatsoever and we're trying to give people the facts. We just came across a piece being shared about one piece of legislation as part of the general assembly. I don't know whether it was AI generated or what, but what's being circulated is flat out wrong. They're quoting things in the original legislation that's just not there. You know, we try to give people the most accurate and balanced news that we can. That's our job as newspapers. That's our job in journalism.

Here are the headlines and trends for the May 26, 1976 issue of The News-Gazette, and happy birthday Kristyn Hoy! 

The headlines for that day were: 

• The Rockbridge County American Red Cross sponsored a "bloodmobile" blood drive at the Trinity United Methodist Church
• Two articles about budgets, one indicating that taxes would not increase, and the other saying that utility rates would increase by 25% - effective immediately.
• A new city manager was named for Buena Vista
• The front page photo is Main Street in Lexington, from Nelson to Washington, as it's being graded for street repairs

Next, there are the movies and showtimes. Who else wishes they could go back in time to see Charlton Heston in "Call of the Wild" on the big screen?

We'll also look at some clothing ads to see what the popular styles were around Kristyn Hoy's birthday!

This edition of The News-Gazette also featured that year's High School Graduation Tab. We only included the front/back page because it was a little too long to include the entire section. 

The Graduation Tab is a long-standing publication that The News-Gazette provides to our community! If you would like to feature your high school graduate in it, or would like to advertise in this highly anticipated News-Gazette feature, contact April Mikels at amikels@thenews-gazette.com

This week, I sat down with Lori Hamilton who is our financial officer and has worked at The News-Gazette for almost 42 years. She is, unfortunately, retiring next month. We will miss her immensely!

Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?

I worked at the Natural Bridge of Virginia [the state park] for five years. Actually, my five-year anniversary is when Mr. Humphreys called me and told me I had the job here. So I was eager. I had a not-so-kind boss and would wake up, on a lot of days, to go to work and wonder 'why am I going?' because he really kind of made you feel worthless. So I just wasn't really happy where I was. I liked doing the work that I was doing but it just wasn't a good fit, I guess. So when I saw this job open, I thought 'would that be interesting?' and so I came here. Got the job about a week or two later. I came in as, what was then, combined circulation and classified manager. So I did both the classifieds and the circulation. I wanted to become the financial officer. 

Right now, financial officer is the title, I do accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll. Anything that the front office does, I help out with. Anything from taking classifieds, taking phone calls, sorting the mail, doing the deposit, and anything else that arises that somebody wants me to help them with. I get the supplies for The News-Gazette. 

What made you stay here instead of looking for anther job?

I guess I just love the challenge of finding and and helping somebody. That kind of thing. When I was offered my position that I'm in now, I was really happy about that. I love my job. I love doing what I do and the family atmosphere that is here. It's always been just really great working with the people that are here. You know, conversation and interaction, the different people that have come and gone and their experiences. You get to kind of learn some of that and see that. Me, being a Navy brat, I had many different experiences living in different places, and stuff that I could share with different people like that. 

I did get an offer once. Somebody called me and wanted me to come and work for them. I just said no. I'm loyal here. It was in the banking industry, so I probably, you know, maybe could have climbed the ladder a little bit. But I was satisfied. I was content here and I felt like, as long as I could do my job I think I had a job. That was very comforting

What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?

I finished the 12 years [of school] and about a year, maybe two years, after being out of school I went to National Business School. I went at night. I was actually looking at doing legal business. I only went one year. I got married, never went back. At the Natural Bridge, I actually did the different jobs in the office there which really is my job now. I did some accounts payable, I did some accounts receivable, and I did payroll. I worked with the different people that did that. We all were supposed to learn each other's jobs. So I had a bit of a background working in it for five years. To come here and be able to do that; I think Mr. Humphreys kind of had that in the back of his mind. Knowing that I had done those jobs - he would bring me in for the job that was open. 

What are 3 things you love about working at The News-Gazette?

I love the challenge of doing the job. I love the camaraderie here, you know? And the boss. He's flexible, reasonable, and understanding of situations that anybody's going through. You might not have that at lot of jobs.

Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?

It was definitely an embarrassing one: Here, we had a system for people to know they had a phone call. It was kind of like Morse code. You might be three shorts, somebody else might be two longs and a short. Where my desk was, is where the bell was. So you would ring it, except Mr. Humphrey's office, who was just right in front of my desk. You would have to go to him or knock on his door and let him know. He had a call most of the time and his door was shut. So one morning, he had several calls and every time I knocked on the door and opened it up, he was on a call. And I felt like I interrupted him. So finally I got a call again, and this time I decided to go up to the door and listen to see if I could hear him talking. That way I wouldn't interrupt him. However, I hear a voice saying, "Can I help you?" I turn around and it's Mr. Humphries! So he sees me, like, trying to listen in. So yeah, that was a bit a bit embarrassing.

How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?

The newspaper - They always say things kind of go in circles, you know? I do feel that even with all the digital and everything, I don't think it's ever going to go away. I kind of have a feeling that it may even come back a bit stronger. I would say journalism, I think, there's a lot of good journalism out there. I think that maybe people get into it to maybe push something that they want, more so than just doing a job. But I think that on the most part, you do have people out there that just want to get the story. And that's a good thing because that's what we need. We need to just know the story. I don't like any of the 'gotcha' things. I don't like it when people are doing that. I just want to be told what's going on. I don't want to know what they think about it, I don't want to know their view of it. I just want to know what's going on. I think that we've kind of lost some of that. And in many aspects of any job now, I think we've lost a little bit of just doing our job.

*Because Lori is retiring, I asked one last question*

What is next for you?

For me, probably first of all just getting some things done at home that I've not been able to do. I think being able to just go visit my mom, visit my daughter, maybe even just us [Lori and her husband] doing some traveling ourselves. Looking around, you know, just seeing things - probably without having to feel bad about leaving my job for someone else to do. I think, with being retired, that frees you up a little bit without feeling bad about not getting your job done, or trying to get your job done so that you can go. For me, it's just being able to spend more time now with my husband, with my home, with my animals. Now I think my business will be 'The Hamilton' business. Us, you know, us at home.

Are there any restaurants around here that aren't just in Lexington or Buena Vista? I feel like I've been to every restaurant around here. I usually don't mind driving to places like Waynesboro or Lynchburg to go out to eat, but sometimes I just don't feel like driving. Are there any places I can go for something different? 

The Dining Detective in on the case!

Lexington and Buena Vista have a decent assortment of restaurants, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The surrounding cities offer a wider selection, especially for chain restaurants. If you don't feel like driving 45 minutes - an hour for something different, there are at least two options I can give you. But, you'll probably still need to drive a bit. 

If you feel like enjoying a scenic drive and finding a hidden gem, two restaurants come to mind: Scotto's Pizza in Glasgow and Gertie's in Vesuvius.

The people reading this article will fall into one of three categories: 

1. They have eaten at one or both of these restaurants and know how good the food is.
2. They have heard about one or both of these places and have been meaning to go there some time.
3. They have never heard of these places before reading this article.

If you are in any of these categories, you should eat at Scotto's and Gertie's!

Scotto's Pizza is, of course, known for it's pizza selection but they have more offer than cheese and pepperoni. In addition to their pizzas, they have sandwiches, pasta, hot dogs and hamburgers, and a few desserts. 

Personally, my favorite items on the menu are the fried pickles and their hamburger steak. I usually have fried pickles in chip form, but these bad boys are spears and you get about 6 of them. The breading is well-seasoned and hardy, not soggy at all. They're served with a side of ranch dressing but they taste great with or without that. The hamburger steak is one large patty, smothered in a homestyle brown gravy and topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms. That comes with a side, like mashed potatoes, and two rolls. Both of these items have me going back for seconds. 

Their "special" items are some of their best, like their special pizza and special cheesesteak sub. If you like mushrooms, peppers, and onions, definitely put these in your order!

Gertie's looks like it's an old convenience store, and that's because it used to be! It also used to have a gas pump, but that was before it was a restaurant. The current owners have run it since 2019. The menu includes burgers (with locally sourced beef), salads, subs, and sandwiches. There are also beer and wine choices. Plus, a breakfast menu!

Personally, my favorite items on the menu are the fried cheese curds and the BBQ pulled pork sandwich. I cannot stop myself from eating the cheese curds, especially with Gertie's special sauce. Now, I know there are so many great BBQ places around here, but that sauce at Gertie's is one of my favorites! 

But the burgers don't mess around at Gerties! Each one is piled high and full of flavors! Not only do you get a thick, locally sourced beef patty, but you can have fried pickle chips, onion rings, and even candied jalapenos on it. Order it with a side of something crunchy, like fries or onion rings, or pair it with some of their caramelized brussels sprouts.

It's no secret that both of these eateries don't look like much from the outside. Honestly, they look like your run-of-the-mill greasy spoon, but you'll be surprised with your dinning experience. Both restaurants have strong menus and their dishes have elevated flavors. You'll probably need more than one napkin when you eat a cheesesteak from Scotto's or attempt Gertie's Signature Sauce Burger without a knife and fork, but you may find yourself coming back for more. 

If you have a dining mystery you need help solving, just ask the Dining Detective! 

Send messages to: diningdetective@thenews-gazette.com

Punxsutawney Phil may have been wrong this year since the weather has been warming up and the ice has been melting, but in February, 1928, people were quite upset with the shadow-seeking creature. Here are a few excerpts from that 1928 issue, with two of the making it onto the front page!

Also on the front page are stories about:

• The amount of money collected from the Gas tax and Automobile Tax. It made up 1/3 of the state's revenue.
• A substitute bill to prevent duplication of college courses.
• And articles about the nation's legislature for budgeting, voting, and even betting on horse races.

Plus, the answer to the "Rockbridge County's First Baby of the Year Contest" is at the bottom!

Can you tell me about your schooling and your work history?

I attended public schools in Rockbridge County. Later, went to Hollins College which is now Hollins University. I received a BA in German and philosophy and stayed to get a masters in liberal studies which I built around ancient and modern languages, like Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. After that, I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a Kent James Brown Fellowship to study Germanic Linguistics. 

However I got sidetracked by that seven-story monument to intellectual freedom: the Walter Royal Davis graduate Library. Therein, one could find books and periodicals on just about any topic imaginable, in every political spectrum from far-left to far-right. But what was really important was that I could read about what I was interested in, look up stuff, do my own thing, without worrying about competing against anyone, being compared to anyone, or worrying about what kind of grade I was going to get in something. 

After that, I worked at the old Fishburne Library at Hollins College. It was exciting just to smell the books as well as being among the ideas. I always regarded a seemingly mundane job, such as shelf reading, far from mundane as one could come across books of new and interesting things. While there, I did a stint in the college archives and that was fun. It was interesting reading old student letters and diaries from the 1800s and early 1900s. It was fun and very, very interesting.

Later, I worked at the reference desk at the Rockbridge Regional Library for over seven years. This was just as the internet was becoming popular for the everyman. It was like getting paid for doing Jeopardy. I was a manager and tour guide at the toy museum at Natural Bridge. We had a collection of toys from 1740 to 2000, but it's no longer there. Concurrently, I reviewed books for the Royal Oak Times and The News-Gazette. 

I started working for Home Instead Senior Care in Verona in 2017, a couple of months after my father died. Our mission was to keep older people at home and out of nursing homes for as long as possible. During the pandemic lockdowns, I carried papers stating that I was a necessary frontline worker. There is an article somewhere in The News-Gazette where I wrote in about being on the front lines. Also, I was a part of something big that happened during the pandemic: I helped take the 2020 census. Of course I was masked, but with a government ID tag showing me mask-less and unsmiling.

Now I'm with Mid-Atlantic Home Care Richmond LLC. What I do and what I'm doing for people is shopping for them, taking them to doctors, cooking, cleaning up. Once in a while I'll have to give somebody a bath, and that's the personal care aspect, but most of the people I'm helping take care of now are what we call "home helpers" and we don't do any personal bathing or dressing, you know, unless I just help somebody put on a coat or a hat.

Can you tell me about your family background? 

I'm an only child and my father, Bill, grew up on the land where I live now in Arnolds Valley. My grandfather, Terry, bought the property with his brother in 1919. My father's mother's side of the family, at least those who died natural deaths, tended to live into their late '80s and '90s without going to doctors much. Dorothy Watkins was my mother and she came from Eagle Rock/Fincastle area of Botetourt County. She and my father met at a revival at Forest Grove Baptist Church in Eagle Rock - he was there to sing. They dated off and on for seven years until they got married in 1960. They stayed married for 55 years. I never married. 

My mother's family were of German descent. The earliest known of them, I think, came to Philadelphia in 1738. I don't know when my father's people came. I think some of them came from Scotland or England but I don't exactly know. They've been in the area since, at least, the Civil War. They were in Bedford County and Botetourt County. There was a great-great uncle in the family that was a prisoner war of the Yankees and he lived to be 97 years old and outlived both of his wives.

What was the most pivotal year of your life and why?

It has to be when I enrolled at Hollins as a freshman. I had a piano scholarship and I practiced two to three hours a day even in my first year. There was also boot camp academics. I did more assigned reading in my freshman year than I had done in all the years in public schools. My years at Hollins gave me a confidence that I could learn anything, but more importantly, they helped me to lose some of the anger and mistrust that I had towards people my age. For the first time in many years, I could relax and carry myself in a social situation. I think, when I got to Hollins, I learned that people my age liked me and I could, you know, I could trust them. I just got the sense that they liked me and they wanted to include me in things. And there wasn't the name calling that I had experienced back in high school. 

Do you have a family tradition that has special meaning for you?

Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway and going to the Peaks of Otter. As long as I can remember, I would go there for picnics with my grandparents, parents, aunt, and uncle-in-law. We take the bus up to a certain point on Sharp Top, and continue the rest of the way to enjoy the view to forever. Going to the lodge and walking around Abbott Lake were also on the itinerary. I climbed Sharp Top from the bottom to the top for my 58th birthday. I thought I would never get to the top! It seemed like every bend that I rounded, there was just more climb, more mountain, you know? I thought, 'I'm near the top,' but I wasn't. There just seemed to be more and more boulders, more turns, more paths. I still go to the Peaks when they are open and in the summer of 2024, I was there every two weeks just to get my Peaks of Otter fix. 

Is there a family heirloom that is precious to you?

I have some pictures in an album of my ancestors, that I value. The wedding pictures of my great-grandparents Watkins and Parker. A picture of my maternal grandfather that was taken on his first date. A very nice picture of my grandmother. My paternal grandparents Watkins, at home with my uncle and my father when they were small children. A glamor portrait of my father's sister Gladys, her husband Freddy, and of course my parents photos. I would be remiss if I didn't mention a portrait of my father, resplendent in his army uniform, that was taken at Andre studio in Lexington. And my mother, in a nice picture that was taken when she was 25. 

Do you have a favorite family recipe that you feel should be preserved?

Uh, my mother's macaroni salad. She learned it from her mother. It's basically not using a prescription, it's just adding ingredients as you go and to taste. It's better than any store-bought macaroni salad and most restaurant pasta salads.

Here it is: 

• It's one box of cooked macaroni
• Add considerable chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, and diced onions.
• Coat the ingredients with mayonnaise but don't drown them.
• Salt to taste after that.
• And, this is probably the most important thing to get the taste, chill-in refrigerator overnight to let the flavors marinate. 

The size of a serving is up to you. I've eaten people's macaroni salad and the thing that they did not do, that made it taste awful, was that they did not refrigerate it overnight and the flavors just did not have a chance to marinate. 

Do you have any advice to give to people who want to live a long and happy life?

Okay, that depends whether one wants to be 40 and in the height of their powers or 95, frail in a wheelchair and forgetful. But let me start with observations of my father who lived to be 92: 

My father dodged several close calls in army basic training in World War II, where he almost drowned. The time a panicked steer ran over him and the emergency room doctor said the steer just missed some vital organs. The time he fell asleep at the wheel of his car after being up with my uncle all night in the hospital, flipped the car over and came out of it with only a few scratches. So there's so much left to chance, but my father always had a saying: "don't put yourself in harm's way."

 The other things I noticed: he wasn't a heavy meat eater, especially red meat or cured ham. He liked chicken and fish. He usually ate oatmeal and half of a banana for breakfast. He absolutely loved tomatoes, green and pinto beans, and just about anything else that grew in the garden. If he strayed from this, he only ate moderately. I never saw him drink milk or eat eggs but the reason for that is that he did so much of that when he was growing up. He said he just had so much of that he could stand, because he grew up on a farm. In later years, he developed high blood pressure but he got it under control and kept it there. He also had a saying: "keep a positive attitude." 

Find your own tribe of people with whom you feel absolutely comfortable around and you don't have to 'put on' in front of. Always have something you're just dying to do and have something to look forward to. Keep yourself the perpetual third-grader. I feel that every time I go into a good public library, especially when I get into the children's section. You know, there's so many things you can do - arts and crafts, so many new ideas, so many great pictures in the books. If you want an introduction to any subject, a children's book, a lot of times, is a good place to start and then you can just take it from there. 

Keep on top of things by going to doctors and dentists on a regular basis, and partner with them in your care. Be kind to animals and find one or more to be a companion to, or to at least love when you go to somebody else's house. And lastly just remember this universe is held together by something greater than yourself. 

Well, although it will be played in California, Lexington does have a connection to The Super Bowl in the name of Steve Davis. Let's look back to when a Lexington High School alumnus was on his way to play against the Minnesota Vikings as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers specialty team. If you were here during that time, you already know that we're going back to 1975!

On the front page, there were of course the usual first-of-the-year headlines like 'Events in Review' and the annual bird count. There were also headlines about:

• Lexington City Councilman selection
• Replacing a sewer line on Country Club Dr.
• Two deaths - Jay Jones and a Fairfield man who died in an accident while on a motorcycle
• 250 trees planted in Jackson Cemetery

Along with the spotlight on Davis from the 1975 issue, a photo of the commemorative golden football that was given to Davis is included below.

We're also taking a look at the engagement and wedding announcements from the Jan. 1st issue in 1975.  Congratulations!

• Engagements: Miss Sheryl Denny Joyce, miss Cherrie Lyn Groah, and miss Joanna Price Fainter
• Weddings: Judith Maria Hartis, Buelah Jonhson, Mary Faye Hamby, Susan Velzora Smith, and Dona Cecilia Hinton. 

*Bonus* An advertisement for Rockbridge County's First Baby of the Year Contest. The ad included the rules and the prizes that would be given to the winner. Do you remember who the first baby of the year was in 1975? If you do, send us a message on Faceboook! 

Look for the answer in next week's Flashback Friday!

The front page stories include:

• Plans for a youth sports complex, a new planning body for the county, rezoning for a lumber company, and Lexington's five-year improvement plan. January is the time for planning!
• Murder trial for the 1990 fatal shooting of a Lexington woman moves forward.
• The Lexington School Board voted a new member in, with an unusual split decision.
• The Lexington Sears store will be closing from a franchise buy-out.

We also have a large Radio Shack ad, and an amazing front page of the sports section!

There are quite a few features in this issue that we don't have in the paper anymore, like the Dining Guide and the weather forecast. Let us know if you think we should bring back some of these features or sections of the newspaper, like "farm news" or the "Business" section. Comment on our N-G NOW newsletter post on Facebook or Instagram!

Can you tell me about your schooling and your work history?

I went to college in Georgia and then I came here so I've not had any schooling beyond my AB degree.

The first year I was here, I lived out in the county. I came to work as the secretary for my uncle who was a minister at New Monmouth church. After I worked for my uncle for a year, I moved to VMI and became the secretary of the man who was head of buildings and grounds. I wasn't a very good secretary but I was bright enough to be given a sample and write all the contracts and all the other things pretty independently. Then I was asked to be in charge of all the personnel records. At the time I moved here, VMI was still very much sort of a paternalistic place as far as hiring is concerned. When I first came and I was under Colonel Haynes. 

Then I moved from VMI over to W&L and I became a writer. So I wrote for the W&L magazine and then after my husband and I were married, I stopped working for a long time to raise my family. Then my parents moved here and so I had responsibilities for them, but all through that I began doing some research and then eventually, after the kids were grown, I published two books. Two historical biographies: one about General Lee's four daughters and the other about a woman named Margaret Junkin Preston whose husband was one of the founders of VMI (Preston library is named for him).

Can you tell me about your family background? 

My grandparents were in China for 50 years and then they moved here. They had no real home and the Lexington Presbyterian Church did them a big favor by buying a lot for them in the cemetery. My grandparents, my parents, and my husband are all buried in the church area. 

There was a feeling back then, a mandate for Christians to try to at least offer Christianity all over the world to as many people as possible. My grandfather, I think, felt that very much. My grandmother had an uncle who had been a missionary in Africa and I think she was influenced by his example. But also she was a very independent young woman growing up in South Carolina. So at the age of 23 she just took off as a single woman, under the Presbyterian  auspices, and traveled by herself out to China to become a single missionary. She was a very brave woman. There were things that she did and that women could do in the mission field that they never could do in this country. They were running schools, or they would run hospitals, and a, number of women were midwives. Things that just were not being done in this country but that was all at about the yea1900. 

Now when my parents went out, my mother had been Episcopalian and she was planning to go to Africa as a nurse. My dad, having grown up in China, came back and got his medical degree with the idea of going back as a missionary but in the period of early 1920s there was this huge euphoria. The first world war was "the war to end all wars" and there was to be this universal peace. The League of Nations was going to keep everything peaceful and so there was this huge impetus to try to Christianize the world within a short period of time. The group called The Student Volunteer Movement solicited college-age professional young people to go over as missionaries and both my parents signed up. It was kind of a consortium of people, like-minded people, and China had become sort of the dramatic place to go during that period. There were a lot of people from this area who went out there.

What was the most pivotal year of your life and why?

Oh, when I got married here. My husband was a Washington and Lee graduate. Well, he started at W&L, then he went in the war. He came back and finished at W&L and took his graduate degrees and came back here to teach. That's when we got to know each other. I was working at W&L. That changed the whole focus of my life. 

Do you have a family tradition that has special meaning for you?

Well, I guess family gatherings became the most important. I had moved here to work for my uncle but my side of the family had a long tradition connected to Lexington. My grandfather was also a missionary and he was supported in large part by the Lexington Presbyterian church.  When my dad, his brothers, and his parents would come back every seven years, they would spend a month in Lexington and so he got to know Lexington people. When I moved here, there were people who had known my family. For me, it was a very happy transition moving here, and as my children grew and my parents moved here, I think the family connections became most import. 

As a family, we have a sort of tradition of Sally Lunn. It's an English breakfast bread, a yeasted bread, and you put it in a bundt pan. It's a little bit sweet, sort of like a muffin, but it's a yeasted bread. We always had that on Christmas morning.

Do you have a favorite family recipe that you feel should be preserved?

Well, I don't know, I have several different things. I also have been a great baker over the years. I can't do it here because all I have is a microwave but when my mother-in-law broke up her place, I wanted all the cookie cutters. They're old. They're metal, not the plastic ones. Over the years, I have made cookies for the family and for friends here. I have always sent lots and lots of cookies. I just think cookie making and bread making has been very important to me. 

All through our marriage, and I was married nearly sixty years, I gave my husband yeast rolls every night for dinner. I had my mother-in-law's recipe. You make the rolls and then you can freeze them. So I pulled out three or four every night and then I'd make up a new batch. So I guess you could say breads and other things were my specialty in the family. I have a whole box of recipes. Well, there's one recipe that I guard, that my mother passed on to me, which I've never seen anywhere else.

Is there a family heirloom that is precious to you?

My husband's ancestor was the first president of Washington College and so we have a great big secretary which belonged to him and that's the oldest piece that I have from his family. I guess the oldest heirloom that I have is this ring which my grandfather gave to my grandmother the day his first child was born. That child later inherited this and then she gave it to me.

Do you have any advice to give to people who want to live a long and happy life?

Just think about other people and be kind. 

Mary Coulling's Mother-in-law's yeast roll recipe: 

A&P stores advertise "Iced Coffee Week" on the front age of The Rockbridge County News. 

The hottest day of the summer in Rockbridge County so far that year was July 1, at 94 degrees. The front page headline "Heat and Drought Continue" has this to say about local weather that summer: "Temperatures, according to the official weather bureau figures, have not been extraordinarily high, but the heat has been accompanied by an oppressive humidity which has made it more unpleasant."  But in the middle west and central valley states, that summer had constant temps in the 100s. News in a Nutshell cited "The mercury on Pittsburgh streets yesterday rose to 115 [...] It is estimated that 600 horses have dropped dead from the heat in Indiana." 

Among the many blurbs about the heat that year, were stories about the price of wheat in Kansas, how Virginia will handle wages, and international news about president Hoover's Moratorium of reparations. 

This issue also had two interesting inclusions: one being an author's musings on the mountains and birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the other a story about the death of the last cannibal queen of the stone age. 

Finally, there was a pleasant poem titled, "Happiness" 

Can you tell me about your schooling and your work history?

Zora: I went to Madison College in Harrisonburg for two years and then University of Virginia for the second two years. Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing and I worked as a nurse off and on for 30 - 40 years. First I worked as a public health nurse in Virginia Beach, then at Wilmington General Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware in labor and delivery. I went to work at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in 1979 and I worked in labor and delivery primarily, though I did have a little experience in medical surgical unit and the Intensive Care Unit. Primarily most of my work was labor and delivery and the maternity unit at Stonewall Jackson Hospital where we took care of mothers and babies. I worked with John Harrelson for many years and he was one of the obstetricians that was at our hospital.

William: I went to Old Dominion University. Well, it was Old Dominion College then, and then it later became a university. I ran track and cross country. I graduated with a degree in chemistry so I went to work for Dupont in Wilmington, Delaware, in the dyes and chemicals division. After two years in Wilmington, we were transferred to Dalton - the carpet capital of the world. Spent a couple of years there and then transferred to Greenville, South Carolina. We had a desire to get back to Virginia, we got tired of moving all the time, so I left Dupont after six years and went to work for Burlington Industries Lee's Carpet which has the plant in Glasgow. So I was playing chemist in Georgia for a year and then we transferred to Virginia in 1974. I said 'that's it! We're not moving again!' So I spent my career with with Lee's. I was director of research and development and I received eight U.S patents in stain resistant technology for carpeting. I retired in 2002 and then we owned to a farm. I had 10 mama cows at that time and I increased the herd to 30. So I became a cattle farmer until, I guess, five years ago and I retired from my second career. 

Can you tell me about your family background? 

William: We grew up in what was Norfolk County, VA - later incorporated as Chesapeake.  We've been residents of Rockbridge County for, soon be, 52 years. We moved to Dalton, Georgia and I worked in hospital there - Hamilton Memorial - for a while and our first son was born while we were living in Dalton. We ended up moving to Greenville South Carolina for a while and then back to Georgia, to Raven County Georgia, and lived in Clayton. Our second son was born in Raven Georgia. We moved to Lexington back in 1974 And I stayed home with the children until they were in both in school and I taught childbirth classes just as a volunteer for several years.

What was the most pivotal year of your life and why?

Zora: Oh, that's a tough one. Probably the year we got married.

William: I guess, in my case, the most pivotal was the year that I left Dupont and made the decision to go to work for Burlington and Lee's because we'd always been familiar with larger cities; to move to a small, one-stop-light town in northeastern corner of Georgia was quite a change. But at the same time, it really set my career path of what I was looking for. So I guess the change in 1972 was the pivotal moment in my life. And then, I guess, one other pivot point: we lost our younger son, Steve, in a bicycle accident in 1987. I'd been very active in scouting and anyway both of my sons were in scouting. Working with youth was a big milestone.

Do you have a family tradition that has special meaning to you?

William: Well I always really enjoyed family reunions and I have family that scattered all the way from Georgia to Virginia. I can remember going to family reunions when my grandparents were living. That tradition has sort of continued, although it's more with the immediate families. I'm gonna let Zora elaborate. 

Zora: Our family used to have large family reunions. A hundred or more people get together for some of these gatherings. Both of my parents grew up in North Carolina and we would often make trips to North Carolina for family gatherings. Reunions in the summertime, where everybody brought a dish and you'd have it spread out in the shade of the trees, or on the riverbank of the Neuse River or the Elizabeth river. It was quite a undertaking. We've had smaller family reunions, just my siblings and their families, for the last 10 or 15 years up in Augusta County. They've had that every July for the last 10 or 15 years. Some of the cousins are in Connecticut, a lot of them are in Virginia, a few elsewhere. It's good, I think, for families to be connected.

Do you have a favorite family recipe that you feel should be preserved?

Zora: I know one of my sisters makes a chocolate dessert that was my mother's recipe. It's got whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and angel food cake all mixed together, and nuts sprinkled on top - chopped pecans.

William: One that I love is oyster stew. My mother always did that. My family came from Georgia, so oysters were something that we developed to taste for when my dad moved to Norfolk. 

Zora: Oysters were more plentiful in Norfolk and Tidewater than they were in the western part of Georgia. So we used to have oyster roast when we were growing up. 

William: You put the oysters on top of a steel plate on a barbecue pit, and of course the fire under it, cover it with a burlap sack, and the oysters would heat up. Then, with the moisture, they'd crack open and you just empty the oysters on a table and everybody stands around with the oyster knife, opened them, and down the hatch! So that was a Virginia tradition.

Is there a family heirloom that is precious to you?

William: Well I guess you can show her the bench. It belonged to my great-grandparents. My mother inherited that and I inherited it from my mom. We brought it with us and its sitting in the bathroom. 

Zora: It's a nice place to sit down in the bathroom.

William: And put your socks on. Originally it was a bench that sat on the front porch of my great-grandparents' house. And then my grandmother had it sitting on her front porch in Georgia. I can remember her sitting in the swing and we children would sit in the bench and she would tell stories. That was a lifelong memory I'll have. Hopefully we'll pass it on to our son.  

Zora: I have one portrait of my grandmother, it's in the next room. It's a beautiful portrait. She was maybe 78 or 79 in the portrait and she died when she was 84. I think I was about eight or nine years old when she died, so I knew her a little bit.

William: One thing about that portrait: Zora's dad had it hanging over the mantle in the living room and when we were dating, any place that you sat in that room her eyes followed you. 

Zora: She was our chaperone. She was always watching!  

Do you have any advice to give to people who want to live a long and happy life?

Zora: Communicate and be flexible. Pick the right mate, I guess that's ultimate.

William: And always realize that what she says, is right. 

This week, let's go to the headlines of The News-Gazette the day before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. - April 3rd, 1968.

In this issue:

• Death was on the front page with a story about a 21 year old VMI cadet who was murdered while on vacation from school. The people responsible were arrested.
• On a more pleasant note, the city and county schools were starting to gain higher rankings in the state of Virginia.
• The Southern Interscholastic Press Association held it's 39th conference at Washington & Lee. It was held during spring break, which allowed the school to host the1200 high school students attending the conference. 

Also included are some editorials and a look into elementary nutrition during the 1960s with the school menus for Waddell and Ann Smith school. 

*Bonus: can you spot the printing error on one of the pages?