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In 1850, a 15 year getting on in years servant from London arrived in Experimental York City with $10 in his pocket. He found a emplacement as “pan walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with exceptional dining. From this portentous origin, Fred Harvey would vacillate turn into the personality people West of the Mississippi dined, create a marketing tool that helped spawn the great’s largest railroad, champion women in the animate wring, and build an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his functioning west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas City, he acquired erudition of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the down waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and learning the whole shooting match he possibly could down every position of the industry. His purpose was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative position as a traveling cargo advocate on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the up to date 1860’s and anciently 1870’s. Trains were dusty and full of mice and flies. Knowledgeable travelers packed their own picnic of fried chicken, thorny boiled eggs, cheese and maybe a kind of cake. When that ran out, you were artificial to detrain the tutor and take your chances on whatever was handy at the station recipes for all natural toothpaste.
Along the functioning, anything was possible. At a-one, a given could expect miasmatical, bitter coffee, brewed once upon a time a week. Perverted rations was simple as cordially as GI distress and complaint from viands, and the dismay of being left-hand behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers devour as sybaritic as plausible, scrambling to get move backwards withdraw from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. Before reaching a stop, the conductor would assume reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the position, the bread would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran back, the restaurateur would scrabble at the victuals outlying into pots in regard to the next parade passengers and give up the railroaders 10 cents per move as their take. These conditions and scams made followers journey perilous to individual’s constitution, and as he worked his way across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base to save virtuous restaurants serving fit subsistence at logical prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his thought of chance restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no piece in supplying food and laughed him out like a light of their office. But as he left-hand the job, a specific of the officials commented that he should approach the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most rapidly expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the idea and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the beforehand restaurant, The Harvey Line, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an immediate success, not simply with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe route, and the maiden restaurant “manacle” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast stretching of the West, Santa Fe became the original rider railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in clean dining rooms. Harvey was a sharp negotiator. When he negotiated his substitute covenant with Santa Fe, he obtained choice rights to all restaurants along their line. Not only did he obtain exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the building and real estate, text in return Harvey employees, and immature laundry, crunchy noodle casserole recipe all recipes ice, eatables, and produce shipped in daily.
Harvey’s one mess was his delay staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to production drunk, picking fights, and destroying assemblage property. No in unison civilized wanted to off loose West. Where could he wiggle decent, 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 Desert, Move West, full of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncivilized purpose to be. So, Harvey did something undoubtedly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Beach papers in regard to women 18 – 30 years of adulthood, interesting, educated, and decent. Harvey offered flat and board, free trail passage, and wages of $17.50 per month. No trial necessary. Harvey wanted to train them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the up to the minute nineteenth century, opportunities by reason of women were completely limited. The at most proper positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or factory workers. Not only was being a Harvey woman an opportunity to make great shekels, it was an possibility by reason of adventure. But being a Harvey bit of skirt was not easy.
The standards delay aside Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were understood a 6, 9, or 12 month undertake during which perpetually they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized past half of their wages and give up their travel privileges. The dormitories were exact, with a house mum overseeing the girls and a curfew of 10 pm every night. If you hard up curfew 3 times, you were summarily fired and sent home. The training course of action was a grueling 30 days of wisdom rigid cleanliness, grooming and board armed forces without pay. The training interval was difficult and stressful, but innumerable women spoke of how the involvement gave them self-assurance and poise.
They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the line schedule, timing was incredibly important. When the string arrived in the site, the foremost course was already on the table. One skirt came thoroughly and took tipple orders as another was conservative behind her pouring. A way of coffee cup emplacement was the opener to communication. As the senior line was being cleared, a manager would come in with trays of biting entrees which would be served around the girls. Bounteous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains alone stopped to go to 30 minutes and Harvey provided a ladylike, appetizing dining encounter on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a indicator to success. If they weren’t busy, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their post, polishing polished or nerve, folding napkins or dusting. In spite of the dust and sludge of the West, Harvey Houses were known after their pure tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be well-groomed, spotless and ironed. If they got dirty during a scrape by, they were expected to exchange uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was ground on dismissal. Harvey himself would make disconcert inspections and closely act a stainless glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would sample to allure away the chef anytime he had a excellent meal. He paid his people well and believed in the most quality ingredients. The chefs had the officials to forge their own menus and expend handsomely for supplies and produce. Not unequal to prodigious restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the original acceptance and the a- sell of provisions and fresh vegetables. Thus, they had the ability to purvey diners with first extraction meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Myriad women started at liberty as a waitress, became pre-eminent waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized respect and respectability was in the respect he chose during his stay staff. His girls were not under any condition referred to as waitresses. Moderately, they were known through and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant poise, aspect, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they equip a benefit to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and absolute composure, they became the prevalent of comity and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did find alliance and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would obtain been unresolvable stand behind East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to develop professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they build themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Stress Management.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its peak, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most successful in the country, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing tool and stand for to become the largest commuter following band in the Harmonious States. During both World Wars, the Harvey Descendants was of service in providing meals to the troops being moved across the country on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Weighty Melancholy led to the demise of the empire. Fair dining and civility in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.