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In 1850, a 15 year old lackey from London arrived in New York Big apple with $10 in his pocket. He develop a emplacement as “paunch walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with exceptional dining. From this inauspicious beginning, Fred Harvey would vacillate turn into the personality people West of the Mississippi dined, originate a marketing dupe that helped spawn the in every respect’s largest railroad, hero women in the accomplishment force, and erect an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his path west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas See, he acquired knowledge of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the floor waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and culture everything he peradventure could relative to every aspect of the industry. His goal was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative placement as a traveling conveyance advocate on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the delayed 1860’s and beginning 1870’s. Trains were dusty and unshaded of mice and flies. Knowing travelers filled to the gunwales their own agonizing of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and perhaps a piece of cake. When that ran out, you were calculated to disembark the followers and take your chances on whatever was handy at the station all purpose seasoning recipes.
Along the functioning, anything was possible. At a-one, one could guess miasmatical, bitter coffee, brewed once a week. Perverted food was run-of-the-mill as ok as GI depression and indisposition from nourishment, and the dismay of being left-hand behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers devour as sybaritic as reasonable, scrambling to pocket back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. Before reaching a take a break, the conductor would take reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the standing, the nourishment would be served scarcely as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran back, the restaurateur would scrape the foodstuffs abandon into pots in regard to the next trail passengers and forgo the railroaders 10 cents per move as their take. These conditions and scams made train journey threatening to complete’s constitution, and as he worked his way across the West, Harvey realized that there was a demand to save clean restaurants serving commendable chow at logical prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his estimate of chance restaurants at the string depots. Railroad officials had no interest in supplying grub and laughed him unlit of their office. But as he left the responsibility, a specific of the officials commented that he should chat up advances 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 Firm, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an actual star, not simply 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 “secure” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the express expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the initial voyager railroad, as travelers could be assured of chic meals in unmixed dining rooms. Harvey was a percipient negotiator. When he negotiated his assign agreement with Santa Fe, he obtained exclusive rights to all restaurants along their line. Not only did he secure exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the building and paraphernalia, text in return Harvey employees, and new laundry, all natural liquid hand soap recipes ice, meat, and put shipped in daily.
Harvey’s one question was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to work well-oiled, picking fights, and destroying company property. No one civilized wanted to off not at home 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 truly the Uncivilized, Move West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncouth purpose to be. So, Harvey did something undoubtedly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Beach papers in regard to women 18 – 30 years of stage, winning, polished, and decent. Harvey offered flat and board, without cost or obligation train passage, and wages of $17.50 per month. No trial necessary. Harvey wanted to train them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the late nineteenth century, opportunities for women were unusually limited. The only proper positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not not was being a Harvey girl an chance to earn huge dough, it was an possibility for adventure. But being a Harvey bit of skirt was not easy.
The standards delay away Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were accustomed a 6, 9, or 12 month contract during which perpetually they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized around half of their compensation and bow to their journey privileges. The dormitories were strict, with a house dam 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 make was a grueling 30 days of culture strict cleanliness, grooming and board accommodation without pay. The training era was finicky 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 outline, timing was incredibly important. When the string arrived in the place, the first course was already on the table. One bit of skirt came thoroughly and took tipple orders as another was right-minded behind her pouring. A procedure of coffee cup organization was the key to communication. As the first line was being cleared, a boss would come up in with trays of hot entrees which would be served by the girls. Generous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains at most stopped to go to 30 minutes and Harvey provided a sophisticated, choice dining experience on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a indicator to success. If they weren’t diligent, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their post, polishing silver or impudence, folding napkins or dusting. In gall and wormwood of the dust and sludge of the West, Harvey Houses were known pro their innocent tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be clean-cut, unspotted and ironed. If they got obscene during a transpose, they were expected to change uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was land with a view dismissal. Harvey himself would give rise to rock inspections and line for line knock off a wan glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would try to decoy away the chef anytime he had a superb meal. He paid his people ok and believed in the best distinction ingredients. The chefs had the officials to create their own menus and pay out handsomely benefit of supplies and produce. Not unequal to prodigious restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the outset determination and the most excellently sell of provisions and fresh vegetables. Thus, they had the skills to purvey diners with gold medal type meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Many women started evasion as a waitress, became head waitress, and some unruffled became managers. Another in the pipeline he emphasized reverence and respectability was in the respect he chose over the extent of his wait staff. His girls were at no time referred to as waitresses. Moderately, they were known through and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Bird meant coolness, veneration, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they provide a service to the travelers and the communities at the end of one’s tether with their restaurants and mere poise, they became the paradigm of civility and dining. Many Harvey girls did find marriage and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would obtain been hopeless stand behind East. Some paid for college and went on to fit professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Investing.
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 country, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing shape and buttress to become the largest commuter following following in the Combined States. During both In every respect Wars, the Harvey Ill fame was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the mountains on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Cyclopean Depression led to the demise of the empire. Prime dining and urbanity in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.
Tags: chain restaurants, chefs, fine dining, food, Fred Harvey, Harvey girls, Harvey Houses, railroad, restaurants, trains, travel, west, women