Written by Emily Bourque, Active Member since 2021 Long before our Junior League of Lafayette blog was formed, our League published the Petit Potpourri, a printed newsletter that highlighted the events happening in the League. The Petit Potpourri has commonly been referred to as the Petit, and its purpose was to update the membership about the impact the League was having on the community by highlighting fundraising goals, cookbook recipes, and community program updates.
Helen Bailey, President from 1962-1963, started the first newsletter named Potpourri and was its first editor. She says of those early days, “It was agreed upon that we should have a newsletter. I was the first editor and I had the honor of naming it Potpourri. My dad, Dr. Hamilton, allowed us to mimeograph the newsletter at his office. Our members submitted their favorite recipes. Not too many people know that our first cookbook “Talk About Good!” actually evolved from Potpourri.”
As our membership grew, the Potpourri evolved into the Petit Potpourri, with a monthly publication distributed internally to the membership. Rita Goodrich was the Publications Chair from 2011 to 2013, and she fondly remembers the beginning of her time working on the Petit.
When asked about the contributions she made to the Petit, she said, “When I stepped into the position, the first thing I did was give the design a little facelift! My second year, we printed the newsletter in COLOR for the first time! Alison Howard was President, and she wanted to bring cheer through a color publication!”
Although the Petit eventually moved to being published three to four times a year, the members still looked forward to reading this publication and learning more about how the League was impacting the community.
Rita says, “At the time, I was new to the League as a transfer member, and working on the Petit monthly was so helpful in teaching me about JLL, its programs, fundraisers and initiatives, and learning about our members.”
Many members of the League have turned to the Petit to find out what other committees have been up to and the overarching impact the League has had on the area. While the blog can never fully replace the Petit, we are hoping it pays homage to the printed pages the membership loved so dearly.
“Junior League of Lafayette is excited to have our Petit in the digital world. We are now able to bring the printed pages of our prior publication alive with up-to-date articles, photographs, and the opportunity for all members to contribute to our online publication.” - 2021-2022 Communications Vice President Emilia Pardo
To read some of our archived print editions, click here.
