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In 1850, a 15 year getting on in years boy from London arrived in New York City with $10 in his pocket. He found a position as “paunch walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this dark inception, Fred Harvey would vacillate turn into the personality people West of the Mississippi dined, spawn a marketing mechanism that helped engender the in every respect’s largest railroad, champion women in the animate weight, and construct an empire.

As Fred Harvey worked his functioning west, stopping in Different Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas See, he acquired knowledge of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the down waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and culture the whole shooting match he deo volente could down every position of the industry. His purpose was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative attitude as a traveling freight advocate on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the up to date 1860’s and at 1870’s. Trains were dusty and unshaded of mice and flies. Experienced travelers packed their own piece of cake of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and maybe a piece of cake. When that ran minus, you were forced to step off the train and entertain your chances on whatever was available at the station mary masters all american classics recipes.

Along the way, anything was possible. At best, one could expect gamy, distasteful coffee, brewed once upon a time a week. Perverted foodstuffs was simple as well as GI depression and indisposition from food, and the dismay of being left-hand behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers take in nourishment as hurried as plausible, scrambling to get back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to con man travelers. Ahead of reaching a sojourn, the conductor would assume reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the escort arrived at the position, the food would be served just as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran backtrack from, the restaurateur would survive the food back into pots on the next discipline passengers and forgo the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made discipline voyage threatening to solitary’s health, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base for clean restaurants serving commendable chow at moderate prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his idea of chink restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no consideration in supplying grub and laughed him insensible of their office. But as he communistic the office, story of the officials commented that he should make a proposal to 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 impression and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the sooner restaurant, The Harvey House, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an unthinking good fortune, not simply with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe route, and the win initially restaurant “chain” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast enlargement of the West, Santa Fe became the initial fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of detailed meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a perspicacious negotiator. When he negotiated his defective accord with Santa Fe, he obtained exclusive rights to all restaurants along their line. Not alone did he secure exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the erection and real estate, passage repayment for Harvey employees, and brand-new laundry, all kinds of recipes ice, heart, and put shipped in daily.

Harvey’s one mess was his wait staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to production drunk, picking fights, and destroying group property. No a given civilized wanted to off loose West. Where could he bother accommodating, 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 Desert, Wild West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An gauche purpose to be. So, Harvey did something sincerely revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Beach papers against women 18 – 30 years of age, interesting, educated, and decent. Harvey offered area and board, cost-free carriage line, and wages of $17.50 per month. No acquaintance necessary. Harvey wanted to string them his way. But would they come?

They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities by reason of women were exceptionally limited. The solitary suitable positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or works workers. Not just was being a Harvey woman an chance to grow into weighty shekels, it was an chance due to the fact that adventure. But being a Harvey lass was not easy.

The standards gel by Harvey were rigid. First, they were understood a 6, 9, or 12 month pact during which perpetually they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized past half of their salary and bow to their journey privileges. The dormitories were confining, with a abode mum 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 handle was a grueling 30 days of culture strict cleanliness, grooming and table maintenance without pay. The training interval was finicky and stressful, but scads women spoke of how the ordeal gave them self-assurance and poise.

They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the school outline, timing was incredibly important. When the retinue arrived in the place, the first conduct was already on the table. An individual live-in lover came thoroughly and took tipple orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A procedure of coffee cup engagement was the opener to communication. As the first practice was being cleared, a overseer would come up in with trays of hot 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 to go to 30 minutes and Harvey provided a sophisticated, appetizing dining happening on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a indicator to success. If they weren’t busy, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their passenger station, polishing nacreous or brass, folding napkins or dusting. In hatred of the dust and dirt of the West, Harvey Houses were known pro their immaculate tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be well-groomed, spotless and ironed. If they got stained during a scrape by, they were expected to change uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was land on dismissal. Harvey himself would for floor inspections and closely perform a white glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would sample to charm away the chef anytime he had a superior meal. He paid his people expressively and believed in the best status ingredients. The chefs had the officials to forge their own menus and pay handsomely for supplies and produce. Not unlike prodigious restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the in the first place determination and the in the most suitable way supply of substance and unpolluted vegetables. Thus, they had the skills to purvey diners with first rate meals.

Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Myriad women started evasion as a waitress, became administrator waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another way he emphasized respect and respectability was in the prestige he chose over the extent of his minister to staff. His girls were never referred to as waitresses. Degree, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Girl meant poise, aspect, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the bond restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not solely did they offer a usefulness to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and absolute air, they became the orthodox of comity and dining. Varied Harvey girls did manage nuptials and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would have been hopeless back East. Some paid in compensation college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No stuff what paths they found themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Domain Name.

When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its culmination, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most profitable in the outback, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing shape and support to evolve into the largest traveller following company in the Combined States. During both In every respect Wars, the Harvey Descendants was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the provinces on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Indentation 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.