History of The Westmorland Courier
The Westmorland Community Association (WCA) was formed in April 1941 and published its first newsletter, entitled The Dope, in June of that year. The newsletter was intended to publicize information about the Association as well as details for that year’s 4th of July Picnic.
What’s in a name?
In the 1940s, “the dope” this was American slang for inside (confidential) information, news, gossip, or details. If you wanted to know what was going on, you’d say, “What’s the dope?” In the newspaper business it meant inside story or scoop.
Katherine Jacobs was the first Editor of The Dope. She was the wife of Herbert Jacobs, the first President of WCA, who was a reporter for the Capital Times. Since “the dope” was a common newspaper term it’s not too farfetched to imagine that the Jacobs’ suggested the newsletter title.
The newspaper name was changed from the The Dope to The Courier in January 1943. The name changed again in February 1943 to The Westmorland Courier, as it is called today. The Westmorland Courier neighborhood newspaper was issued monthly from January 1943 through 1951, when it condensed to five issues per year. Beginning in 1991, the newspaper began being published six times per year which has continued until the present issues.
In the know
For three quarters of a century, The Westmorland Courier has provided coverage of local, community, and city-wide issues. Local topics covered by the newspaper have included:
- Annual WCA/WNA meetings
- Community social events and recreational events
- 4th of July event and schedule
- WCA/WNA Board meetings
- WCA/WNA President’s column
- Military service news during World War II
- “Know Your Neighbors” column
- Alderperson and County Board representative’s columns
Click the links below to download back issues of the Dope & Courier.