From the Vault: Professions from the past

Over the Kansas City Fed’s 111 years, numerous roles in its workforce were created to serve the needs of an era before eventually giving way to time, technology or progress in general within the Federal Reserve System.

Here are a just a few of the bygone professions at the Kansas City Fed:

Messengers – Initially an all-male group that later comprised mostly young women, their duties included delivering documents, mail and supplies to departments and offices. For many, messenger jobs were the foundation for other careers at the Bank.

Telegraph operators – Long before modern digital infrastructure, they sent and received teletype “wires” to manage funds transfers and conduct other business through a network linking all 12 Reserve Banks.

Food coupons staff – Before introduction of the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program, they verified, counted and ultimately destroyed coupons (also known as food stamps) that had been redeemed for grocery purchases and processed by Fed member banks.

Elevator operators – These “push button chauffeurs,” as they were described in a 1955 Bank newsletter, were uniformed employees in charge of passenger elevators at the Bank’s longtime headquarters at 925 Grand. Former President Harry Truman, who had an office in the building in the 1950s, was known to give $2 bills to operators each Christmas.