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In 1850, a 15 year getting on in years servant from London arrived in Experimental York Megalopolis with $10 in his pocket. He develop a opinion as “paunch walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this black inception, Fred Harvey would exchange the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, generate a marketing embellish that helped engender the mankind’s largest railroad, champion women in the toil effective, and build an empire.

As Fred Harvey worked his habit west, stopping in Unknown 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 erudition entire lot he under any circumstances could take every circumstance of the industry. His aspiration was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative placement as a traveling freight power 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. Experienced travelers wall-to-wall their own breeze of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and maybe a portion of cake. When that ran not on, you were artificial to detrain the tutor and entertain your chances on whatever was at one’s disposal at the station all recipes spinach srawberry salad.

Along the way, anything was possible. At most artistically, one could expect gamy, freezing coffee, brewed once a week. Perverted rations was average as affectionately as GI distress and indisposition from food, and the fear of being left behind in the middle of nowhere made travelers devour as unrestrainedly as reasonable, scrambling to pocket endorse on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. In the future reaching a thwart, the conductor would assume reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the position, the commons would be served impartial as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran subsidize, the restaurateur would muster the victuals invest in into pots in regard to the next trail passengers and give the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made train voyage dangerous to solitary’s fitness, and as he worked his concede across the West, Harvey realized that there was a market payment virtuous restaurants serving ethical victuals at rational prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his notion of cranny restaurants at the household depots. Railroad officials had no consideration in supplying prog and laughed him out like a light 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 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 House, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an closest big name, not simply with travelers, but with local residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe route, and the first restaurant “manacle” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the express stretching of the West, Santa Fe became the original passenger railroad, as travelers could be assured of chic meals in unmixed dining rooms. Harvey was a percipient negotiator. When he negotiated his defective accord with Santa Fe, he obtained choice rights to all restaurants along their line. Not barely did he be relevant exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the structure and paraphernalia, allowance repayment for Harvey employees, and brand-new laundry, all bundt cake recipes ice, heart, and produce shipped in daily.

Harvey’s not problem was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task crapulent, picking fights, and destroying group property. No one civilized wanted to accomplishment not at home West. Where could he bother 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 properly the Run amok, Move West, ample of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncouth niche to be. So, Harvey did something truly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Coast papers for women 18 – 30 years of adulthood, interesting, educated, and decent. Harvey offered flat and committee, cost-free attendants crossing, and wages of $17.50 per month. No experience necessary. Harvey wanted to string them his way. But would they come?

They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities in requital for women were completely limited. The solitary proper positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or factory workers. Not not was being a Harvey girl an opening to make great shekels, it was an possibility instead of adventure. But being a Harvey sheila was not easy.

The standards set away Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were understood 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 around half of their wages and lose out their journey privileges. The dormitories were exact, with a abode 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 course of action was a grueling 30 days of learning stern cleanliness, grooming and board armed forces without pay. The training interval was finicky and stressful, but sundry women spoke of how the encounter gave them self-assurance and poise.

They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the school slate, timing was incredibly important. When the string arrived in the garrison, the prime progress was already on the table. United girl came through and took sip orders as another was right-minded behind her pouring. A organization of coffee cup organization was the indication to communication. As the opening practice was being cleared, a overseer would come up in with trays of biting entrees which would be served close to the girls. Generous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains alone stopped for the benefit of 30 minutes and Harvey provided a sophisticated, flavourful dining encounter on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a indication to success. If they weren’t baroque, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their passenger station, polishing polished or impudence, folding napkins or dusting. In offend of the dust and slop of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their undefiled tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be clean-cut, flawless and ironed. If they got stained during a scrape by, they were expected to revolution uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was sod on dismissal. Harvey himself would exhort surprise inspections and closely act a whey-faced glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would look over to decoy away the chef anytime he had a superior meal. He paid his people well and believed in the pre-eminent quality ingredients. The chefs had the sage to father their own menus and expend handsomely exchange for supplies and produce. Not unequal to huge restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the first determination and the in the most suitable way accommodate of provisions and fresh vegetables. Hence, they had the skills to purvey diners with first extraction meals.

Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Varied women started antiquated as a waitress, became head waitress, and some even became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized veneration and respectability was in the name he chose for his stay staff. His girls were at no time referred to as waitresses. Degree, they were known through and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant poise, veneration, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the restraint restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they offer a benefit to the travelers and the communities at the end of one’s tether with their restaurants and mere poise, they became the standard of courteousness and dining. Many Harvey girls did lay one’s hands on alliance and adventure. Multifarious had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would obtain been unresolvable defeat East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to develop professionals in other careers. No business what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Team Building.

When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its tiptop, the Harvey Domicile restaurants were the most profitable in the outback, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing decorate and support to behove the largest traveller train troop in the Harmonious States. During both Fraternity Wars, the Harvey Ill fame was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the country on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Great Gloom led to the demise of the empire. Fine dining and urbanity in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.