Feb 16, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: I enjoy the “Out Of The Past” column of this newspaper especially the “50 Years Ago” items. I first lived in Lexington from 1969 to 1975 where I met my wife Linda at Lexington High School, graduated in 1971, married in 1973, and then graduated from W&L in 1975. The “50 years ago” column recently mentioned that W&L’s Hillside Terrace apartments for married students were to be demolished in the summer. This was memorable because we lived there in 1974 and 1975 and were the “last” married couple to move out! We still have the mailbox from our apartment as a souvenir!
I worked the summers at the Blue Bird Bus factory in Buena Vista and Linda worked at the Stonewall Jackson Hospital (now Carilion). We were able to afford W&L after we married due to the generous discount that W&L gave graduates from one of the four local high schools in Rockbridge County. About six LHS class of 1971 graduates attended W&L (Note: W&L was all male back then but later became co-ed which allowed my daughter to graduate there in 2002).
Incidentally, another local area college student who I occasionally commuted with to Blue Bird in the summer of 1975 is today the publisher of this newspaper, M.W. Paxton IV. Matt and I took turns driving to work so he picked me up at Hillside Terrace when it was his turn to drive.
I thank Virginia Military Institute for hiring me in 1984 as treasurer so that Linda and I could return to this area to raise our family. I retired from VMI in 2014 after 30 years. This is a great community to live! We are fortunate to have a high quality local newspaper due to a dedicated publisher and his staff! Keep up the good work my friend!
GARY KNICK Rockbridge County
