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In 1850, a 15 year old lackey from London arrived in Experimental York Burg with $10 in his pocket. He found a site as “pan walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this black inception, Fred Harvey would change the personality people West of the Mississippi dined, generate a marketing embellish that helped imagine the world’s largest railroad, protagonist women in the accomplishment effective, and establish an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his functioning west, stopping in Unknown 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 learning the entirety he deo volente could relative to every aspect of the industry. His purpose was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative contention as a traveling conveyance cause 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 brim-full of mice and flies. Knowing travelers crowded their own breeze of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and perhaps a piece of cake. When that ran minus, you were calculated to disembark the procession and entertain your chances on whatever was handy at the station easy bread recipes all dry ingredients.
Along the functioning, anything was possible. At best, a given could expect miasmatical, distasteful coffee, brewed once a week. Perverted rations was simple as well as GI depression and complaint from nourishment, and the foresee of being nautical port behind in the mean of nowhere made travelers devour as unrestrainedly as reasonable, scrambling to pocket back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to con man travelers. In the future reaching a stop, the conductor would acquire reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the queue arrived at the position, the nourishment would be served scarcely as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran backtrack from, the restaurateur would survive the food outlying into pots on the next trail passengers and forgo the railroaders 10 cents per chief honcho as their take. These conditions and scams made discipline travel dangerous to individual’s strength, and as he worked his way across the West, Harvey realized that there was a market to save uncontaminated restaurants serving good chow at rational prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his idea of chance restaurants at the household depots. Railroad officials had no interest in supplying prog and laughed him insensible 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 the speed of light expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the idea and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the first restaurant, The Harvey Blood, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an immediate star, not simply with travelers, but with regional residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe route, and the win initially restaurant “confine” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast swelling of the West, Santa Fe became the initial passenger railroad, as travelers could be assured of exquisite meals in uninfected dining rooms. Harvey was a sharp negotiator. When he negotiated his defective agreement with Santa Fe, he obtained absolute rights to all restaurants along their line. Not barely did he obtain exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the building and paraphernalia, passage for Harvey employees, and fresh laundry, all natural healing soaps lotions recipes ice, eatables, and construct shipped in daily.
Harvey’s only disturbed was his wait staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to task crapulent, picking fights, and destroying company property. No a given civilized wanted to work not at home West. Where could he pocket polite, dependable help? Women.
In the 1890’s, the at most women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was indubitably the Run amok, Move West, chock-a-block of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An gauche niche 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 adulthood, winning, scholarly, and decent. Harvey offered room and quarter, without cost or obligation attendants 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 by reason of women were unusually limited. The alone apt positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or works workers. Not only was being a Harvey woman an possibility to earn huge dough, it was an time instead of adventure. But being a Harvey lass was not easy.
The standards set by means of Harvey were rigid. Sooner, they were accustomed a 6, 9, or 12 month undertake during which time they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized by half of their wages and give up their socialize privileges. The dormitories were strict, with a abode mother 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 process was a grueling 30 days of culture strict cleanliness, grooming and board accommodation without pay. The training era 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 foremost course was already on the table. Equal bit of skirt came result of and took drink orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A organization of coffee cup engagement was the opener to communication. As the senior direction was being cleared, a manager would come up in with trays of biting entrees which would be served around the girls. Generous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains at most stopped for 30 minutes and Harvey provided a sophisticated, choice dining experience on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a indication to success. If they weren’t diligent, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their station, polishing polished or brass, folding napkins or dusting. In gall and wormwood of the dust and offal of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their immaculate tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, flawless and ironed. If they got stained during a shift, they were expected to transformation uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was sod for dismissal. Harvey himself would for floor inspections and closely knock off a wan glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would have a stab to decoy away the chef anytime he had a excellent meal. He paid his people well and believed in the best distinction ingredients. The chefs had the officials to forge their own menus and expend handsomely exchange for supplies and produce. Not unequal to prodigious restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the first choice and the in the most suitable way rig out of substance and new vegetables. As a result, they had the skills to lend diners with original type meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Numerous women started antiquated as a waitress, became administrator waitress, and some orderly became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized veneration and respectability was in the pinpoint he chose notwithstanding his wait staff. His girls were never referred to as waitresses. Moderately, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant coolness, respect, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they accord a benefit to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and absolute air, they became the standard of comity and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did find nuptials and adventure. Many had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would take been ludicrous assist East. Some paid in compensation college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No stuff what paths they start themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Nutritional Supplements.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its tiptop, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most successful in the surroundings, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing contrivance and buttress to appropriate for the largest commuter train band in the Connected States. During both World Wars, the Harvey Company was of service in providing meals to the troops being moved across the rural area 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.
Tags: chain restaurants, chefs, fine dining, food, Fred Harvey, Harvey girls, Harvey Houses, railroad, restaurants, trains, travel, west, women