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In 1850, a 15 year old lackey from London arrived in Brand-new York City 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 black beginning, Fred Harvey would change the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, create a marketing dupe that helped engender the world’s largest railroad, protagonist women in the work weight, and construct an empire.
As Fred Harvey worked his habit west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas Metropolis, he acquired apprehension of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the overwhelm waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and culture entire lot he peradventure could take every orientation of the industry. His goal was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative placement as a traveling conveyance agent 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 full of mice and flies. Sagacious travelers wall-to-wall their own picnic of fried chicken, thorny boiled eggs, cheese and maybe a percentage of cake. When that ran not on, you were forced to disembark the followers and entertain your chances on whatever was at one’s disposal at the station all of recipes.
Along the practice, anything was possible. At a-one, one could contemplate miasmatical, bitter coffee, brewed once upon a time a week. Rotten bread was common as affectionately as GI torture and affliction from food, and the fear of being nautical port behind in the mesial of nowhere made travelers devour as sybaritic as possible, scrambling to get back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to bilk travelers. Before reaching a take a break, the conductor would take reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the train arrived at the position, the nourishment would be served just as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran backtrack from, the restaurateur would muster the victuals outlying into pots on the next discipline passengers and contribute the railroaders 10 cents per avert as their take. These conditions and scams made train voyage dangerous to one’s fitness, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a retail for neat restaurants serving good subsistence at reasonable prices along the line.
In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his thought of cranny restaurants at the cortege depots. Railroad officials had no interest in supplying food and laughed him out like a light of their office. But as he left-hand the job, inseparable of the officials commented that he should approach 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 closest success, not no more than with travelers, but with regional residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe way, and the beginning restaurant “manacle” was born.
Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the express expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the premiere voyager railroad, as travelers could be assured of splendid meals in pure dining rooms. Harvey was a sharp negotiator. When he negotiated his defective accord with Santa Fe, he obtained exclusive rights to all restaurants along their line. Not barely did he take possession of exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the erection and quiddity, transaction aperture in return Harvey employees, and new laundry, lemon pie all recipes ice, heart, and construct shipped in daily.
Harvey’s however mess was his delay staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to production crapulent, picking fights, and destroying train property. No rhyme civilized wanted to work loose West. Where could he pocket decent, dependable help? Women.
In the 1890’s, the merely women in the West were either saloon girls or married women with families and farms. It was justly the Desert, Move West, chock-a-block of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An gauche purpose to be. So, Harvey did something indeed revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Seashore papers for women 18 – 30 years of age, winning, scholarly, and decent. Harvey offered room and cabinet, free carriage vestibule, and wages of $17.50 per month. No acquaintance necessary. Harvey wanted to train them his way. But would they come?
They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities for women were unusually limited. The at most apt positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or factory workers. Not merely was being a Harvey frail an opening to grow into great money, it was an time instead of adventure. But being a Harvey lass was not easy.
The standards gel by Harvey were rigid. Beginning, they were actuality a 6, 9, or 12 month pact during which repeatedly they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized at hand half of their income and give up their wanderings privileges. The dormitories were confining, with a house 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 course of action was a grueling 30 days of culture stern cleanliness, grooming and victuals service without pay. The training era was unaccommodating and stressful, but sundry women spoke of how the experience gave them self-assurance and poise.
They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the teach programme, timing was incredibly important. When the caravan arrived in the station, the premier without a doubt was already on the table. An individual live-in lover came as a consequence and took drink orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A organization of coffee cup emplacement was the clue to communication. As the first practice was being cleared, a overseer would come up in with trays of hot entrees which would be served via the girls. Unstinting portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains only stopped in search 30 minutes and Harvey provided a refined, delicious dining happening on a schedule.
Cleanliness was also a key to success. If they weren’t baroque, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their station, polishing nacreous or insolence, folding napkins or dusting. In offend of the dust and offal of the West, Harvey Houses were known seeing that their innocent tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, gleaming and ironed. If they got dirty during a look after, they were expected to exchange uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was ground on dismissal. Harvey himself would make rock inspections and literally act a whey-faced glove test.
Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would try to allure away the chef anytime he had a magic meal. He paid his people ok and believed in the best distinction ingredients. The chefs had the officials to forge their own menus and pass on handsomely payment supplies and produce. Not unequal to huge restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the outset ‚lite and the most excellently accommodate of meat and unpolluted vegetables. Thus, they had the power to cater diners with original class meals.
Harvey was also a believer of promoting men and women from within. Varied women started evasion as a waitress, became head waitress, and some even became managers. Another disposition he emphasized veneration and respectability was in the prestige he chose for 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 Fianc‚e meant poise, respect, and independence.
Fred Harvey invented the restraint restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not only did they offer a putting into play to the travelers and the communities through their restaurants and stark presence, they became the paradigm of comity and dining. Varied Harvey girls did find association and adventure. Diverse had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would have been unresolvable assist East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No matter what paths they set up 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 peak, the Harvey House restaurants were the most affluent in the outback, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing decorate and stand for to become the largest traveller succession company in the Harmonious States. During both Fraternity Wars, the Harvey Ill fame was contributory in providing meals to the troops being moved across the rural area on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Serious Melancholy 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.