Wanda Kennedy Kuntz’s Kennedy Music — An Historical Novel based on the Kennedy Family, Maplewood, MO, was released in December 2014.
Here, Kuntz contributes her thoughts on streetcars and public transportation, which is followed by an excerpt from her book:
As a native of Maplewood, Missouri, I was born just a scosh too late to remember streetcars. My mother, Edith Mae, was well acquainted with them. Mae didn’t even own a car until I was a little girl, and by the mid-20th century the only remainders of streetcars in our town were portions of track embedded deeply in the asphalt pavement along Manchester, Sutton and Yale. There’s an excellent pictorial book, Streets and Streetcars of St. Louis: A Sentimental Journey, by Andrew D. Young (available at the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the UMSL campus). I referred to this book while tracing the route of the #53 streetcar line from downtown S.G. Adams where Mom used to work, all the way out west to Maplewood, where she met and fell in love with my dad.
By the time I was a little girl, remnants of the streetcar tripped my feet as I crossed the street. Maplewood spent many dollars repaving over these unwanted annoyances. Cars and buses have taken over. If given a choice, would we still choose a slower mode of public transportation bound to steel tracks and electric lines, pausing at regular stops within the city limits, blocking faster-moving buses and cars? Would we welcome the sound of the streetcar bell ringing at each stop, notifying pedestrians they have an option to climb aboard and ride to the end of the block — an unplanned relief for their sore legs and feet?
Once upon a time, St. Louis and the surrounding counties relied heavily upon public transportation. Cars were still a relatively new invention and most women didn’t know how to drive. As the surrounding counties became more and more widespread, however, speed limits increased to accommodate faster-moving busses, cabs and cars. Streetcar lines just couldn’t keep up.
The streetcar system employed many operators back in the day. My grandmother’s cousin, Sim Brown, rang the streetcar bell daily as he paused at the corner of Manchester and Oakview Terrace, in front of Kennedy Music Store and School. My Grandma Louise, who worked at the music school, looked forward to those little “hello’s.”
New York City is now home to my two brothers and their families. Like us, New Yorkers don’t have streetcars anymore, but without their subway and bus system the city would barely function. There, public transportation is the norm. As a result, it’s rare in New York people can use “car trouble” or “running out of gas” as an excuse for not getting to school or work on time.
I will leave it to others to consider how we might better connect all points north, south, east and west inside our sprawling metropolis. Perhaps someday St. Louis and its surrounding areas will have the means and vision to create an expanded, updated network of publicly-funded systems. Even if you, like me, are used to getting around town in a car, wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to someday?
In the meantime, we can imagine together a simpler time, when just a nickel could get you on board a slower, but reliable, ride across town.
The following is an excerpt from Kuntz’s, Kennedy Music — An Historical Novel based on the Kennedy Family, Maplewood, MO
Eighteen-year-old Edith Mae Heimberger would take the streetcar to meet him. The day had not turned out as she had expected, so this trip she had planned had now become a bit more complicated. That temper of hers had gotten the better of her, and she hadn’t really had enough time to figure out what to do about it. The change in her pocketbook would just make the 5-cent streetcar fare. But the line at the Olive Street stop was long — she hoped she could make it to her destination early enough. Her blonde locks, carefully lacquered into shape prior to her leaving work, were lifted up by a sudden gust of wind.
Terrific — the headscarf he liked so much at the party — I must have left it at work. My hair’s gonna be a mess.” A nice gentleman offered her his seat as she boarded the #53 streetcar. Good thing — this trip might take awhile. The streetcar wound its way slowly around its curves at Olive and Washington streets in downtown St. Louis, and then toddled its way west along Chouteau. Then at Manchester it was headed more southwest — and fairly far away from any landmarks Mae knew. Finally, the #53 halted at the City Limits loop at the intersection of Manchester and Yale.
Mae had a choice, at this point, to get off and walk a bit, to ride a little farther up Manchester, to ride all the way to the Maplewood loop at Sutton just past her destination — or to forget the whole idea and just stay on the streetcar as it wound its way back. She decided that last choice just wasn’t an option for her.”
The 1945 Christmas rush in Maplewood was in full swing. Well beyond the loop full of streetcars, busses and cars, Mae could see there was lots of hustle and bustle. She decided to get off and walk a bit — and to think about things. As soon as her high-heeled pumps touched the pavement, she quickly made her way through the crowds to the sidewalk.
Kuntz’s next book signing event will be held at the Maplewood Public Library January 17th. Her book is also available for purchase at The Book House in Maplewood.
See also, by Doug Houser: Maplewood History: A Panoramic View of the Past, Maplewood history: hiding in plain sight…the Yale Loop Streetcar Shelter
I’ve just begun reading my signed copy of “Kennedy Music…….,” my only requested Christmas gift. I was excited to open my gift, and even more pleased as I started reading and reminiscing. The book is a treasure for those of us who call Maplewood “home.”
I am just enough older than my cousin, Wanda, to remember the streetcars. I remember Grandma Kennedy taking me from Maplewood to downtown St Loius on the streetcar. To me, streetcars and busses always symbolized big cities. In the small tow I grew up in in Texas, there was no public transportation.
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