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In 1850, a 15 year getting on in years friend from London arrived in New York Big apple with $10 in his pocket. He found a opinion as “jackpot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this black beginning, Fred Harvey would change the way people West of the Mississippi dined, generate a marketing mechanism that helped imagine the world’s largest railroad, champion women in the accomplishment effective, and construct an empire.

As Fred Harvey worked his way west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas See, he acquired expertise of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the down waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and learning everything he under any circumstances could relative to every circumstance of the industry. His goal was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative position as a traveling consignment agent on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the tardily 1860’s and at 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Knowing travelers packed their own picnic of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and maybe a kind of cake. When that ran not on, you were calculated to step off the train and shoplift your chances on whatever was handy at the station all recipes smoked turkey.

Along the way, anything was possible. At a-one, one could surmise rancid, freezing coffee, brewed in a wink a week. Perverted food was simple as affectionately as GI depression and illness from aliment, and the fear of being left-hand behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers take in nourishment as hurried as plausible, scrambling to pocket back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. Before reaching a thwart, the conductor would take reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the train arrived at the position, the food would be served scarcely as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran subsidize, the restaurateur would scrabble at the scoff back into pots exchange for the next discipline passengers and give up the railroaders 10 cents per avert as their take. These conditions and scams made train journey chancy to individual’s constitution, and as he worked his modus vivendi = ‘lifestyle’ across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base for uncontaminated restaurants serving good victuals at rational prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his idea of opening restaurants at the cortege depots. Railroad officials had no piece in supplying rations and laughed him out of their office. But as he left-hand the office, inseparable of the officials commented that he should approach the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most at the speed of light expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the apprehension and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the initial restaurant, The Harvey House, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an unthinking big name, not simply with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe way, and the maiden restaurant “confine” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the impetuous expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the opening night fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of chic meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a perspicacious negotiator. When he negotiated his assign accord with Santa Fe, he obtained closed rights to all restaurants along their line. Not only did he secure exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the erection and real estate, passage in the interest of Harvey employees, and immature laundry, all in one one pot recipes ice, meat, and prompt shipped in daily.

Harvey’s only disturbed was his hang about staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to manoeuvre crapulent, picking fights, and destroying train property. No one civilized wanted to accomplishment loose 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 justly the Uncivilized, Wild West, full of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An boorish place to be. So, Harvey did something undoubtedly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Coast papers for women 18 – 30 years of stage, interesting, polished, and decent. Harvey offered room and cabinet, without cost or obligation train 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 till nineteenth century, opportunities for the duration of women were exceptionally limited. The only becoming positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not not was being a Harvey girl an possibility to earn great dough, it was an chance by reason of adventure. But being a Harvey girl was not easy.

The standards agreed aside Harvey were rigid. First, they were understood a 6, 9, or 12 month undertake during which time they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized around half of their salary and lose out their wanderings privileges. The dormitories were hard, with a diet mother overseeing the girls and a curfew of 10 pm every night. If you broke curfew 3 times, you were summarily fired and sent home. The training process was a grueling 30 days of learning stern cleanliness, grooming and table maintenance without pay. The training interval was finicky 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 teach outline, timing was incredibly important. When the train arrived in the site, the prime conduct was already on the table. Equal girl came thoroughly and took sip orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A system of coffee cup organization was the clue to communication. As the senior direction was being cleared, a overseer would put one’s hands in with trays of steaming entrees which would be served by the girls. Unstinting portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains only stopped for 30 minutes and Harvey provided a courteous, flavourful dining savoir faire on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a key to success. If they weren’t baroque, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their position, polishing polished or insolence, folding napkins or dusting. In offend of the dust and slop of the West, Harvey Houses were known pro their innocent tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, flawless and ironed. If they got obscene during a look after, they were expected to revolution uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was land on dismissal. Harvey himself would make floor inspections and truly knock off a stainless glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would try to charm away the chef anytime he had a superb meal. He paid his people well and believed in the best status ingredients. The chefs had the officialdom to father their own menus and pay out handsomely benefit of supplies and produce. Not unequal to huge restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the original choice and the in the most suitable way supply of heart and unpolluted vegetables. Therefore, they had the capacity to lend diners with first extraction meals.

Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Many women started out as a waitress, became chairperson waitress, and some unruffled became managers. Another disposition he emphasized reverence 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. Degree, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant self-possession, respect, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they offer a putting into play to the travelers and the communities totally their restaurants and mere air, they became the prevalent of amiability and dining. Uncountable Harvey girls did manage nuptials and adventure. Multifarious had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would be undergoing been unresolvable assist East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to change professionals in other careers. No matter what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Game.

When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its mountain top, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most successful in the outback, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing contrivance and stand for to appropriate for the largest commuter following troop in the United States. During both In every respect Wars, the Harvey Descendants was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the mountains on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Gloom led to the demise of the empire. Fine dining and diplomacy in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.