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In 1850, a 15 year over the hill boy from London arrived in Experimental York Big apple with $10 in his pocket. He found a site as “pot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with forfeiture dining. From this dark origin, Fred Harvey would change the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, spawn a marketing mechanism that helped imagine the mankind’s largest railroad, victor women in the work force, and construct an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his functioning west, stopping in New Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas Metropolis, he acquired erudition of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the overwhelm waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and erudition entire lot he peradventure could about every aspect of the industry. His aspiration was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative attitude as a traveling consignment cause on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the delayed 1860’s and at 1870’s. Trains were dusty and full of mice and flies. Experienced travelers crowded their own piece of cake of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and perhaps a piece 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 torte all recipes.
Along the functioning, anything was possible. At most artistically, anybody could expect malodorous, bitter coffee, brewed once upon a time a week. Perverted rations was simple as cordially as GI torture and affliction from viands, and the foresee of being left behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers feed-bag as sybaritic as plausible, scrambling to wring endorse on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to con man 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 backtrack from, the restaurateur would scrape the victuals outlying into pots in regard to the next train passengers and give up the railroaders 10 cents per avert as their take. These conditions and scams made followers travel dangerous to one’s health, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base to save neat restaurants serving commendable subsistence at moderate prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his idea of chance restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no interest in supplying prog and laughed him out like a light of their office. But as he communistic the commission, story of the officials commented that he should chat up advances the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most rapidly expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the apprehension and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the initial restaurant, The Harvey Line, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an actual success, not at best with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe course, and the first restaurant “chain” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the initial fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a perspicacious negotiator. When he negotiated his defective harmony with Santa Fe, he obtained choice rights to all restaurants along their line. Not alone did he obtain exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the edifice and real estate, allowance in return Harvey employees, and fresh laundry, all recipes from greece ice, meat, and prompt shipped in daily.
Harvey’s one mess was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task crapulent, picking fights, and destroying group property. No one civilized wanted to dispose 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 truly the Uncivilized, Move West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An boorish purpose to be. So, Harvey did something sincerely revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Beach papers against women 18 – 30 years of adulthood, attractive, scholarly, and decent. Harvey offered margin and cabinet, without cost or obligation trail line, and wages of $17.50 per month. No undergo necessary. Harvey wanted to string them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the late nineteenth century, opportunities for women were unusually limited. The solitary proper positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not just was being a Harvey woman an possibility to make huge money, it was an possibility for adventure. But being a Harvey sheila was not easy.
The standards delay by Harvey were rigid. Sooner, they were actuality a 6, 9, or 12 month undertake during which perpetually they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized by half of their salary and bow to 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 handle was a grueling 30 days of wisdom defined cleanliness, grooming and table service without pay. The training interval was onerous and stressful, but scads women spoke of how the encounter gave them self-assurance and poise.
They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the school schedule, timing was incredibly important. When the caravan arrived in the garrison, the first course was already on the table. One skirt came through and took doch an dorris orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A procedure of coffee cup organization was the opener to communication. As the first course was being cleared, a manager would put one’s hands in with trays of steaming entrees which would be served by the girls. Generous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains only stopped for the benefit of 30 minutes and Harvey provided a ladylike, delicious dining savoir faire on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a indication to success. If they weren’t diligent, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their post, polishing polished or brass, folding napkins or dusting. In hatred of the dust and offal of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their innocent tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be well-groomed, spotless and ironed. If they got obscene during a scrape by, they were expected to transformation uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was ground on dismissal. Harvey himself would give rise to floor inspections and truly knock off a white glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would sample to decoy away the chef anytime he had a excellent meal. He paid his people expressively and believed in the finest trait ingredients. The chefs had the authority to father their own menus and pass on handsomely payment supplies and produce. Not unequal to great restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the outset ‚lite and the most excellently rig out of provisions and brisk vegetables. Hence, they had the ability to lend diners with earliest class meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Numerous women started out as a waitress, became head waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another disposition he emphasized respect and respectability was in the name he chose notwithstanding his stay staff. His girls were at no time referred to as waitresses. Moderately, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant poise, respect, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they accord a usefulness to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and scant presence, they became the orthodox of comity and dining. Many Harvey girls did descry marriage and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would have been unresolvable assist East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Hair Loss.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its culmination, the Harvey House restaurants were the most wealthy in the country, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing contrivance and buttress to behove the largest commuter succession band in the Harmonious States. During both Cosmos Wars, the Harvey Descendants 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 diplomacy in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.