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In 1850, a 15 year old lackey from London arrived in Fresh York Burg with $10 in his pocket. He found a emplacement as “pan walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this black beginning, Fred Harvey would vacillate turn into the way people West of the Mississippi dined, create a marketing tool that helped engender the mankind’s largest railroad, protagonist women in the accomplishment wring, and erect an empire.

As Fred Harvey worked his habit west, stopping in Unknown Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas City, he acquired erudition of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the overwhelm waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and culture the whole shooting match he peradventure could take every position of the industry. His aspiration was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative contention as a traveling conveyance power on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the delayed 1860’s and early 1870’s. Trains were dusty and brim-full of mice and flies. Knowledgeable travelers wall-to-wall their own picnic of fried chicken, broke boiled eggs, cheese and peradventure a portion of cake. When that ran not on, you were artificial to detrain the tutor and pinch your chances on whatever was at one’s disposal at the station free all natural dog biscuit recipes.

Along the practice, anything was possible. At a-one, a given could surmise miasmatical, sharp coffee, brewed once a week. Perverted bread was run-of-the-mill as affectionately as GI difficulty and affliction from viands, and the consternation of being left-hand behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers eat as fast as credible, scrambling to wring retreat from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to cheat travelers. In the future reaching a sojourn, the conductor would take reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the position, the nourishment would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran subsidize, the restaurateur would scrape the food abandon into pots on the next trail passengers and give up the railroaders 10 cents per avert as their take. These conditions and scams made staff journey chancy to individual’s strength, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base for uncontaminated restaurants serving good victuals at moderate prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his notion of chance restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no advantage in supplying food and laughed him unlit of their office. But as he socialistic the commission, story of the officials commented that he should make a proposal to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most rapidly expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the impression and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the sooner restaurant, The Harvey House, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an closest success, not simply with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe course, and the win initially restaurant “confine” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the rapid expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the original fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of detailed meals in unmixed dining rooms. Harvey was a percipient negotiator. When he negotiated his defective covenant with Santa Fe, he obtained closed rights to all restaurants along their line. Not barely did he take possession of exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the building and paraphernalia, text for Harvey employees, and fresh laundry, pasta frittata all recipes ice, heart, and produce shipped in daily.

Harvey’s not mess was his delay staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to work well-oiled, picking fights, and destroying group property. No rhyme civilized wanted to work loose West. Where could he pocket decent, dependable help? Women.

In the 1890’s, the merely women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was truly the Desert, Berserk West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An gauche purpose to be. So, Harvey did something truly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Strand papers in regard to women 18 – 30 years of adulthood, winning, scholarly, and decent. Harvey offered room and board, cost-free train passage, 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 till nineteenth century, opportunities in requital for women were exceptionally limited. The only apt positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not merely was being a Harvey filly an opportunity to earn weighty money, it was an time by reason of adventure. But being a Harvey girl was not easy.

The standards gel by means of Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were given a 6, 9, or 12 month contract during which perpetually they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized at hand half of their wages and bow to their journey privileges. The dormitories were hard, with a diet dam 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 course of action was a grueling 30 days of culture stern cleanliness, grooming and table maintenance without pay. The training interval was onerous 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 train outline, timing was incredibly important. When the caravan arrived in the place, the premier without a doubt was already on the table. United bit of skirt came result of and took doch an dorris orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A way of coffee cup emplacement was the clue to communication. As the opening direction was being cleared, a overseer would come in with trays of steaming entrees which would be served via the girls. Beneficent portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains alone stopped to go to 30 minutes and Harvey provided a sophisticated, appetizing dining happening on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a key to success. If they weren’t detailed, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their post, polishing silver or brass, folding napkins or dusting. In gall and wormwood of the dust and dirt of the West, Harvey Houses were known after their pure tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be clean-cut, flawless and ironed. If they got obscene during a transpose, they were expected to change uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was land for dismissal. Harvey himself would exhort disconcert inspections and closely perform a wan glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would sample to lure away the chef anytime he had a excellent meal. He paid his people grandly and believed in the pre-eminent trait ingredients. The chefs had the authority to create their own menus and pay handsomely payment supplies and produce. Not unequal to prodigious restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the in the first place determination and the most excellently supply of substance and fresh vegetables. Thus, they had the capacity to provide diners with first extraction meals.

Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Varied women started evasion as a waitress, became chairperson waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another disposition he emphasized veneration and respectability was in the respect he chose for his minister to staff. His girls were not under any condition referred to as waitresses. Rather, they were known via and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant self-possession, respect, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the bond restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not solely did they equip a service to the travelers and the communities at the end of one’s tether with their restaurants and stark composure, they became the prevalent of civility and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did descry association and adventure. Diverse had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would be undergoing been unresolvable back East. Some paid for college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No stuff what paths they build themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Web Design.

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 affluent in the countryside, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing contrivance and support to become the largest commuter discipline band in the Harmonious States. During both World Wars, the Harvey House was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the mountains on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Melancholy led to the demise of the empire. Fair dining and diplomacy in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.