Dorothy Gallagher

Author: 
Kansas City Public Library
  • Date of Birth: January 8, 1894
  • Place of Birth: Kansas City
  • Claim to Fame: resident director, donor, Guadalupe Center, 1926-1944
  • Also Known As: the "Godmother of Guadalupe"
  • Date of Death: 1982

Dorothy Gallagher was born on January 8, 1894, to a wealthy Kansas City family. Not content to live quietly in affluence, Gallagher gained interest in a Catholic women’s group called the Agnes Ward Amberg Club, which carried out social work in Mexican communities in the west side of the city.

A sizable Mexican population in Kansas City originated in the late 1800s after the U.S. government strictly limited Chinese and Japanese immigration, which caused the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroad companies to hire Mexican laborers for construction of railroads in the Southwest. Some of these lines connected to Kansas City and brought Mexican immigrants. A second large migration came with refugees from the 1910 Mexican Revolution, many of whom were Catholics fleeing persecution by the incoming regime.

Gallagher and Guadalupe Center children
Gallagher and Guadalupe Center children. Courtesy of the Missouri Valley Special Collections.

When they arrived at Kansas City most Mexicans faced racial and language barriers. Many landlords refused to rent to Mexicans, causing them to live in railroad boxcars or other shanties. There were virtually no Spanish-speaking institutions such as churches, markets, or schools. Their first parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe, opened in 1914 with Fr. Jose Muñez serving as the first priest. The name Guadalupe referred to the patron saint of Mexico.

The first church initiated a barrio style of community organization, which was a Mexican term referring to a community with strong social and economic ties. By pooling resources, the immigrants could form their own institutions and cope with living in an unfamiliar culture. The Amberg Club opened the Guadalupe Center at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at 1015 West 23rd Street (now Avenida Cesar Chavez) in 1922 to assist the barrio. The center’s goal was to help Mexican immigrants adjust to American life while still maintaining much of their cultural heritage.

On a practical level, this meant the center offered English classes, instructed newcomers on applying for jobs, organized communal activities, and operated a health clinic. The biggest event preserving Mexican culture was the fiesta on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It featured courtship dances, mariachi bands, food stands, and games. The fundraising contributed to the Guadalupe Center’s general operations.

The Gallagher family donated land for a large Spanish Mission-style building to house the growing organization in 1936. Working at the Guadalupe Center without pay, Gallagher became known as the “Godmother of Guadalupe” until she left in 1944. After 1944 she resumed social work in war-torn France, taught classes at the University of Kansas and College of St. Teresa, and returned to public welfare work in the Kansas City area before dying in 1982.

Unfortunately, aside from a few newspaper articles and some brief descriptions in local histories, Gallagher’s contributions have not been well-remembered. Guadalupe Centers, Inc., on the other hand, operates today as a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the Latino communities of the greater Kansas City area with services such as employment assistance, a credit union, health center, counseling, youth programs, preschool program, and the Alta Vista Charter High School.

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Acknowledgement: 

This article has been adapted from an article published at KChistory.org.

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