It was a hot and muggy St. Louis day. The dog
days of August, 1960, I recall.
Hobbling with arthritis, 64-year old Bessie, a
black woman, and her 14-year old nephew,
Albert, departed the Manchester 57 bus in
suburban Webster Groves that summer’s day.
They had several blocks to walk to the Hanch
house where Bessie had worked as a maid for
a number of years.
Mrs. Hanch, a divorced mother of three
teenage boys had a chronic heath issue
and needed domestic help around the
house.
My two brothers Mark, David and I were
each one year apart. We helped with
some of the household chores like grocery
shopping, taking out the trash and basic
yard work. But we were either unwilling
or inept when it came to doing the laundry,
washing, drying, ironing, folding and such.
Vehemently, we resisted cleaning the bath-
room and kitchen, dusting furniture and
mopping floors. Bessie had done that sort
of housework all her life. Back then, men
had their jobs and women had theirs.
The week before, Bessie had asked my mom
if on her next visit could she bring her nephew,
Albert, with her. Their inner-city neighborhood
was not a safe or pleasant place for a fourteen
year old black boy to hang out by himself, She
explained. Drug dealing and gang violence were
widespread and pervasive in the summertime.
It would ease her mind if Albert could tag along
with us for the day given we were all about the
same age.
Albert loved baseball and Bessie knew we
did too. And without hesitation, my mom
gave her approval.
Mom didn’t give a second thought as to
having a black boyy tagging along with her
sons in an all white neighborhood. As far as
she was concerned, this was our business
and “damn well none of the neighbors.”
That was over 60-years ago. I recall playing
catch with Albert in the back yard, and
talking about the St. Louis Cardinals, our
hometown team. Stan Musial, Ken Boyer,
Bob Gibson, Bill White and Curt Flood,
white and black, all played side-by-side on
our team. And they were equally among
our favorite players.
Race never came up in our conversations
during the day. It was not an issue as far
as we were concerned. But secretly, I was
pleased, even proud to have a new Negro
friend.
I could see initially that Albert seemed a bit
apprehensive about being where he was. But
as the day progressed, he lightened up and
enjoyed the same things as we did.
Mom thought it would be nice if we would take
Albert into town which was within walking
distance and treat Albert to some French fries
at The Toll House Restaurant. (We loved French
Fries, and The Toll House had some of the best
in the world as far as my brothers and I were
concerned.)
Mom gave us a couple of dollars, and merrily
we went our way in joyful anticipation of the
savory treat.
We entered the restaurant around lunchtime
and were immediately confronted by the
manager. “What can I do for you, boys?” he
asked in a rather unfriendly manner. “We’d
like to order some French fries, sir,” older
brother Mark responded. “Sorry, boys, no
French fries today. I’m going to ask you to
leave.” “But we have the money,” Mark
informed him politely. “Sorry, out you go now,”
the manager said sternly with a scowl on his
face.
We were shocked and upset. We had never
been treated like this before. We did nothing
wrong and didn’t understand.
Albert was silent. He never said a word, but
he knew. Aunt Bessie, she would know. Pretty
sure my mom did too.
It took this harsh rejection at The Toll House
Restaurant for three white boys and one
black to realize, 1960 in this all white
community, prejudice was alive and thriving
on the menu.
We took Albert to the Tasty Freeze down
the street and ordered 4-soft serve cones
at the to-go window.
Albert went home with his Aunt Bessie that
evening, and never returned again.
And likewise, my family and I never again
stepped a foot inside The Toll House
Restaurant.
We did learn to appreciate the pasta at Yacovelli’s,
however, a more welcoming Italian place a few
miles away.
Bessie is long gone now, but I often think about
Albert, and I wonder if he would feel the same?
-30-
Chris Hanch 11-14-2023
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