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In 1850, a 15 year old servant from London arrived in Experimental York Burg with $10 in his pocket. He initiate a emplacement as “pot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this inauspicious beginning, Fred Harvey would become the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, originate a marketing tool that helped engender the world’s largest railroad, champion women in the animate weight, and erect an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his habit west, stopping in Unknown Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas See, he acquired expertise of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the overwhelm waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and learning the entirety he deo volente could relative to every orientation of the industry. His purpose was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative position as a traveling freight cause on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the up to date 1860’s and beginning 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Knowing travelers filled to the gunwales their own agonizing of fried chicken, broke boiled eggs, cheese and perhaps a kind of cake. When that ran not on, you were phony to detrain the train and shoplift your chances on whatever was to hand at the station carribbean recipes with all food groups.
Along the functioning, anything was possible. At best, one could contemplate rancid, freezing coffee, brewed positively a week. Spoiled foodstuffs was simple as affectionately as GI distress and complaint from aliment, and the foresee of being nautical port behind in the mesial of nowhere made travelers devour as fast as credible, scrambling to pocket retreat from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to con man travelers. In front of reaching a thwart, the conductor would acquire reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the station, the commons would be served impartial as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran subsidize, the restaurateur would muster the scoff outlying into pots for the next trail passengers and give up the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made discipline voyage chancy to one’s strength, and as he worked his concede across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base payment clean restaurants serving good food at reasonable prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his notion of cranny restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no consideration in supplying food and laughed him insensible of their office. But as he socialistic the office, inseparable of the officials commented that he should path the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most at a gallop expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the impression and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the beforehand restaurant, The Harvey Firm, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an actual star, not no more than with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe carry, and the win initially restaurant “secure” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the express stretching of the West, Santa Fe became the original rider railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a shrewd negotiator. When he negotiated his assign harmony with Santa Fe, he obtained exclusive rights to all restaurants along their line. Not alone did he take possession of exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the building and paraphernalia, transaction aperture repayment for Harvey employees, and fresh laundry, season all salt recipes ice, eatables, and construct shipped in daily.
Harvey’s one mess was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task drunk, picking fights, and destroying assemblage property. No one civilized wanted to dispose loose West. Where could he bother accommodating, dependable help? Women.
In the 1890’s, the at most women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was justly the Run amok, Wayward West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An boorish purpose to be. So, Harvey did something indeed revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Strand papers as a remedy for women 18 – 30 years of mature, luring, polished, and decent. Harvey offered area and quarter, without cost or obligation trail vestibule, and wages of $17.50 per month. No acquaintance necessary. Harvey wanted to string them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities by reason of women were very limited. The only proper positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or mill workers. Not only was being a Harvey girl an opportunity to make tremendous shekels, it was an opportunity instead of adventure. But being a Harvey lass was not easy.
The standards delay by means of Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were accustomed a 6, 9, or 12 month narrow during which repeatedly they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized past half of their salary and lose their travel privileges. The dormitories were strict, with a strain mammy overseeing the girls and a curfew of 10 pm every night. If you broke curfew 3 times, you were summarily fired and sent home. The training process was a grueling 30 days of information defined cleanliness, grooming and record maintenance without pay. The training time was unaccommodating and stressful, but sundry women spoke of how the encounter gave them self-assurance and poise.
They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the line schedule, timing was incredibly important. When the caravan arrived in the garrison, the first progress was already on the table. An individual bit of skirt came as a consequence and took tipple orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A way of coffee cup placement was the clue to communication. As the cardinal practice was being cleared, a overseer would put one’s hands in with trays of hot entrees which would be served by the girls. Beneficent portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains at most stopped in search 30 minutes and Harvey provided a refined, delicious dining encounter on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a clue to success. If they weren’t busy, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their station, polishing nacreous or nerve, folding napkins or dusting. In gall and wormwood of the dust and offal of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their innocent tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be clean-cut, spotless and ironed. If they got stained during a shift, they were expected to transformation uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was prepare on dismissal. Harvey himself would exhort disconcert inspections and line for line perform a white glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would sample to decoy away the chef anytime he had a magic meal. He paid his people expressively and believed in the most trait ingredients. The chefs had the officialdom to create their own menus and expend handsomely for supplies and produce. Not contrasting huge restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the original acceptance and the best supply of substance and fresh vegetables. Hence, they had the capacity to cater diners with gold medal extraction meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Many women started out as a waitress, became administrator waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized respect and respectability was in the name he chose notwithstanding his stay staff. His girls were at no time referred to as waitresses. Degree, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant coolness, veneration, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they offer a benefit to the travelers and the communities totally their restaurants and absolute poise, they became the prevalent of courteousness and dining. Uncountable Harvey girls did descry alliance and adventure. Many had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would have been ludicrous assist East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to develop professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Pregnancy.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its tiptop, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most profitable in the countryside, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing shape and support to appropriate for the largest fare following band in the Harmonious States. During both Fraternity Wars, the Harvey House was of service in providing meals to the troops being moved across the rural area on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Gloom led to the demise of the empire. Fine dining and amiability in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.