Elaine Estes at Cheese Bar

8/2/2023

Elaine Rose Graham Estes was the longtime director for Des Moines Public Library. She is also the first woman of color to hold that title. A Civil Rights pioneer long before that was a thing, she is a survivor of the Jim Crow South. She is also a tireless world traveler and is widely considered one of Des Moines’ great paragons of style and fashion. 

At 91, she winters in her old home town of Springfield, Missouri. We asked her to lunch when she returned to town, and she chose Cheese Bar. That Ingersoll Avenue café specializes in fondues, raclettes and grilled cheese all day. They also have exceptional charcuterie and, of course, cheese plates.

“I love this place. My appetite isn’t what it used to be, and this is one place where I can order just what I want.” 

Elaine grew up in Springfield, but her family only came there after the Civil War. 

“My grandfather is commemorated on a wall of the African American Museum in Washington, D.C. He was a colonel in the Union Army. and that was rare for a Black man. He served in New Orleans in the war and moved to Missouri afterwards and bought the farm where my dad was born.”

Her father founded one of the most famous restaurants on the legendary Route 66. 

“Mom and Dad did that together in 1932. Graham’s Rib Station was on the corner of Washington Avenue and Chestnut Street. Chestnut was Route 66 then. In the 1940s, they built stone cottages on their property there, and it became Graham’s Rib Station and Modern Tourist Court. They ran it till 1967.”

It sounds like Elaine grew up working for the Black Colonel Sanders? 

“I helped run the business. It was an amazing thing. It was close to O’Reilly Army Hospital where war burn victims were sent to recover and their loved ones would stay with us. The Shrine Mosque was right there, too, and that brought customers. The Rib Station stayed open 14 hours a day, every day, and sometimes we were open till 3 a.m.

“The restaurant was also the center of African-American Springfield society. My parents were on the boards of the United Way and the Council of Churches and such. Every black entertainer coming through town stayed with us. Pearl Bailey, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Harry Belafonte, Louis Bellson and others. It was an exciting place to grow up.”

It still has historical significance? 

“Yes, the old neon sign is in the Historical Museum. Chestnut has been rechristened as Chestnut Classic Way, and there is a plaque where the restaurant and motor lodge were. Dad knew how to run a restaurant. He was a great cook, and he personally shopped the packing houses to buy the best meats. He never forgot a name and always called everyone by their first name.” 

Estes owned a horse growing up? 

“Yes. When I outgrew my trike, Dad wouldn’t let me have a bike because he thought they were too dangerous. So, I asked for a horse, and he got me a palomino. At Drake, I was able to substitute horseback riding for Phys Ed, which I didn’t like.”

Elaine went to an historic high school, too. 

“I went to Lincoln, which opened for Black students in 1931 and remained that way until Brown vs. The Board of Education (1955).”

Did that influence your coming to Drake? 

“I think my parents thought things would be far more integrated here. But when I got here, Drake did not allow their dorms integrated. My parents would not let me live off campus, so I petitioned the Drake board to change their rule and integrate their dorms. And I won. That was 1949. I’ve been in Des Moines a long time.” 

Did she study library science? 

“Not originally. I was a retailing major in business administration. I was apprenticing at Younkers (Department Store) and was finally told that Younkers would not be hiring any Black buyers until they saw evidence of more Black customers. So, the library became my career. I got a master’s in library science from the University of Illinois.” 

The Des Moines Library was my personal oasis growing up. It had a great reputation. What notable things happened on Estes’ watch? 

“We really innovated the variety of library materials. We were the first library in America to collect and loan piano and sheet music. We were one of the first to loan films and audio books. 

“I automated the library so we were one of the first to get rid of card catalogues. There are no records, but I think we were one of the first to loan tools. That was very popular when people started buying homes to renovate. John McDonald and I started that. 

“I worked hard to protect privacy rights. I studied the Code of Iowa to avoid giving up information about what books people checked out. Also fought against censorship of what books we bought.” 

Elaine’s travels are the envy of much younger people. 

“I have been to 86 countries. The only two I ever thought I wanted to go to and didn’t are Tibet and Nepal.” 

Estes famously will fashion herself with clothing and accessories that she pieces together from many different countries she visits. 

“Because that’s fun.” 

When I told friends I was going to interview Estes, several asked me to ask about her sense of fashion and style.

“When I was growing up in Springfield, our family only subscribed to four magazines — Vogue, Harper’s Bizarre, Town & Country and Life. Mom sewed and only used patterns from Vogue. I still read those magazines, other than Life, which is gone.”

Has Estes read Diana Vreeland’s books? 

“DV. I love her. So personal. I sent a copy to a friend who knows nothing about fashion. It’s so educational.”

What is the difference between style and fashion? 

“Style is more personal and steadier. Fashion is what the magazines sell us, and it changes with designers — the next new thing.” ♦