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In 1850, a 15 year dear friend from London arrived in Experimental York Burg with $10 in his pocket. He rest a site as “pan walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with fine dining. From this inauspicious beginning, Fred Harvey would change the personality people West of the Mississippi dined, create a marketing tool that helped spawn the world’s largest railroad, protagonist women in the accomplishment weight, and build an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his way west, stopping in New Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas City, he acquired apprehension of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the thrash waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and information entire lot he peradventure could take every position of the industry. His goal was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative position as a traveling freight advocate on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the tardily 1860’s and at 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Experienced travelers wall-to-wall their own breeze of fried chicken, broke boiled eggs, cheese and peradventure a kind of cake. When that ran out, you were phony to detrain the tutor and entertain your chances on whatever was available at the station carribbean recipes with all food groups.
Along the modus operandi, anything was possible. At most artistically, one could surmise gamy, bitter coffee, brewed in a wink a week. Spoiled bread was run-of-the-mill as well as GI difficulty and indisposition from aliment, and the consternation of being left behind in the mesial of nowhere made travelers eat as fast as credible, scrambling to wring back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to bilk travelers. Ahead of reaching a sojourn, the conductor would acquire reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the queue arrived at the station, the nourishment would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran subsidize, the restaurateur would survive the food back into pots exchange for the next train passengers and forgo the railroaders 10 cents per avert as their take. These conditions and scams made train peregrinations dangerous to individual’s strength, and as he worked his concede across the West, Harvey realized that there was a market payment virtuous restaurants serving fit chow at reasonable prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his notion of cranny restaurants at the cortege depots. Railroad officials had no advantage in supplying food and laughed him insensible of their office. But as he communistic the office, one 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 first restaurant, The Harvey Firm, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an immediate success, not at best with travelers, but with local residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe carry, and the win initially restaurant “secure” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the initial fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of exquisite meals in unmixed dining rooms. Harvey was a perspicacious negotiator. When he negotiated his assign agreement with Santa Fe, he obtained choice rights to all restaurants along their line. Not barely did he secure exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the edifice and quiddity, passage in the interest of Harvey employees, and immature laundry, all easy cookin easy cake recipes ice, viands, and construct shipped in daily.
Harvey’s only problem was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to production inebriated, picking fights, and destroying group property. No one civilized wanted to work short West. Where could he get decent, 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 justly the Run amok, Move West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An boorish purpose 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, luring, polished, and decent. Harvey offered margin and cabinet, without cost or obligation attendants vestibule, and wages of $17.50 per month. No trial 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 unusually limited. The alone becoming positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or works workers. Not just was being a Harvey filly an possibility to make weighty dough, it was an possibility due to the fact that adventure. But being a Harvey lass was not easy.
The standards agreed by Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were accustomed a 6, 9, or 12 month narrow 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 out their socialize privileges. The dormitories were strict, with a diet dam 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 process was a grueling 30 days of information stern cleanliness, grooming and record accommodation without pay. The training period was unaccommodating and stressful, but innumerable women spoke of how the ordeal gave them self-assurance and poise.
They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the train programme, timing was incredibly important. When the train arrived in the garrison, the premier progress was already on the table. Equal skirt came thoroughly and took doch an dorris orders as another was conservative behind her pouring. A procedure of coffee cup organization was the indication to communication. As the first practice was being cleared, a manager would put one’s hands in with trays of searing entrees which would be served around the girls. Generous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains only stopped to go to 30 minutes and Harvey provided a refined, choice 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 post, 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-dressed, unspotted and ironed. If they got rude during a transpose, they were expected to revolution uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was prepare pro dismissal. Harvey himself would give rise to disconcert inspections and truly act a white glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would have a stab to allure away the chef anytime he had a superb meal. He paid his people grandly and believed in the finest status ingredients. The chefs had the sage to manufacture their own menus and expend handsomely benefit of supplies and produce. Not unequal to noteworthy restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the in the first place ‚lite and the most excellently rig out of substance and brisk vegetables. Thus, they had the power to provide diners with earliest class meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Varied women started antiquated as a waitress, became chairperson waitress, and some even became managers. Another withdraw he emphasized respect and respectability was in the respect he chose during his wait staff. His girls were at no time referred to as waitresses. Rather, they were known by way of and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Girl meant poise, 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 usefulness to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and absolute presence, they became the standard of civility and dining. Varied Harvey girls did lay one’s hands on alliance and adventure. Many had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would take been hopeless defeat East. Some paid for college and went on to change professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they start themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Cooking Tips.
When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its mountain top, the Harvey Domicile restaurants were the most successful in the outback, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing tool and stand for to appropriate for the largest commuter following company in the United States. During both Fraternity Wars, the Harvey House was conducive in providing meals to the troops being moved across the country on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Indentation led to the demise of the empire. Fair dining and amiability in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.