How did they survive the brutal Midwestern winters without central heating or the comforts we take for granted today?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What was it like to participate in a church service in 1918, in the midst of a world war and a pandemic?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Where did they work beyond farms, domestic labor, or the physical jobs typically assigned to African Americans and Indigenous people of the era?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The good news is that many of these questions can<\/em> be answered\u2014or at least illuminated\u2014by learning to \u201cread between the lines\u201d of the documents, photographs, and artifacts our ancestors left behind. One such example comes from that small but powerful clue found on Herley Bedell Jr.\u2019s draft card.<\/p>\n Cousin Herley\u2019s card revealed that he worked at The Cat & Fiddle Restaurant in Springfield, Missouri. His mother, Lorene Wilks, was the sister of my great-grandmother, Edna Wilks Robinson, making Herley my great-aunt\u2019s son.<\/p>\n With that one detail\u2014his workplace\u2014an entire exploration began.<\/p>\n I first used Google to look up the Cat & Fiddle in Springfield around 1942, an approximate year when Herley may have worked as a busboy or possibly a waiter. I then searched social media for a possible Cat & Fiddle affinity group. Although none existed, I stumbled upon something unexpected: a modern entrepreneur selling t-shirts with logos of former Springfield landmarks\u2014including The Cat & Fiddle.<\/p>\n Full disclosure: I proudly purchased a Cat & Fiddle t-shirt in honor of Herley.<\/em><\/p>\n My search led me to the Facebook group \u201cSpringfield, Missouri History, Landmarks & Vintage Photography,\u201d moderated by historian Richard Crabtree. In one detailed post, the group featured the Cat & Fiddle, including:<\/p>\n A photograph of the restaurant<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n An advertisement<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The whimsical logo of a cat playing the fiddle<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Notes about the restaurant relocating to 1932 S. Glenstone (FB post, Feb. 21, 2023)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Beyond the images, the comments from Springfield residents\u2014current and former\u2014offered lived memories that help reconstruct what the community felt like during Herley\u2019s time.<\/p>\n Although not mentioned directly in the post, my additional research revealed that Black workers in Missouri during the 1940s often earned about 50 cents per hour\u2014sometimes less, depending on discriminatory practices. According to the University of Missouri Library\u2019s labor research archives, fifty cents in 1940 is equivalent to roughly $5.51 in early-2000s dollars.<\/a><\/p>\n This small detail helps us understand not only Herley\u2019s work environment but also the economic conditions shaping his daily life.<\/p>\n One fact\u2014the name of an employer\u2014can open many doors. In Springfield alone, several resources help piece together family histories:<\/p>\n State Historical Society of Missouri<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\nA Draft Card Opens a Doorway Into 1940s Life<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Following Digital Footprints to Local History<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Reconstructing Wages and Daily Reality<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Expanding the Search: Historical Societies & Artifact Sites<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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