Who was SLO County’s first female bartender? Meet Mrs. Ruthie Tabor

David Middlecamp
·3 min read

Prior to Prohibition, a saloon was almost exclusively a man’s world. Sawdust floors, spittoons and sometimes salacious wall art — it wasn’t an inclusive environment.

Women associated with bars in that era had bad reputations like gamblers, theater people or Miss Kitty from Gunsmoke.

Titled “A Dull Day” this picture was taken at the Pacific Coast Amusement Co. on Jan. 28,1913. Over 60 men and no women were gathered for might be the business opening. The business later became Stag Billiard Parlor until 1967 and was located at the corner of Monterey and Morro, next to the present day Urban Outfitters.
Titled “A Dull Day” this picture was taken at the Pacific Coast Amusement Co. on Jan. 28,1913. Over 60 men and no women were gathered for might be the business opening. The business later became Stag Billiard Parlor until 1967 and was located at the corner of Monterey and Morro, next to the present day Urban Outfitters.

Those norms were shattered during the speakeasy era as the illegal businesses tried to attract the widest clientele, serving mixed drinks and having live music.

But it took a surprisingly long time after Prohibition was repealed Dec. 5, 1933, before women were allowed to mix drinks at a bar in California.

How long? It is still within living memory, about 53 years ago. The bar that lead the way is known today as Niffy’s Merrimaker.

Here are two stories — complete with their original headlines — from 1971: The first ran May 28 and the second on July 26.

Last Chance Night Club sponsored these entries in the La Fiesta Parade in 1937. It was located where the animal hospital is near Cuesta Park.
Last Chance Night Club sponsored these entries in the La Fiesta Parade in 1937. It was located where the animal hospital is near Cuesta Park.

Off pedestal, gals; fill ‘em up

Women who want to be bartenders today owed the California Supreme Court a drink on the house.

The high court Thursday declared unconstitutional the state law limiting women bartenders to the wife of the license holder or to a woman who holds a liquor license.

The provision in the state constitution stated “a person may not be disqualified because of sex from entering or pursuing a lawful business, vocation or profession.”

In addition, the Supreme Court said the present law violates the equal-protection guarantees of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act.

“The pedestal upon which women have been placed has all too often, upon closer inspection, been revealed as a cage,” said Justice Raymond E. Peters in writing the court’s opinion.

The court ruled in the case of two Los Angeles bar owners who sued to stop the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control from taking action against them because they employed women as barkeeps.

ON THE ROCKS — Mrs. Ruthie Tabor of Cayucos dispenses alcohol in a Baywood Park cocktail lounge which may be the first county establishment to employ a lady bartender. This photo was taken at the Merrimaker in late July 1971. A court ruling had just allowed women access to the job.
ON THE ROCKS — Mrs. Ruthie Tabor of Cayucos dispenses alcohol in a Baywood Park cocktail lounge which may be the first county establishment to employ a lady bartender. This photo was taken at the Merrimaker in late July 1971. A court ruling had just allowed women access to the job.

Belly up to the lady’s bar, boys

A Baywood Park cocktail lounge has chalked up what appears to be a breakthrough for San Luis Obispo County: the first woman working a regular shift as a bartender.

But neither Mrs. Louise Holmes, owner of the Merrimakers, or her new barmaid, Mrs. Ruthie Tabor of Cayucos, see the arrangement as a coup for women’s liberation.

“It was just a practical thing to do,” said Mrs. Holmes, who’s now freed of responsibilities in the evening. “I knew Ruthie had made a lot of friends and handled herself well as a cocktail waitress. There wasn’t any reason she couldn’t learn to pour hard liquor behind the bar.”

Mrs. Tabor, a widow for 14 years with a married daughter and two teen-age children, agreed, as she began her first evening shift Wednesday by mixing a tall vodka and tonic.

“It doesn’t seem all that difficult. Of course, I haven’t tried all the fancy drinks yet, but most of the customers here go for beer and highballs — those I can handle.”

Mrs. Tabor added — quickly establishing her no-nonsense image: “I know most of the regulars here. And I’ve worked with a lot of men as a cocktail waitress here and in El Dorado County. I don’t expect any trouble.”