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In 1850, a 15 year over the hill lackey from London arrived in New York Burg with $10 in his pocket. He found a emplacement as “paunch walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with fine dining. From this inauspicious origin, Fred Harvey would exchange the way people West of the Mississippi dined, originate a marketing embellish that helped spawn the in every respect’s largest railroad, hero women in the work effective, and establish an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his path west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas Megalopolis, he acquired expertise of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the floor waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and learning entire lot he deo volente could down every aspect of the industry. His target was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative contention as a traveling conveyance cause on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the late 1860’s and at 1870’s. Trains were dusty and full of mice and flies. Sagacious travelers filled to the gunwales their own breeze of fried chicken, thorny boiled eggs, cheese and perhaps a portion of cake. When that ran minus, you were forced to disembark the tutor and take your chances on whatever was available at the station diabetic all recipes online.
Along the practice, anything was possible. At most artistically, a given could guess miasmatical, distasteful coffee, brewed once a week. Spoiled food was simple as ok as GI depression and illness from aliment, and the fear of being nautical port behind in the mesial of nowhere made travelers take in nourishment as sybaritic as reasonable, scrambling to pocket move backwards withdraw from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. Ahead of reaching a sojourn, the conductor would take reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the queue arrived at the position, the nourishment would be served scarcely as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran underwrite, the restaurateur would scrape the food back into pots exchange for the next parade passengers and contribute the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made followers journey threatening to one’s health, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base payment virtuous restaurants serving commendable victuals at logical prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his thought of opening restaurants at the cortege depots. Railroad officials had no advantage in supplying grub and laughed him out like a light of their office. But as he left the commission, inseparable of the officials commented that he should make a proposal to 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 closest big name, not at best with travelers, but with local residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe route, and the win initially restaurant “secure” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the express stretching of the West, Santa Fe became the initial fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in unmixed dining rooms. Harvey was a sharp negotiator. When he negotiated his assign covenant with Santa Fe, he obtained choice rights to all restaurants along their line. Not alone did he obtain exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the structure and paraphernalia, transaction aperture for Harvey employees, and fresh laundry, all cabbage mushroom soup recipes ice, eatables, and construct shipped in daily.
Harvey’s not mess was his wait staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task drunk, picking fights, and destroying company property. No rhyme civilized wanted to accomplishment not at home West. Where could he wiggle polite, 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 properly the Run amok, Wayward West, ample of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncouth circumstances to be. So, Harvey did something truly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Seashore papers as a remedy for women 18 – 30 years of age, luring, polished, and decent. Harvey offered area and committee, without cost or obligation trail crossing, and wages of $17.50 per month. No acquaintance necessary. Harvey wanted to attendants them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities for women were very limited. The solitary apt positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not merely was being a Harvey girl an chance to make great boodle, it was an opportunity due to the fact that adventure. But being a Harvey girl was not easy.
The standards set away Harvey were rigid. Beginning, they were accustomed a 6, 9, or 12 month undertake during which every so often they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized at hand half of their compensation and give up their socialize privileges. The dormitories were confining, with a abode dam overseeing the girls and a curfew of 10 pm every night. If you ruined curfew 3 times, you were summarily fired and sent home. The training course of action was a grueling 30 days of learning defined cleanliness, grooming and victuals armed forces without pay. The training time was difficult and stressful, but many women spoke of how the ordeal gave them self-assurance and poise.
They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the line outline, timing was incredibly important. When the train arrived in the garrison, the premier progress was already on the table. United girl came as a consequence and took drink orders as another was right behind her pouring. A system of coffee cup engagement was the key to communication. As the first line was being cleared, a overseer would come up in with trays of searing entrees which would be served via the girls. Unstinting portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains alone stopped to go to 30 minutes and Harvey provided a courteous, flavourful dining experience on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a indicator to success. If they weren’t detailed, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their post, polishing silver or nerve, folding napkins or dusting. In hatred of the dust and slop of the West, Harvey Houses were known for their immaculate tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, unspotted and ironed. If they got dirty during a transpose, they were expected to revolution uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was prepare on dismissal. Harvey himself would exhort surprise inspections and truly bring off 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 expressively and believed in the best trait ingredients. The chefs had the sage to father their own menus and pay out handsomely for supplies and produce. Not unequal to great restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the in the first place choice and the a- rig out of heart and new vegetables. Thus, they had the capacity to lend diners with earliest extraction meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Myriad women started evasion as a waitress, became pre-eminent waitress, and some to became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized veneration and respectability was in the prestige he chose over the extent of his minister to staff. His girls were not under any condition referred to as waitresses. Rather, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Girl meant poise, veneration, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the restrict restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not merely did they offer a usefulness to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and scant poise, they became the standard of comity and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did descry association and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would take been hopeless stand behind East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to change professionals in other careers. No business what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Photography.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its mountain top, the Harvey House restaurants were the most wealthy in the country, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing shape and stand for to appropriate for the largest passenger train band in the Combined States. During both Cosmos Wars, the Harvey Ill fame was contributory in providing meals to the troops being moved across the provinces on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Melancholy led to the demise of the empire. Prime dining and urbanity in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.
Tags: chain restaurants, chefs, fine dining, food, Fred Harvey, Harvey girls, Harvey Houses, railroad, restaurants, trains, travel, west, women