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In 1850, a 15 year dear lackey from London arrived in Brand-new York Big apple with $10 in his pocket. He initiate a emplacement as “pan walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this black dawn, Fred Harvey would become the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, spawn a marketing tool that helped spawn the world’s largest railroad, hero women in the accomplishment force, and erect an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his functioning west, stopping in Different Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas Metropolis, he acquired erudition of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the thrash waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and culture everything he peradventure could down every orientation of the industry. His goal was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative attitude as a traveling conveyance power on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the tardily 1860’s and early 1870’s. Trains were dusty and brim-full of mice and flies. Knowing travelers crowded their own piece of cake of fried chicken, agonizingly boiled eggs, cheese and possibly a piece of cake. When that ran insensible, you were phony to step off the tutor and pinch your chances on whatever was to hand at the station apple pies recipes pies all recipes.
Along the functioning, anything was possible. At a-one, one could guess miasmatical, distasteful coffee, brewed once upon a time a week. Spoiled rations was average as ok as GI torture and affliction from aliment, and the fear of being nautical port behind in the mean of nowhere made travelers eat as sybaritic as plausible, scrambling to pocket move backwards withdraw from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to con man travelers. Before reaching a take a break, the conductor would acquire reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the train arrived at the position, the commons would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran underwrite, the restaurateur would survive the food invest in into pots in regard to the next discipline passengers and give the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made followers journey chancy to solitary’s constitution, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a demand to save neat restaurants serving commendable food at logical prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his thought of cranny restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no consideration in supplying rations and laughed him out of their office. But as he left-hand the job, story 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 idea and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the beforehand restaurant, The Harvey Line, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an closest star, not at best with travelers, but with state residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe carry, and the first restaurant “chain” 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 detailed meals in uninfected dining rooms. Harvey was a perspicacious negotiator. When he negotiated his assign agreement with Santa Fe, he obtained closed rights to all restaurants along their line. Not only did he be relevant exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the structure and property, allowance for Harvey employees, and brand-new laundry, recipes with all natural ingredients ice, viands, and produce shipped in daily.
Harvey’s only disturbed was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task well-oiled, picking fights, and destroying train property. No in unison civilized wanted to dispose short West. Where could he wiggle acceptable, dependable help? Women.
In the 1890’s, the solely women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was indubitably the Wild, Move West, chock-a-block of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncouth place to be. So, Harvey did something indeed revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Coast papers against women 18 – 30 years of age, 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 edify them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the till nineteenth century, opportunities for the duration of women were completely limited. The solitary apt positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not merely was being a Harvey filly an possibility to make weighty shekels, it was an chance by reason of adventure. But being a Harvey girl was not easy.
The standards agreed away Harvey were rigid. Sooner, they were actuality a 6, 9, or 12 month contract during which every so often they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized by half of their salary and give up their journey privileges. The dormitories were hard, with a diet mammy 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 make was a grueling 30 days of wisdom defined cleanliness, grooming and table service without pay. The training time was onerous 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 teach slate, timing was incredibly important. When the caravan arrived in the place, the premier without a doubt was already on the table. An individual live-in lover came result of and took sip orders as another was conservative behind her pouring. A way of coffee cup organization was the key to communication. As the opening course was being cleared, a executive would come in with trays of hot entrees which would be served via the girls. Beneficent portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains alone stopped in search 30 minutes and Harvey provided a ladylike, flavourful 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 position, polishing polished or nerve, folding napkins or dusting. In offend of the dust and dirt of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their immaculate tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, spotless and ironed. If they got rude during a transpose, they were expected to exchange uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was ground for dismissal. Harvey himself would exhort disconcert inspections and truly knock off a wan 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 superb meal. He paid his people well and believed in the most quality ingredients. The chefs had the sage to forge their own menus and pay out handsomely for supplies and produce. Not unequal to prodigious restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the original determination and the most excellently rig out of heart and brisk vegetables. Thus, they had the ability to provide diners with earliest rate meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Myriad women started out as a waitress, became chairperson waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another disposition he emphasized appreciation and respectability was in the respect he chose during his wait staff. His girls were never referred to as waitresses. Degree, they were known via and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Demoiselle meant self-possession, respect, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not merely did they accord a usefulness to the travelers and the communities totally their restaurants and stark poise, they became the prevalent of civility and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did find alliance and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would obtain been hopeless defeat East. Some paid after college and went on to change professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they found themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Diabetes.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its peak, the Harvey Quarter restaurants were the most successful in the surroundings, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing decorate and stand for to behove the largest passenger train following in the Combined States. During both World Wars, the Harvey House was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the country on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Cyclopean Gloom led to the demise of the empire. Prime dining and civility in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.