Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Spring/105i/Section 22/Gertha Couric

Overview
Gertha Couric was a white woman who ran a tea-room in Eufaula, Alabama. She also worked for the Federal Writers' Project and interviewed for them while working for them in 1936.

Early Life
Couric was born in Eufaula, Alabama. She spent her summers at her Grandmother's house. As a child, Couric would often make crowns out of the magnolia leaves in the yard and had a play-house in the trees. Little is known about Couric's parents, but Couric recalls her mother would play the pipe organ for her every day and host parties on Sundays.

Work in the Tea Room
Couric's husband died at the age of 35 on September 12, 1918 from an unknown illness. To provide for her six-year-old daughter, Couric used her late husband's leftover insurance to open a tea-room. Couric had no prior experience with business, working, or cooking.

Couric's mother helped take care of her daughter while she was working. Couric recalls that Sundays were the busiest days in the tea-room, filled with dinner parties and live music. Couric also hosted luncheons, wedding dinners, and events for the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs.

All of Couric's employees were African American women. In the interview, Couric recalls treating her employees very well and said they had a good relationship. Not a single employee ever quit. When it came to hosting, Couric lived by the saying "never hear anything and never tell anything" (231). She never called the police on anyone or had anyone arrested, even when guests openly carried liquor into the tea-room.

All year, Couric woke up at six o'clock every morning and only missed work when she had appendicitis and when she was in the hospital for two weeks. Couric recalled that despite the hard work, she thoroughly enjoyed running the tea room. However, even with the tea-room's success, Couric did not make much money. She attributed this to the low population volume of Eufaula.

Couric ran the tea-room for nine years until she sold when the Great Depression hit. She also had to sign an agreement saying she would not open another tea-room in Eufaula for five years. Couric recalls regretting selling the tea-room.

Later Life
After selling the tea-room, Couric went job hunting for the first time. With the help of Governor Wm. D. Jelks and philanthropist Mr. Donald Comer, Couric got a job at the Thomas Jefferson Hotel.

Couric was promised the position of manager in the Coffee Shop of the hotel, Tutwiler, if she first got experience at another hotel's coffee shop. She then worked at Hotel Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee for no pay. After gaining experience in Hotel Peabody, Couric went to the Thomas Jefferson Hotel. She hired her own waitresses and bus boys and prepared for Tutwiler's opening.

Couric often encountered drunk guests around the hotel, but she report them. Couric recalled that she would bring them to the kitchen and give them something to eat or drink. If the guest was too drunk, Couric would either have their car brought to the back or call a taxi for them.

Couric recalled getting along well with her first few managers at the hotel. However, a new manager came in that Couric strongly disliked. At their first meeting, the manager told Couric she was too nice to her waitresses. Couric claims that similar to her employees at the tea-room, Couric treated her employees well and had good relationships with them, so she deemed his accusation unjust. The manager went on to fire three of Couric's waitresses and eventually became the reason Couric left the Tutwiler.

After many years, Couric fell and broke her ankle. Because of this, she quit working in the hotel industry and eventually began working with the Federal Writers' Project. Couric died on April 13, 1970.

Black Entrepreneurship During the Great Depression
The Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted until 1939. During this period, people stopped spending money, and industrial output declined. Many people lost their jobs and their savings. Mass joblessness forced many urban African Americans to become "Survivalist Entrepreneurs," people who start small businesses to support themselves. This effect was strongest in the North, with many Black women opening up their own businesses, mainly barbershops. Many Black women also entered the restaurant and food industry likely because they had "greater experience with food preparation than did black men" (982). Not as many Black Americans in the South were forced to become Survivalist Entrepreneurs because they could more readily find work in agriculture. During this time, women in both the North and the South faced more pressure than men to become self-employed.

Noncompliance With Prohibition in the South
In 1920, the US enacted the Volstead Act, illegalizing the manufacture and sale of alcohol. This became known as Prohibition.

During the first year of Prohibition, drinking did drop. However, it was not long before people began openly defying Prohibition. Speakeasies, informal saloons, began opening across hundreds of cities, and people began making alcohol in their homes. Many Americans, known as bootleggers, would hide flasks in large overcoats or high boots. Bootleggers were heavily involved in organized crime, and the number of bootleggers eventually outnumbered law enforcement.

Prohibition became so widely ignored that "anybody could get a drink any time of the day" (1). Once the Great Depression hit, the government passed the 21st Amendment that repealed in order to gain tax revenues on alcohol.

Popularity of Opening Tea-Rooms for Women in the 1910s and 20s
During the 1910s and 20s, many middle-class women successfully opened and operated tea-rooms. For many women, this was how they would enter the business world. Tea-rooms were places where women could be comfortable working in public, and society generally accepted women working in tea-houses. Women could transfer the home skills they had learned from being in the domestic sphere for much of the 19th century to operating their tea-rooms.

These tea-rooms were often part-home and part-business. Women converted a variety of places into tea-rooms, from school houses to taverns. Tea-rooms served as the counter to gin-shops during Prohibition and also appealed to customers by being more than just a restaurant. Many women also converted their homes into tea-rooms, which helped cut down on rent costs.

In 1918, there were less than 25 tea-rooms in New York. However, by 1925, there were almost 8000. Most tea-rooms were run by one to two women. Tea-rooms attempted to recreate the home atmosphere while being in public. Eventually, tea-rooms became havens for those migrating from rural to urban areas and immigrants, because of the sense of home they provided. Tea-rooms also began popping up around college campuses for students interested in pursuing a career in home economics. Some colleges that offered courses on running tea-rooms included The University of Wisconsin, Oregon Agricultural College, University of Texas, and Iowa State College. Though many women used tea-rooms as a route to join the business world, many tea-rooms failed due to a lack of business knowledge. Many women learned the financials and logistics of running tea-rooms through magazine articles.

Female Employment During the Great Depression in the South
From 1930 to 1940, the number of employed women in the US rose by 24%. This is partially because jobs available to women were in industries that were less impacted by the stock market crash. Jobs available to women were also less volatile, but they paid less. In addition, the New Deal increased demand for secretarial roles for women to fill, further prompting more women to join the workforce. Between the years of 1929 and 1939, the marriage rate declined by 22%. More women were having to support themselves

Women struggled to get fair compensation, and their wages were set much lower than men. More than 25% of the wage codes set by the National Recovery Administration set women's wages for women. Women, especially black women, also received fewer benefits than their male counterparts. For black women, more white women entering the workforce made it increasingly difficult for them to find jobs. One-fifth of the Americans receiving aid from the federal government were black in the rural South. In addition, black women were excluded from the 1935 Social Security Act, meaning they lacked job and wage security.