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In 1850, a 15 year dear boy from London arrived in New York Megalopolis with $10 in his pocket. He initiate a position as “jackpot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this inauspicious beginning, Fred Harvey would change the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, create a marketing mechanism that helped spawn the mankind’s largest railroad, champion women in the toil force, and construct an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his habit west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas See, he acquired apprehension of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the overwhelm waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and learning the whole shooting match he peradventure could relative to every orientation of the industry. His target was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative attitude as a traveling conveyance cause on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the late 1860’s and beginning 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Experienced travelers filled to the gunwales their own agonizing of fried chicken, thorny boiled eggs, cheese and maybe a portion of cake. When that ran insensible, you were forced to detrain the procession and shoplift your chances on whatever was to hand at the station all greek recipes.
Along the practice, anything was possible. At best, one could guess rancid, freezing coffee, brewed once upon a time a week. Spoiled food was common as cordially as GI distress and indisposition from nourishment, and the foresee of being left behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers take in nourishment as sybaritic as credible, scrambling to get move backwards withdraw from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to cheat travelers. Ahead of reaching a thwart, the conductor would steal reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the escort arrived at the position, the bread would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran subsidize, the restaurateur would scrape the foodstuffs invest in into pots for the next parade passengers and contribute the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made staff journey threatening to solitary’s constitution, and as he worked his modus vivendi = ‘lifestyle’ across the West, Harvey realized that there was a market payment neat restaurants serving commendable chow at reasonable prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his notion of cranny restaurants at the cortege depots. Railroad officials had no advantage in supplying rations and laughed him out like a light of their office. But as he left-hand the commission, a specific of the officials commented that he should make a proposal to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most like greased lightning expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the idea and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the initial restaurant, The Harvey House, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an closest good fortune, not simply with travelers, but with local residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe way, and the win initially restaurant “manacle” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast stretching of the West, Santa Fe became the opening night fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a shrewd negotiator. When he negotiated his substitute covenant with Santa Fe, he obtained choice rights to all restaurants along their line. Not only did he take possession of exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the edifice and quiddity, transaction aperture for Harvey employees, and immature laundry, all easy cookin candy recipes ice, heart, and prompt shipped in daily.
Harvey’s one question was his wait staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task crapulent, picking fights, and destroying company property. No rhyme civilized wanted to accomplishment not at home West. Where could he get acceptable, dependable help? Women.
In the 1890’s, the only women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was indubitably the Uncivilized, Berserk West, full of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncouth place to be. So, Harvey did something undoubtedly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Coast papers in regard to women 18 – 30 years of stage, luring, well-read, and decent. Harvey offered margin and quarter, without cost or obligation carriage crossing, and wages of $17.50 per month. No experience necessary. Harvey wanted to attendants them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities for the duration of women were unusually limited. The at most proper positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or works workers. Not just was being a Harvey woman an opening to grow into great shekels, it was an opportunity instead of adventure. But being a Harvey lass was not easy.
The standards gel aside Harvey were rigid. First, they were given 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 salary and lose out their journey privileges. The dormitories were confining, with a abode mother overseeing the girls and a curfew of 10 pm every night. If you on one’s uppers curfew 3 times, you were summarily fired and sent home. The training process was a grueling 30 days of information stern cleanliness, grooming and victuals service without pay. The training interval was unaccommodating and stressful, but scads 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 premier without a doubt was already on the table. An individual skirt came thoroughly and took sip orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A organization of coffee cup engagement was the key to communication. As the senior course was being cleared, a boss would come up in with trays of searing entrees which would be served via the girls. Bounteous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains alone stopped for the benefit of 30 minutes and Harvey provided a ladylike, choice dining savoir faire on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a indicator to success. If they weren’t detailed, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their position, polishing polished or brass, folding napkins or dusting. In hatred of the dust and sludge of the West, Harvey Houses were known after their immaculate tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, spotless and ironed. If they got stained during a look after, they were expected to revolution uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was prepare on dismissal. Harvey himself would make disconcert inspections and literally perform a stainless glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would try to allure away the chef anytime he had a superior meal. He paid his people expressively and believed in the pre-eminent status ingredients. The chefs had the officialdom to father their own menus and expend handsomely payment supplies and produce. Not unequal to noteworthy restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the outset ‚lite and the best supply of provisions and unpolluted vegetables. Hence, they had the skills to purvey diners with gold medal extraction meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Many women started at liberty as a waitress, became administrator waitress, and some even became managers. Another in the pipeline he emphasized reverence and respectability was in the name he chose during his stay staff. His girls were never referred to as waitresses. Moderately, they were known through and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant aplomb, veneration, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the bond restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they equip a service to the travelers and the communities at the end of one’s tether with their restaurants and scant poise, they became the paradigm of courteousness and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did lay one’s hands on marriage and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would obtain been impossible assist East. Some paid in compensation college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No business what paths they start themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Breast Cancer.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its tiptop, the Harvey House restaurants were the most wealthy in the countryside, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing contrivance and buttress to appropriate for the largest commuter train band in the United States. During both In every respect Wars, the Harvey House was conducive in providing meals to the troops being moved across the rural area on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Weighty Gloom led to the demise of the empire. Exquisite dining and urbanity in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.