Residents of Winkeln, a small village within Schalksmühle, Germany, have embraced a novel approach to community dialog: a public information board coupled with a WhatsApp group. This initiative has fostered stronger connections among neighbors,providing a platform for sharing local news,events,and crucial announcements.

“We made an entire village happy, so we did it right,” said Mayor Jörg Schönenberg, expressing his support for the project at the “Milch Square” in Winkeln.He added, “If it is used, that’s okay.”

WhatsApp in the Real World: The Village Box at the Milk Place

We made an entire village happy, so we did it right.

The idea for the information board originated with Winkler residents Karin Horn and Claudia Bremicker. Inspired during the annual village hike, they sought to create a streamlined communication channel. This led to the creation of a WhatsApp group and a physical “black board” in the village center, ensuring that all residents, nonetheless of their tech usage, could stay informed.

The WhatsApp group, affectionately known as “Mädels-Chat“, now includes 50 Winkler families, representing a meaningful portion of the village’s approximately 300 residents. The public information board is also actively used,with residents posting notices about local concerns and upcoming events. Previously, the Winkler women had to personally visit each house to spread information, such as announcing their annual hike.

The implementation of the public information box involved several steps: an initial inspection with Mayor Jörg Schönenberg and department head Silvia Gonzalez Algaba, who approved the project; the Bremicker couple purchased the box; the frame was welded; and residents now regularly maintain the board. The repurposed Bitburger kit has been well-received by the community. Neighbors confirm that the information board has become a valuable resource. “We already had missing animals or a parsley wedding,” one resident noted.

Currently,the board features announcements for the tractor meeting on June 28th and 29th at Heedfeld Schützenplatz,as well as the first Winkler Sonnenwend event on June 21,which includes a barbecue. Peter Hohage explained the origin of the name “Milch Square,” noting that it was once a milk collection point. “There used to be a milk ramp here,” he said. “The farmers brought their jugs here in the morning.” A milk truck from Lüdenscheid would then collect the jugs from the dairy. “Almost everyone had a cow here.”

While the milk ramp is no longer present, the name Milchplatz remains. The residents of Winkeln highly recommend similar public information boards to other villages to foster community cohesion.