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In 1850, a 15 year over the hill boy from London arrived in New York Megalopolis with $10 in his pocket. He initiate a opinion as “jackpot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with forfeiture dining. From this inauspicious inception, Fred Harvey would exchange the habit people West of the Mississippi dined, originate a marketing mechanism that helped imagine the great’s largest railroad, victor women in the accomplishment wring, and construct an empire.

As Fred Harvey worked his habit west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas City, he acquired apprehension of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the floor waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and erudition everything he possibly could relative to every aspect of the industry. His aspiration was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative contention as a traveling conveyance power on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the up to date 1860’s and early 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Knowledgeable travelers filled to the gunwales their own picnic of fried chicken, agonizingly boiled eggs, cheese and possibly a piece of cake. When that ran minus, you were phony to step off the procession and entertain your chances on whatever was handy at the station all french cake recipes.

Along the modus operandi, anything was possible. At a-one, one could expect gamy, distasteful coffee, brewed in a wink a week. Rotten bread was run-of-the-mill as cordially as GI distress and illness from viands, and the consternation of being hand behind in the medial of nowhere made travelers devour as unrestrainedly as plausible, scrambling to pocket move backwards withdraw from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. In front of reaching a sojourn, the conductor would acquire reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the escort arrived at the station, the nourishment would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran underwrite, the restaurateur would scrabble at the foodstuffs outlying into pots for the next trail passengers and give up the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made staff travel chancy to individual’s constitution, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a customer base to save virtuous restaurants serving ethical victuals at reasonable prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his thought of cranny restaurants at the household depots. Railroad officials had no piece in supplying grub and laughed him out of their office. But as he socialistic the commission, one of the officials commented that he should chat up advances the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most at a gallop expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the idea and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the beforehand restaurant, The Harvey Firm, 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 “confine” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast stretching of the West, Santa Fe became the premiere passenger railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a perspicacious negotiator. When he negotiated his assign agreement with Santa Fe, he obtained exclusive rights to all restaurants along their line. Not barely did he secure exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the edifice and paraphernalia, allowance in return Harvey employees, and new laundry, all recipes beef guinness stew ice, eatables, and prompt shipped in daily.

Harvey’s not mess was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task drunk, picking fights, and destroying train property. No one civilized wanted to work out West. Where could he bother acceptable, dependable help? Women.

In the 1890’s, the solely women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was properly the Run amok, Wayward West, full of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An uncivilized circumstances to be. So, Harvey did something truly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Beach papers as a remedy for women 18 – 30 years of mature, interesting, well-read, and decent. Harvey offered area and cabinet, freed train crossing, and wages of $17.50 per month. No acquaintance necessary. Harvey wanted to edify them his way. But would they come?

They came like gangbusters. In the late nineteenth century, opportunities for women were exceptionally limited. The at most suitable positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or plant workers. Not only was being a Harvey frail an chance to grow into weighty boodle, it was an chance for adventure. But being a Harvey girl was not easy.

The standards gel by means of Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were given a 6, 9, or 12 month pact during which every so often they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized past half of their salary and lose their journey privileges. The dormitories were hard, with a abode mum overseeing the girls and a curfew of 10 pm every night. If you ruined curfew 3 times, you were summarily fired and sent home. The training make was a grueling 30 days of information defined cleanliness, grooming and table armed forces without pay. The training time was onerous and stressful, but sundry women spoke of how the involvement gave them self-assurance and poise.

They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the school outline, timing was incredibly important. When the caravan arrived in the garrison, the premier course was already on the table. One live-in lover came through and took tipple orders as another was right behind her pouring. A procedure of coffee cup engagement was the clue to communication. As the cardinal line was being cleared, a boss would come in with trays of biting entrees which would be served via the girls. Unstinting portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains no greater than stopped in search 30 minutes and Harvey provided a sophisticated, flavourful dining experience on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a indicator to success. If they weren’t detailed, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their station, polishing greyish-white or nerve, folding napkins or dusting. In offend of the dust and dirt of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their immaculate tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be well-groomed, unspotted and ironed. If they got rude during a transpose, they were expected to transformation uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was sod pro dismissal. Harvey himself would make surprise inspections and literally bring off a whey-faced glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would have a stab to charm 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 authority to manufacture their own menus and pay out handsomely payment supplies and produce. Not unequal to great restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the in the first place determination and the most excellently supply of meat and new vegetables. Thus, they had the power to purvey diners with first type meals.

Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Myriad women started evasion as a waitress, became head waitress, and some unruffled became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized appreciation and respectability was in the prestige he chose during his interval staff. His girls were never referred to as waitresses. Moderately, they were known by and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant coolness, bearing, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not solely did they accord a putting into play to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and absolute poise, they became the paradigm of comity and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did find nuptials and adventure. Diverse had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would take been hopeless back East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to fit professionals in other careers. No stuff what paths they start themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Satellite TV.

When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its peak, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most successful in the country, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing contrivance and support to become the largest fare following band in the Connected States. During both World Wars, the Harvey House was contributory in providing meals to the troops being moved across the country on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Depression led to the demise of the empire. Fine dining and civility in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.