Women’s History Month: Nell Snead
Day 27 of Women’s History Month features Kansas City food editor Nell Snead.
After earning a college degree and teaching English in Nebraska, Nell Snead applied for a job at the Kansas City Star while in the city on vacation in the 1930s. She started on the city desk but soon took on the job of women’s page editor after being promised that she could go to New York City to learn about fashion.
She also covered food and her recipes are included in the 1952 Coast to Coast cookbook. There were four women on the staff when she was hired and she encouraged the hiring of more women. She trained 16 of them who became known as “Nell’s chicks.”
She survived a 1957 plane crash in France – she regretted not being able to complete the French meal that was being served on the flight. According to the executive editor of the newspaper: “No label fits Nell Snead. She is a free spirit, and you will never know another like her.” She worked for the women’s pages for more than four decades.
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