"Oh yeah, when I started at the newspaper there was one token woman in the city room. Everyone else was in women’s news, we did club news, weddings, engagements, that sort of thing and that was in -- I went there in sixty-four. By the end of the sixties, might have been early seventies, the New York Times took the Times to court because of, you know they wanted equality for the women and in, all of a sudden it caught on, you know everyone could see it was a time change and I think I got a raise of sixty dollars in one week."
Dolores Courtemanche, a current resident of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, was born in Southbridge in 1935, and spent 36 years working as a reporter in Worcester, MA for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. Dolores has lived a successful, rewarding, and interesting life, starting out with her years at Catholic boarding school, and continuing currently with her avid participation as the president of the Worcester Institute of Senior Education at Assumption College. Dolores is impressive with talk of her dedication and determination as one of the only women reporters for the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. She also provides a unique and interesting insight into the life of young woman in the 1950s and early 1960s, and reflects on how times have changed. In this interview, Dolores discusses, among other things, her life experiences, such as dating, traveling, and education, her years as a reporter, her journey back to becoming a practicing Catholic, prominent events in Worcester, and painful memories of her youth. She also offers advice to aspiring journalists, and women in general.