1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to steph you missed in history Class from how 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,320 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy Wilson. Uh. This episode 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: is about a person who was on my list and 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: then our listener Rich suggested it recently and that resparked 6 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: my interest in the topic. Uh. Nell donnely Reid was 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: a woman way ahead of her time in a number 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: of ways. She was creative. She had the business acumen 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: to turn that creativity into a very successful business before 10 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,280 Speaker 1: women even had the right to vote in the United States. Uh. 11 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: And her story combines the numbers of things that make 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: for a fascinating tale. It's almost like a movie manuscript. Uh. 13 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: There's fashion, there's education, there's kidnapping, there's marital scandal. Nell 14 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: lived a long life. She did a lot with her time, 15 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 1: including focusing on workers health and safety needs. But she is, 16 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: like any historical figure, complicated. She was born Ellen Howard 17 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: Quinlin on March sixth in Parsons, Kansas. Her father, John Quinlin, 18 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: had moved to the United States from County Cork, Ireland, 19 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: and he worked on the railroad and also farmed. I 20 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: think the railroad he worked on might have actually been 21 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: the Katie which we talked about on the Crash at 22 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: Crush episode. Nel was born at home on the farm 23 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: and John and his wife Katherine Fitzgibbons, had thirteen total children. 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: Ellen was the twelfth child and fifth daughter, and she 25 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: was nicknamed Nel by her siblings. At a really early age, 26 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: uh Nel went to school at a convent. She didn't 27 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 1: stay there, but they had a school there that she 28 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: attended during the day, and then she went to Parsons 29 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: Business College and she started working as a stenographer in 30 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: Kansas City immediately after she graduated, and shortly after her 31 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: moved to the city, she met a man named Paul J. 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: Donnelly and the pair were soon married, and at this 33 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: point Nel was seventeen and Paul was twenty three. But 34 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: Nell did not follow the normal out for the time 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: of a young woman to give up her career or 36 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: education to settle down into the rule of wife. Instead, 37 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: she continued to work and both she and her husband Paul, 38 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: saved their earnings so that Nell could go to college. 39 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 1: When she attended classes at Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri, 40 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: she was the only married student. She graduated in nineteen 41 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: o nine. Once she was done with school, Nell started 42 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: to focus on sewing. This was something she had done 43 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: for her whole life, and it was a skill that 44 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: she had always excelled at. Naturally, she started making clothes 45 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: both for herself and for her family when she was 46 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 1: still a kid. A lot of the time, she also 47 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: altered clothes that she had had passed down from her 48 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: sisters she would remake them for herself. Once she finished college, 49 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: she went back to sewing, largely because she was pretty 50 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: dismayed at the very frumpy options that were available for 51 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: women who were working as homemakers. They are very sack like. 52 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: From that time, they are very sack like. She called 53 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: the mother Hubbard dress because at that point she had 54 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: left her stenographer job to go to school full time, 55 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: and when she finished school she kind of did to 56 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 1: settle into a housewife e role, even though she didn't 57 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:13,240 Speaker 1: quite know where her life was going to go. But 58 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: she really really did not enjoy the options for house dresses. 59 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: She thought that she should look smart, and her design 60 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: ideology was pretty simple and based on that. She just 61 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,040 Speaker 1: thought that women should have clothing options that looked smart 62 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: and stylish, even if their work was taking care of 63 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: house and home, and even if no one but family 64 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: might see them. She was also really smart about cut. 65 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: She created dresses that flattered the figure, but they also 66 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: did not restrict movement. And when neighbors and friends saw 67 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: Nell or her sisters wearing dresses that she had designed 68 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: and made, they all wanted their own. And so in 69 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: the seven years following her graduation from college, now kind 70 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: of had a little bit of a cottage industry making 71 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: custom dresses for women in the community, but she didn't 72 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: really consider herself a dressmaker at this point. Her clients 73 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: and her family, though, really urged her to take her 74 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: business out to a larger market. So in nineteen sixteen, 75 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: she started getting a lot more serious about a career 76 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: in dressmaking. After taking a look at the very limited 77 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: market of clothing available to women in the Kansas City area, 78 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: she had the confidence to bring some of her ideas 79 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: to a department store. Yeah. I love that she went 80 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: out and did kind of her own market research, and 81 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 1: that's something that really was kind of an ingrained part 82 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:31,559 Speaker 1: of her work Throughout her life. She always tried to 83 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: continue to learn and when she spoke to the buyer 84 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: at the George c. Peck Dry Goods Company, which was 85 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: where she took her dresses to show. She was worried 86 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: that she might just be laughed out of the building. 87 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: Even though she neither were not great options, she still 88 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: was a little scared. But instead she left with an 89 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: order for eighteen dozen dresses. So then she had a 90 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: new problem, which was figuring out how to manufacture two 91 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: hundred and sixteen garments really quickly. I think she had 92 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: a two months window, which, uh, if you do any stitching, 93 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: two hundred and sixteen dresses in two months is a lot. Uh. 94 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: And Nell had agreed to this order without really having 95 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: the means to fill it, so she basically had to 96 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: start her own business lickety split. So Nell and her 97 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,159 Speaker 1: husband Paul talked us over. Paul, who worked as a 98 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: manager in the credit department at the Barton Shoe Company, 99 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: had one thousand, two hundred seventy dollars in savings and 100 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: they used that money to get Nel's business up and running. 101 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: She hired two seamstresses, bought two power sewing machines, and 102 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:36,599 Speaker 1: then set up shop in the attic of their home. 103 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: That first batch of dresses had a pretty simple design. 104 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: They were high waisted dresses with a waist band yoke 105 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: and kimono sleeves. They were accentuated by some narrow ruffle details. 106 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 1: Nell would say later that she just wanted to make 107 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: women pretty while they did the dishes, and she must 108 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: have really been onto something. They filled the order, but 109 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,720 Speaker 1: that led to another problem. Was a good problem to have, 110 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: but still a problem. All two hundred sixteen dresses sold 111 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: out the day they were put on the sales floor. Yeah, 112 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: there's a really interesting um paper that I read in 113 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: preparation for this, written by two women, and they're kind 114 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: of examining why these dresses sold out so quickly and 115 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: why they were so popular because it wasn't as though 116 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: they had no other options for dresses. It's an interesting 117 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,200 Speaker 1: read and we'll have it in this show. Notes. But basically, 118 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:28,919 Speaker 1: she kind of was onto this idea of like you 119 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: could look cute at home, uh, and people really liked 120 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: that idea. And so at this point Nell and Paul 121 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,520 Speaker 1: knew that they had to expand their business, and they 122 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: had to do it really, really rapidly. They were, of course, 123 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: still operating in the red. Those two hundred sixteen dresses 124 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: had sold for a dollar each. That was uh significantly 125 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: higher than the average price point for a house dress, 126 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: which I have seen listed as around sixty nine cents. Uh. 127 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: But even so people snatch them up. But even so, 128 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: that's not uh anything like they were going to make 129 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: back that initial one thousand, two hundred seventy dollar investment. 130 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: But they both really saw that this business had potential, 131 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: and so their next step was to find a dedicated 132 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: factory space and move production out of their attic and 133 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: get a little bit bigger. They found a spot in 134 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,679 Speaker 1: Kansas City, Missouri, on the corner of twenty ninth Street 135 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn Avenue, but they outgrew that space really quickly, 136 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: and in eighteen they moved into a larger space on 137 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: twenty one and Grand Paul left soon after that to 138 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: fight in World War One, and Nell kept things running 139 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: while he was away. By the time he got back, 140 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: Nell had grown the company significantly. She was up to 141 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: eighteen staff, they were operating in the black, and they 142 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: were bringing in a quarter of a million dollars annually. 143 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: So understandably, Paul quit his credit manager job and the 144 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: two of them worked side by side full time in 145 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: the garment business. As they reorganized the company to keep 146 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 1: pace with its growth. Nell became the secretary treasurer and 147 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 1: Paul served as president, but no really the one running 148 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: things while Paul took care of the business in administrative details. 149 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: The Nelly Dawn clothing label, which was created by inverting 150 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: uh the name Donnelly, took off like wildfire. To keep 151 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,440 Speaker 1: pace with the fashion industry, new started making regular trips 152 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: to Europe to see what was trending in Paris and Vienna. 153 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: She also studied the US market to make sure she 154 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: kept pace with the other designers. She kept track of 155 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: her customer base to make sure she was serving the 156 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: needs of the people who actually purchased her clothes, and 157 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: she selected the best possible fabrics and performed rigorous tests 158 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: on them at the factory to make sure that her 159 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: garments not only looked stylish but would also last. Yeah, 160 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: she really um had a keen sense of the balance 161 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: between fashion and utility and how you needed both to 162 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: really be successful in the market she was in. Nel 163 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,040 Speaker 1: was also really really adamant that the dresses and aprons 164 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: that they made at the Donnelly Garment Company were true, 165 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,199 Speaker 1: ready to wear without the need for professional alteration. She 166 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:02,719 Speaker 1: would include little details that could be easily altered by 167 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: someone at home, like adjustable straps and things like that 168 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: to make it fit perfect. But she also had samples 169 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: made in every single size, and then she would put 170 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: each of those garments through their paces with models performing 171 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: the sorts of activities that a woman might encounter in 172 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: an average day. And this was all done to make 173 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: sure that there was freedom of movement and that no 174 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,600 Speaker 1: matter what size the woman and the clothing, they were 175 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: always flattering. And a lot of the dress wearers and 176 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: our audience will also love to hear that her signature 177 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,679 Speaker 1: Handy Dandy apron line and her dresses had functional pockets. 178 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:39,439 Speaker 1: Nell insisted on this. I am happy to hear this because, 179 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: unlike Holly, I don't make all my own clothes to 180 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: have the features I personally want, so I'm always excited 181 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,079 Speaker 1: when I find things to buy the have pockets in them. 182 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: I feel like a fashion trader because I don't really 183 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: care about pockets. I know I'm the only one. I 184 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 1: just don't. Pockets don't do much for me um other 185 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: than like a place to put my hand unless they 186 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: have a zipper closure. I don't trust them to hold 187 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: things anyway, So then I'm like just spoils the line sometimes. 188 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: I just always I always need a chap stick in there. Yeah, 189 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: that goes in my wrist wallet. Uh see, I have 190 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: a controversial pocket opinion. Don't attack me. Um. Throughout the 191 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,439 Speaker 1: growth of the Donnelly Company, Nell took a very very 192 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:24,560 Speaker 1: progressive approach to how their employees were treated. As I said, 193 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: she always studied the market and the industry, and in 194 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: doing so, when she really looked at the history of 195 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: manufacturing and where it was at that point in time, 196 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: so that she could learn as much as she could 197 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: and maybe find ways that she could make her factory 198 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,200 Speaker 1: more efficient. She also became really keenly aware of the 199 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: poor working conditions that a lot of laborers face. She 200 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: did not want the kinds of accidents that often hurt 201 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: or frankly, very often killed workers in other factories to 202 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: be part of her company's legacy. Working conditions that Donnally 203 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,839 Speaker 1: were a lot safer than at most other garment factories. 204 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,199 Speaker 1: The wages were also better. Employees had acts us to 205 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,800 Speaker 1: medical care through their jobs, and because Nell knew how 206 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,480 Speaker 1: valuable her own education had been to her success, she 207 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 1: offered night classes and tuition grants to her employees, and 208 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: she started a scholarship program for her employees children. Yeah, 209 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: one of the things she did that was really unique, 210 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: particularly for the time, is like she had a regular 211 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:20,679 Speaker 1: doctor come like I think once a week and just 212 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:23,719 Speaker 1: do checkups. People needed them, and eventually they can bring 213 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 1: their kids for those check ups. The Donaldy's also really 214 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: felt like it was important that their employees felt respected 215 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: and that they were recognized as vital to the success 216 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:34,680 Speaker 1: of the business. Now, some of this, too is part 217 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: of building up sort of the forward facing identity of 218 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,080 Speaker 1: the company, because Nell was very, very comfortable giving interviews 219 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: and so part of this was also playing up how 220 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 1: great they were to work for. And she once told 221 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: a reporter quote, the attitude of our employees towards the 222 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: executives in the firm is not that they work under others, 223 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: but that they are working with others. Nell's business, which 224 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,440 Speaker 1: started with less than one thousand, three d dollars and 225 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: two hired seamstresses, turned into a multimillion dollar company during 226 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties. By nineteen thirty one, they had a 227 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: thousand employees. And because they made affordable quality clothing, which 228 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: was a necessity instead of luxury goods. They managed to 229 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,240 Speaker 1: weather the nine financial crash and the Great Depression that 230 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:23,080 Speaker 1: followed it. This ability of non luxury dry goods companies 231 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: to survive times of financial instability also came up in 232 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,200 Speaker 1: our Levi Strauss episode that was not long ago this year. Yeah, 233 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 1: but though the Donnell's managed to keep their business in 234 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:36,960 Speaker 1: good shape during those turbulent times, their personal lives were 235 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: a little less smooth. And we're going to talk about 236 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:48,240 Speaker 1: that right after we first paused for a sponsor break. 237 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: So in early Nell got pregnant, and this was a 238 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: problem for two reasons. One, her husband Paul had told 239 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: her that if she ever got pignant, he would kill himself. 240 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: It is not entirely clear what his motivation for this 241 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:09,439 Speaker 1: statement was. It has been speculated by various historians UH 242 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: and people who have studied Nell's story that he likely 243 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: suffered from depression, and he reportedly did have some issues 244 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: with drinking and infidelity that drove a wedge between the 245 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,960 Speaker 1: couple UH. And Two, to be clear, this child was 246 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: not his. We are going to come back to the 247 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: paternity of Nell's baby in just a moment. But to 248 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: deal with this problem, Nell came up with a plan, 249 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 1: so while she was still early enough in the pregnancy 250 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: that she was not showing, she traveled allegedly to Europe. 251 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: Some versions of this story say that instead she actually 252 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,880 Speaker 1: just went to Chicago. It's all because it's all kind 253 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 1: of shrouded in a cloak and dagger move. We don't 254 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 1: really know she was not at home, that she was 255 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,640 Speaker 1: not in Kansas City, but she had told Paul that 256 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: she wanted to adopt a child, so she came home 257 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 1: to Kansas City with a new baby, David, in the 258 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: late fall of nine. By this point, Nell was already famous. 259 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: She was well known in Kansas City as a very 260 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: successful and very wealthy woman. She had been profiled in 261 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,079 Speaker 1: magazines as a business leader and an innovator. Her company 262 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: was a three point five million dollar business at this point, 263 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: and on the night of December six, nineteen thirty one, 264 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 1: that success made her the target of a kidnapping and 265 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: ransom plot. So after work that night, Nell got into 266 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: her car with her chauffeur, George Blair, and headed home 267 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: for the evening, and as they approached the driveway of 268 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,560 Speaker 1: the Donnelly home, another car blocked their way. Three men 269 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: got out of that second car. One jumped in the 270 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: front seat and quickly tied up Blair, while the other 271 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: two got in the back, one on either side of Nell, 272 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 1: and Nell fought against them, but they pushed her to 273 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,120 Speaker 1: the floorboard and they held her there. Donnelly and Blair 274 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: were taken to a house in Bonner Springs, Kansas that 275 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: was roughly twenty five miles to the west of Donnelly's 276 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: Kansas City home. Nell was kept on a cot and 277 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: Blair was kept and blindfolded. The kidnappers called the home 278 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: of James E. Taylor, who was the Donnally's lawyer, that night, 279 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: but Mrs Taylor, who took the call, thought it was 280 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: just a prank. The person on the other end of 281 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: the lines told her that she could find Nell, Donnally's 282 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: abandoned car and country club plaza. I always wonder when 283 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: I read about this why she was like, Oh, pranksters 284 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: versus what a weird call. Maybe we should check it out. Uh. 285 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: The kidnappers also sent a ransom note to Paul Donnally 286 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: demanding seventy five thousand dollars, and he received that note 287 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: the morning after the abduction. This missive is a little 288 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 1: bit awkward in that it appears to have been dictated 289 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: to Nell to write, but the voice changes from that 290 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: of Nell writing directly to Paul to that of the 291 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: kidnappers talking to Nell, and it reads as follows, Dear Paul, 292 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 1: these men say they want seventy five thousand dollars. Use 293 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:58,120 Speaker 1: your own judgment. They kidnapped me and chauffeur Wednesday night. 294 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,840 Speaker 1: If you do not pay his direct did seventy five 295 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in cash dollars and twenty dollar bills, dollars 296 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: in tens and twenty thousand dollars in fifties if he 297 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: and at this point it seems like it's switched and 298 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: they're referring to Paul. If he or any does not 299 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: do is directed, we shall take him same as we 300 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: have taken you, meaning no. If reported to police or 301 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,880 Speaker 1: any authorities, we shall blind you, meaning now and kill. 302 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: And then they use a racist slur for George Blair. 303 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: Paul yourself shall drive the car, meaning our Lincoln at 304 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:35,480 Speaker 1: all times. If this letter is given to any police authorities, 305 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: it will be the last of me, and they will 306 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: get you the same way they got me. Paul called 307 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: James E. Taylor, and this is when the tailor's realized 308 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: that the call they had gotten the night before was 309 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: not a prank. Taylor called his law partner, James Read. 310 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 1: Just to be clear, there's James Read, there's James Taylor. 311 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: Two different James is Read was the Donnalley's next door neighbor. 312 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: When he had a long and impressive career. He had 313 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: been a county attorney, a counselor for the city, the 314 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,680 Speaker 1: mayor of Kansas City, and had served three terms as 315 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: a U S Senator. Yeah, James A. Reid could be 316 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: his own episode. He is not a person I think 317 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: I would have enjoyed very much. Um, We'll talk a 318 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: little bit about it here, but he definitely uh had 319 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: some some outdated views. James, Reid and Nell were very close. 320 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 1: While Nell and Paul were, as we said, very successful 321 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: at running a business together, their marriage had become strained 322 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: and distant, and Nell and Reid had become involved romantically. 323 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 1: Nell and Paul's adopted son, David, was in fact Reid's 324 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,119 Speaker 1: biological child, and so when Reid got word of this kidnapping, 325 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 1: he immediately asked the judge of the trial that he 326 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: was working on at the time if he could have 327 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: leave and once he was granted that leave, he immediately 328 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 1: left the courthouse in such a speedy manner that it 329 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: set off a flurry of gossip and speculation about what 330 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: might be going on. The specific instructions to Paul and 331 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: that original note had been that he was to park 332 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: the car that was mentioned in the letter in front 333 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,200 Speaker 1: of the Mercer Hotel at ten o'clock on December seventeenth. 334 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,479 Speaker 1: He was supposed to stay there for fifteen minutes as 335 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,679 Speaker 1: a signal that he was willing to go along with 336 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 1: the kidnappers demands. If nobody appeared. He was supposed to 337 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: repeat this the next day, and then every day after 338 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: that until someone communicated with him. He eventually received another note, 339 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: this one signed by Nell, authorizing the withdrawal of the money. 340 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,360 Speaker 1: But though Paul Donnelly had done as instructed and had 341 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:32,200 Speaker 1: not contacted police himself, the police had heard the rumors 342 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 1: that started the day Read left the courthouse, and the 343 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: newspapers had picked up some rumors and had been covering 344 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,800 Speaker 1: the story since then as well, even though they didn't 345 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: have a whole lot to go on. It kind of 346 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: seems like somebody at the courthouse must have blabbed when 347 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,360 Speaker 1: James Reid talked to the judge about needing to to go. Uh. 348 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: Someone involved in that discussion must have blabbed to the 349 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: press because they were I mean, they didn't magically conjure 350 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: that she had been kidnapped. They were printing it based 351 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: on somebody's information. Uh. And all of this, this rumor 352 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 1: and gossip that was showing up in the press and 353 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: with the police, which they knew could sour this whole 354 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:11,399 Speaker 1: situation made James Reid realize he had to make a 355 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,439 Speaker 1: statement to the Kansas City Star to address the situation. 356 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: Read's statement made it clear that if Nell was returned, 357 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: the kidnappers could have that ransom that they had demanded, 358 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,440 Speaker 1: but if anything happens to her, he and Paul Donnelly 359 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: would quote spend the rest of our lives running the 360 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 1: culprits to earth and securing for them the extreme penalty 361 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: of law. And soon John Lazia, a well known Kansas 362 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,119 Speaker 1: City gangster with a lot of influence in the city's politics, 363 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: joined the search. Lazia had known Read for some time. Uh. 364 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,439 Speaker 1: There are many verses of this story that say that 365 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,639 Speaker 1: Reid actually reached out to Lazia and said, you're going 366 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: to do this for me because after Lazia told the 367 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: police that no one from the criminal underworld would kidnap Nell, 368 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: knowing that James Reid was her lawyer, Lazia then sent 369 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 1: Carl Wads of his associates to look for Nell. Donnelly 370 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: Like twenty five cars of men went out. Just feels 371 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:12,159 Speaker 1: like a movie about corrupt political figures for sure, and 372 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: with good reasons. It was Lazia's men who eventually located 373 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 1: Nell and her driver. And the details here are a 374 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: little murky too, but Nell told the police that a 375 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: group of men forced their way into the house where 376 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: she and Blair were being held. These men took their 377 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,960 Speaker 1: captors outside and then told her that they would take 378 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,560 Speaker 1: her home. She and George Blair were free and relatively 379 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: unharmed after thirty four hours in captivity. The whole retrieval 380 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: of them went so smoothly that there were rumors that 381 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: spread that this whole thing had just been a publicity stunt. 382 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 1: Read's reputation in all this was also damaged because his 383 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: relationship with the city's criminal underworld became public knowledge through 384 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: Lazia's involvement in all this. Yeah, it was a big 385 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: weird mess where people were like, wait, uh, this happened, 386 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,920 Speaker 1: and you seem really interested in this woman's welfare even 387 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: though you're just her lawyer. And now you have a 388 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: gangster finding her that did so because he's your friend. 389 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:16,199 Speaker 1: What's going on here? Um? Again, it would make a 390 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: great movie. Uh. While the kidnappers initially fled and again 391 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: we don't really know how that played out. Uh, they 392 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: were captured. Paul Shite was the first man apprehended and 393 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: brought to trial. James A. Reid served as special prosecutor 394 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 1: in that trial. Shite claimed that he believed the kidnapping 395 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: was arranged by a husband who he thought was in 396 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: the oil business. Uh, and that when he realized that 397 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: he had been duped in this whole plan, that he 398 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: had just let the captives go. In a surprise outcome. 399 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,440 Speaker 1: The jury completely believed him, and Shite was acquitted. Martin 400 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: Depew and Walter Werner had very different outcomes in their 401 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:55,400 Speaker 1: court cases after those two were apprehended. Both were sentenced 402 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 1: to life in prison, and then a third man, Charles 403 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,679 Speaker 1: I'm not sure how the last name is pronounced, Charles 404 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,639 Speaker 1: Mail or Melee perhaps received a thirty five years sentence 405 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: for his part in the kidnapping plot, although he insisted 406 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 1: throughout the entire trial that he had absolutely nothing to 407 00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: do with it. The only evidence against him was that 408 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,680 Speaker 1: Nell identified him. We will talk about Nell's life after 409 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: this kidnapping, but first we will take a quick sponsor break. 410 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: So while Nell's return after her abduction relatively safe and sound, 411 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: might seem like a joyous end to the tumult in 412 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: the Donnelly home, it was absolutely not. Just a couple 413 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: of months later, Nell divorced Paul in early ninety two, 414 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: she bought out half of his business and she became 415 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 1: executive director of the company. And that same year, James A. 416 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,959 Speaker 1: Reid's wife died, and so in December of ninety three, 417 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: Nell and James Reid were married in a ceremony that 418 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: surprised their guests. They had invited friends to Nell's home 419 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:03,399 Speaker 1: for what the attendees thought was just a dinner party, 420 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: only to find a wedding happening after the meal ended. 421 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: Nell was forty four at the time and Read was 422 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,919 Speaker 1: seventy two. For the next several years, Nell Donnally Reid's 423 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,480 Speaker 1: life was pretty smooth. She and James seemed happy and 424 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,159 Speaker 1: her business continued to thrive, but the same could not 425 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,200 Speaker 1: be said for Paul don Lane. Sadly, he also remarried 426 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: to a woman who was much younger than he was, 427 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: named Virginia George. They married in February of nineteen thirty three, 428 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: but then just a year and a half later, he 429 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,040 Speaker 1: died by suicide. That was in September of nineteen thirty four. 430 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 1: He had spent most of his fortune by that point. 431 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen thirty seven, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union 432 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: made efforts to get the workers at Donnelly Garment Manufacturing 433 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:49,240 Speaker 1: to unionize, But, unlike at many other companies in Kansas City, 434 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 1: which had become a huge clothing manufacturing hub at this point, 435 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 1: a lot of Nell's employees did not see the need 436 00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: for reunion. They felt that their working conditions were safe 437 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 1: and their benefits were excellent, far better than any other 438 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: factory offered. A lot of the staff didn't feel like 439 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 1: a union would be of much benefit to them, but 440 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: this was definitely not a universally held opinion. On the 441 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:13,560 Speaker 1: factory floor, there were employees who talked to the union 442 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 1: about things like tedium and exhaustion in their sections. These 443 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: sections were small groups of employees who were set up 444 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 1: to create garments, with each woman working on one specific 445 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:28,199 Speaker 1: aspect of the garment and then turning out the garments 446 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: as a team, so each person had one job, but 447 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 1: they were still working together to create each stress. This 448 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,399 Speaker 1: handful of women who joined the union faced layoffs and 449 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 1: pressure and harassment from within their jobs. The I l 450 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: g WU, which had been successful in unionizing most of 451 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 1: Kansas City's other factories, took out ads in the local 452 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,000 Speaker 1: papers saying that Nell and her company were unwilling to 453 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,919 Speaker 1: meet the union standards and that that was what was 454 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: really causing all of this um refusal to become a 455 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: part of the union. But between less than ens who's 456 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 1: enthusiastic support for the union among a lot of employees, 457 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: and the few who actually did favor a union facing 458 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: retribution for it, this whole idea just did not gain 459 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: much traction. To combat the I l g WU, the 460 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: Donally factory formed its own union, which was the Donal 461 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:20,200 Speaker 1: League Garment Workers Union, in May of nineteen thirty seven. 462 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: Although that group was formed under the auspices of management 463 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: to try to shut down the other union's efforts, it 464 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,840 Speaker 1: wasn't something that the employees decided on their own to 465 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: form the Donnally Union president, who was Rose Todd, who 466 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: was a supervisor at the company, started giving statements to 467 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,439 Speaker 1: the press that they could handle their own advocacy and 468 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,879 Speaker 1: they didn't need outsiders trying to manage it for them. 469 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,000 Speaker 1: This union issue dragged on and on. The i l 470 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,560 Speaker 1: g WU continued to try to force unionization under their 471 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: umbrella on the Donnally factory and also tried to dissuade 472 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 1: department stores from carrying the Nelly don brand UH. They 473 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,520 Speaker 1: even wrote up little UH notes that that the department 474 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,879 Speaker 1: stores could use to explain the situation in this case 475 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 1: eventually was played out in court. It went to federal court. 476 00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 1: A judge forbade the International Lady's Garment Workers Union from 477 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 1: trying to get involved in the Donnely plant any further, 478 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:18,360 Speaker 1: but then that decision was later overturned the Donnely factory 479 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,360 Speaker 1: and this outside union continued to lock horns for years, 480 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 1: and as the issue continued to be a real thorn 481 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,960 Speaker 1: in her side, Nell started to tell people that there 482 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: was no way an entrepreneur could start a business and 483 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,960 Speaker 1: be successful because of all these complications that unions brought 484 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: about this. Well, it was one of the reasons that 485 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: the conditions that the factory were so so good. She like, 486 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: she wanted things to be so good that people wouldn't 487 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: want a union. Yeah. She felt like, I feel like 488 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,639 Speaker 1: I'm doing everything right. Why are people still coming after me? Yeah. 489 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 1: So then to compound all these matters, While her husband, 490 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: James Reid, wasn't involved in the running of the factory, 491 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 1: he did have a lot of political clout. He served 492 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: in a legal capacity for his wife's company, and he 493 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,280 Speaker 1: was pretty openly racist and anti Semitic, including when it 494 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:08,760 Speaker 1: came to these labor matters and labor organizers. Yes, so, 495 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,159 Speaker 1: the I L g W You president, David Dubinski was 496 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: a Russian born Jew, and Read referred to him as 497 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: a foreign radical and far worse. When Read appeared in 498 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: court proceedings to discuss the matter, Read made the case 499 00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: that unions were dangerous to women. They were run by 500 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: rapists and violent people. He talked about them being, you know, 501 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: like the scum that was scraped from the double's cauldron. Ultimately, 502 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: though the injunction against the I L g W You 503 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: was lifted, the Donnelly Company had created an atmosphere like 504 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:44,760 Speaker 1: we said, of of both fear that the these foreign 505 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 1: devils were going to come and try to unionize them 506 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,639 Speaker 1: and make something dangerous, and also fear that anyone that 507 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,200 Speaker 1: actually embraced the union would get in trouble or lose 508 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: their job. That they really did kind of make this 509 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: bubble that prevented the union from ever penetrating. Yeah, it 510 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:04,800 Speaker 1: was like they were simultaneously doing things to discourage unionizing 511 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,920 Speaker 1: and also really inspiring a lot a lot of loyalty 512 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 1: among their employees. It was complicated. World War two also 513 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,760 Speaker 1: brought a lot of changes to the Nelly Don brand 514 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,399 Speaker 1: as they continued to expand their lines who appeal to 515 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 1: women who had jobs outside the home. So what had 516 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: started as a business for making stylish dresses and aprons 517 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: for homemakers had by the late nineteen forties expanded to 518 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:31,880 Speaker 1: offer business attire and accessories. The factory was turning out 519 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: one point five million dresses a year, making it the 520 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: largest facility of its kind in the world, And throughout 521 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 1: all of this, journalists and consumers marveled at how they 522 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: managed to keep quality high and prices reasonable. Yeah, they 523 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 1: talked about a lot of details that um would be 524 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 1: associated with much much higher end garments, like they talked 525 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:53,959 Speaker 1: about the depth of the hems, which if you know, 526 00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: you know, if you're looking at a dress from the 527 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 1: inside and the hem is what is called deep. It 528 00:28:57,760 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 1: means there is a lot of the outside fabric folded 529 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,320 Speaker 1: up under to create that him And in some places 530 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: they would cut those shorter so that you would save 531 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,080 Speaker 1: that couple inches of fabric, which seems like not much, 532 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: but then over one point five million garments as up 533 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: to a lot of fabric, and it's like a cost 534 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: cutting measure. But Nelly Don was not taking those shortcuts. 535 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: And the company was also really unique in that it 536 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: hired women for positions at all levels. Nell claimed that 537 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,480 Speaker 1: she hired blindly, paying no mind to whether the applicant 538 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,920 Speaker 1: was a man or a woman, and focusing simply on 539 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: whether they were the right fit and could do the job. 540 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,760 Speaker 1: In one magazine interviewed, Nell told a reporter quote, I've 541 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,080 Speaker 1: heard some women say they would rather talk with men, 542 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,680 Speaker 1: have business dealings with men. I don't feel that way 543 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,600 Speaker 1: about it. I have no preference or prejudice in the matter. 544 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 1: I like to talk business with a competent person, whether 545 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,400 Speaker 1: that person is a man or a woman. When she 546 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:50,960 Speaker 1: saw that somebody was a hard worker and could manage 547 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: their job really well, she promoted them, and that way 548 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 1: a lot of women who started in low level positions 549 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 1: that the company rose up through the ranks to become executives. 550 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 1: Nine out of ten employees that the Donnely Factory were women, 551 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: and unlike in a lot of factories where like the 552 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: line level workers would be women and the executives would 553 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,800 Speaker 1: be men, these women were spread all through all levels 554 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: of the company. In nineteen forty four, as the company 555 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: was going through its growth into new markets, including all 556 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: this business, where Nell's husband, James Reid, died of pneumonia. 557 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,200 Speaker 1: She did not ever marry again. In nineteen fifty two, 558 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,320 Speaker 1: she donated seven thirty one acres of land the Missouri 559 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: Department of Conservation in honor of James, who she had 560 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: spent many happy hours with out in nature, hunting, fishing, 561 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: and just enjoying each other's company. That was something they 562 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 1: both really loved together. The James A. Reid Memorial Wildlife 563 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: Area remains intact today. In nineteen fifty six, Nell sold 564 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,760 Speaker 1: off for company shares and retired. She had been in 565 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 1: the garment industry for forty years and the Donnally Garment 566 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: Company became Nellie don Inc. And it became a publicly 567 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,960 Speaker 1: traded company two years after Nell left. But without her 568 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: ability to deal directly with tech style manufacturers to get 569 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 1: the best deals or to streamline production in ways that 570 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: made the factory at its most efficient, the business really struggled. 571 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: Nellie down Ink went into bankruptcy and closed permanently in 572 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy eight. But from her retirement onward, Nell donnellly 573 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,240 Speaker 1: Reid remained very, very active in the Kansas City community. 574 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: She continued to promote education and she was a board 575 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,400 Speaker 1: member at Lindenwood College, where she was in alum as 576 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: well as at the Kansas City Art Institute, and she 577 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: also became a member of the city Board of Education. 578 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: She really really tried to promote a lot of education 579 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: reform and she was on the board of trustees at 580 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: the Midwest Research Institute. She died at home on September eight, 581 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: nineteen one. She was a hundred and two years old. Yeah, 582 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: she looked a really long life. Uh. In two thousand six, 583 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,120 Speaker 1: Nell's great nephew, Terrance O'Malley, made a documentary about her 584 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,800 Speaker 1: and her business titled Nelly Down a Stitch in Time, 585 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,400 Speaker 1: and then more than a decade later in twenty seventeen. 586 00:31:54,920 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: He started it several years before that, but I think 587 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: seventeen was the first stage reading he had developed her 588 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: story into a musical. Like we said at the top, 589 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: uh Nell was complicated. Her life was not like all sunshine, 590 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: rainbow perfection. But one of the things that really struck 591 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: me in researching her story was her insistence that when 592 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,000 Speaker 1: the workday ended, it was over something that grows more 593 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:19,840 Speaker 1: and more difficult as we all tend to check email 594 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 1: late into the night and sometimes on vacation. Uh And 595 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: she also wanted people to continue to learn and grow, 596 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: And so I wanted to finish with a quote of 597 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,400 Speaker 1: hers that I really liked. She gave it an interview 598 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,480 Speaker 1: where she said, you can't be a well balanced person 599 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: if you insist on devoting all your attention to business, 600 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: even those details which can be managed by others, leaving 601 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: no free time for your development as a human being. 602 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,880 Speaker 1: Ray That is Nell Donnelly Reid. Like we said, she's 603 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:51,160 Speaker 1: still complicated. Do you also have some listener mail? I 604 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 1: do have some listener mail. This is another one about 605 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,000 Speaker 1: our USO and Bob Hope episode. Uh. This is from 606 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: our listener Thomasina, who writes High Holly and Tracy live 607 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,160 Speaker 1: in Juneo, Alaska, and I was thrilled to hear my 608 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: hometown of Cordova, Alaska name checked in your podcast about 609 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: Bob Hope in the us O Show. It reminded me 610 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:11,720 Speaker 1: of my family story about my uncle encountering Bob Hope 611 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: while he was visiting before that hair raising flight that 612 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,240 Speaker 1: you mentioned. When Bob Hope came to visit the town 613 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: of Cordova, which then had a population of less than 614 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: two thousand people, not including military folks station there at 615 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:24,960 Speaker 1: the time. To say it was a really big deal 616 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:28,080 Speaker 1: is a massive understatement. It was like a minor deity 617 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:31,360 Speaker 1: was in town. A massive entourage followed him down the 618 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:34,080 Speaker 1: main street, on which still stands the apartment building in 619 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:36,920 Speaker 1: which my father's family then lived, my father having not 620 00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,720 Speaker 1: been born yet. When Bob Hope passed by the front 621 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: stoop of the building, he encountered my uncle, who was 622 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,760 Speaker 1: a small child at the time. My dad's family is 623 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 1: of Alaska Native and Caucasian heritage, but my uncle did 624 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 1: not really lean toward the features of my allotique Norwegian grandpa, 625 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,680 Speaker 1: or my can get Danish grandma. I'm sorry if I 626 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 1: said those words incorrectly. Instead, my father's oldest brother came 627 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,240 Speaker 1: out with a blend of both of his parents attributes, 628 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,520 Speaker 1: resulting in auburn hair, a ski slope, nos, and freckles. 629 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: You can see where this is going. Bob Hope saw 630 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:07,480 Speaker 1: this little kid who looked a lot like him and 631 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,239 Speaker 1: stopped to chat with him, thinking you would make for 632 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:11,400 Speaker 1: a cute photo. Ops, sadly none of us has a 633 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,480 Speaker 1: copy of this picture if it survived, and said, hey, son, 634 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: how old are you for said my uncle, and what's 635 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,920 Speaker 1: your name? My uncle's name was George Robert Jr. But 636 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,919 Speaker 1: he went by You guessed it, Bob and Bob Hope, 637 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: after learning this, paused for a beat, and then he 638 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:29,239 Speaker 1: supposedly turned to his compatriots and equipped, Now that I 639 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:31,319 Speaker 1: think about it, I did come through here about four 640 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,439 Speaker 1: years ago. My uncle passed away back in the early 641 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: two thousand's, and that was one of my grandmother's favorite 642 00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,400 Speaker 1: stories that she liked to share about him until she 643 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,239 Speaker 1: herself passed last year. Thank you for reminding me of it, 644 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:44,520 Speaker 1: and thanks for all the hours of crunching spreadsheets at 645 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: work that your lovely show has been more bearable. That 646 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:49,279 Speaker 1: is the cutest family story and it makes me laugh 647 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,040 Speaker 1: and laugh, So thank you so much for sharing that, Thomasina. 648 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:54,880 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us, you can 649 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 1: do so at History podcast at how stuffworks dot com. 650 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,800 Speaker 1: We are also Missed in History across the spectrum of 651 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: so social media, and you can find us at missed 652 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 1: in history dot com, where every episode of the show 653 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,440 Speaker 1: is archived and there are show notes for any of 654 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:09,920 Speaker 1: the episodes Tracy and I have worked on. And you 655 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 1: can also subscribe to stuff you Missed in History class 656 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:15,480 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, or anywhere 657 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:23,280 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. For more on this and thousands 658 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:31,640 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.