Newsroom Profile: Meet Arlington Advocate (Mass.)

Maria Chutchian, Reporter
Doug Hastings, Sports Editor

Ben Aaronson, Lexington Editor
Michael Phillis, Lexington Reporter
Tony Schinella, Belmont Editor
Patrick Ball, Belmont Reporter
Emily Costello, Winchester Editor

The Arlington Advocate has been the paper of record since 1872. The paper was started by John Parker, but most remember his brother, Charles, as the first publisher. At that time, Charles used the paper to rail against his anti-liquor stance, covering local temperance meetings that he often helped organize. After Charles passed away, his daughter Grace took over the role as editor. The Parkers also founded the Lexington Minuteman, but before the Parker family gave over ownership of the Advocate in 1938 to Harold B. Wood, the Minuteman was sold off.

Many in town still remember Advocate publisher Peter Jorgensen, who purchased the paper in 1969. He was known for his outlandish personality and is once rumored to have hidden in bushes to catch elected officials meeting in secret. His wife, Kay, acted as the editor of the paper. In 1986, Jorgenson sold the paper to a newspaper chain. The Advocate is now a newspaper housed within GateHouse New England. Its offices are now located in Lexington.

Arlington, Mass., is home to about 45,000 people. It’s a family town, and the schools here are an important fixture. Arlington is truly an example of an urban suburb. With Cambridge and Somerville to the east, the town provides an easy commute into the city for workers and students alike, but much of the crime that comes with city life is left at the borders. People here believe their cops are honest, their DPW workers are hard-working and their fireman are true heroes. They have less love for their politicians.

Historically, Arlington is home to the bloodiest battle of the first day of the Revolutionary War; Paul Revere rode right up the center of the town on his famous ride; Uncle Sam (yes, the Uncle Sam) is thought to have come from Arlington. This is the place where Moxie soda was made (and if you’ve never heard of it, be glad).

There are other, quieter, pieces of history here – Cyrus E. Dallin, a famous sculptor, spent the last years of his life here, gracing the town with many gifts that still remain. It’s thought to be the home of the oldest children’s library (though that’s debatable), and the longest continuously operating mill in the country (debatable too, but it’s definitely one of the oldest.) At the mill, you can still watch artisans turn out oval wooden frames by hand.

Before the name "Arlington" came to be, the town was called Menotomy, named after an Algonquian word meaning "swift running water." That name was changed in 1867 in honor of Arlington National Cemetery.

It's possible that you could hear some 80s music if you stopped by the Lexington office, maybe a little Michael Jackson, and maybe some singing of our own. We also appreciate Family Feud fans and anyone who can quote lines from "A Few Good Men." Most recently, we've discovered a true oracle in a local's audition tape for "The Apprentice." It contains the answers to just about any question that comes up in the newsroom.