jan 1, 1940 - Emma Bell Curry

Description:

During the 1940s, Emma Bell Curry and her sister would take the streetcar from Kansas City, Kansas, to the J.C. Nicols Plaza area. They worked as housekeepers in a couple of expensive J.C. Nichols Plaza homes. Ida's location was off 55th, and Wornall Road, not far from where the Battle of Westport Civil War cannon monument sits at Jacob L. Loose Park. An area memorialized as one of the locations for the bloody Missouri and Kansas battle. The wealthy homeowners she worked for had a store called The Hen House, currently the site of Cosentino's Price Chopper in Brookside Plaza.

Dissimilar to the movie The Help, white wives would personally transport their maids for work from the streetcar stop. They did not want the black help tired from walking the distance to their homes and unable to fulfill their daily tasks. They also did not want their workers dirty and sweaty working within the home. The housekeepers' wages were one dollar in streetcar fare daily. White women were always well-groomed for their husbands, and many households had black female housekeepers and cooks. The black men were responsible for managing the lawns and performing more cumbersome duties. Often, some of the wives would donate clothes from their kids to their workers' children.

Emma looked forward to spending time with her family and catching up on things. One day, her boss(the man of the house) called her at home. He needed her to make dinner for an
impromptu social gathering. Emma thought, "I am the housekeeper, not the cook!" She would now have to sacrifice time with her family to meet the needs of his "special" guests. To keep
her job, Emma had to be creative and come up with a meal the people would enjoy with what
little commodities she had available at her own home. She had some hamburger, a few other
items, and the local store was closed. Ida worked fast to get everything prepared and over to the home. Ultimately, the dinner turned out fantastic, and Emma received many compliments. The meal became a regular for her own family.

For many years, the house at 55th and Wornall has remained a constant reminder for Emma's children of her dedication to supporting their family.

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