Granted, hers was not the sort of mystery gift-giving of a sly elf seeking needy strangers. The employees of the Putschs’ restaurants knew that each Christmas their families would be treated to a special day. In fact, they counted on it.
Virginia Putsch focused on making Christmas a time to honor her employees and their children. It is a tradition that is sadly lacking in many businesses these days. Oh, sure, you hear about the over-the-top party thrown by some employers. Or bosses who fly select workers off to Las Vegas. But sometimes, those efforts seem more about showcasing the lavish tastes of the boss, rather than simply honoring the employees.
Likely, the wish not to offend by focusing on a Christian religious holiday keeps some from acting. That’s understandable. But what these parties can accomplish, if done the Putschs’ way, is really about appreciation. And that could be done on any day of the year, with a wide range of employees.
For those without ears old enough to prick up at the name of Putsch, J.W. “Jud” and Virginia Putsch, a husband and wife team, owned restaurants in Kansas City from 1940 to the early 1970s.
Foremost, there was the fine dining of Putsch’s 210, named for its address on the Country Club Plaza (210 W. 47th St.). Later came a series of coffeehouses and cafeterias. My father was the chef at Putsch’s 210, and so our family was among the hundreds who were treated each Christmas. Only one year, during World War II, was the party not held.
Acute attention to detail was the reason the day, and the Putschs’ restaurants, were successful.
Virginia Putsch kept a notebook listing every employee’s child and their age. Each child was given a gift. No child was ever left out. And no child ever received the same gift twice.
Virginia died in 1972. But her daughter, Ginny Putsch, recalls the hours she’d spend as child, idly sitting nearby while her mother chose gifts at Baird-Whitmer Toys, once located on the Plaza. “Jet planes and baby dolls,” she recalled.
“She never left a kid out,” Ginny Putsch said. “She was the driving force behind the restaurant. She could walk through the dining room in 210 from front to back, not say a word and tell you exactly how many lights were out in the ceiling, how many waitresses had dirty shoes and how many ash trays were dirty. She was an amazing woman.”
There were some gift-giving rules, of course. When children were 11, they got a transistor radio. At 12, they received a watch. After that, children were graduated from the parties.
But exceptions were also made. One year, Virginia Putsch learned that a night porter had 14 children, and that the party would be the only Christmas his children would enjoy. “So I made certain that their presents were a little extra special,” she is quoted saying in a 1970 article in The Plaza and Country Club Magazine.
As the restaurants grew, so did the parties. One article put the number of parents and children invited at 850. Separate parties were held for the various restaurants. Wrapping the gifts was a daylong event. My mother recalls going to the Putschs’ home on Meyer Boulevard to spend an enjoyable afternoon wrapping. That was before my older brothers or I entered the world. Employees without children often helped out.
On the day itself, the children were allowed to perform: usually Christmas carols, sometimes recitations. Louis Cina, the much-lauded violinist who serenaded diners at Putsch’s 210, accompanied.
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