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In 1850, a 15 year dear lackey from London arrived in Fresh York Burg with $10 in his pocket. He develop a opinion as “pot walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with forfeiture dining. From this inauspicious origin, Fred Harvey would exchange the practice people West of the Mississippi dined, generate a marketing tool that helped engender the world’s largest railroad, hero women in the animate force, and erect an empire.

As Fred Harvey worked his path west, stopping in Modish Orleans, St. Louis, and Kansas Megalopolis, he acquired expertise of the restaurant industry. When he wasn’t on the floor waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and culture the entirety 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 consignment advocate on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the up to date 1860’s and anciently 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Sagacious travelers wall-to-wall their own agonizing of fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, cheese and peradventure a kind of cake. When that ran insensible, you were artificial to detrain the train and take your chances on whatever was available at the station raspberry charlotte cake all recipes.

Along the functioning, anything was possible. At a-one, one could guess gamy, freezing coffee, brewed in a wink a week. Spoiled bread was run-of-the-mill as affectionately as GI depression and complaint from viands, and the foresee of being left-hand behind in the mesial of nowhere made travelers take in nourishment as sybaritic as possible, scrambling to get back on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to move the goalposts travelers. In front of reaching a sojourn, the conductor would steal reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the position, the bread would be served honest as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran underwrite, the restaurateur would survive the victuals invest in into pots exchange for the next trail passengers and contribute the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made staff travel chancy to individual’s strength, and as he worked his point across the West, Harvey realized that there was a market to save uncontaminated restaurants serving ethical food at reasonable prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his estimate of cranny restaurants at the string depots. Railroad officials had no consideration in supplying prog and laughed him unlit of their office. But as he left-hand the job, inseparable 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 apprehension and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the initial restaurant, The Harvey Line, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an closest good fortune, not no more than 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 “secure” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the lightning-fast enlargement of the West, Santa Fe became the premiere fare railroad, as travelers could be assured of chic meals in uninfected dining rooms. Harvey was a sharp negotiator. When he negotiated his second harmony with Santa Fe, he obtained closed rights to all restaurants along their line. Not alone did he take possession of exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the erection and quiddity, text repayment for Harvey employees, and immature laundry, all natural skin care recipes ice, viands, and produce shipped in daily.

Harvey’s only disturbed was his stop staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to production well-oiled, picking fights, and destroying assemblage property. No in unison civilized wanted to dispose loose West. Where could he wiggle 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 truly the Wild, Wild West, blinding of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An gauche circumstances to be. So, Harvey did something truly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Coast papers as a remedy for women 18 – 30 years of age, interesting, scholarly, and decent. Harvey offered area and committee, without cost or obligation train passage, and wages of $17.50 per month. No undergo necessary. Harvey wanted to train them his way. But would they come?

They came like gangbusters. In the late nineteenth century, opportunities in requital for women were completely limited. The at most becoming positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or mill workers. Not merely was being a Harvey frail an opening to grow into huge shekels, it was an time instead of adventure. But being a Harvey sheila was not easy.

The standards gel by means of Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were understood a 6, 9, or 12 month narrow during which repeatedly they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized around half of their wages and bow to their wanderings privileges. The dormitories were hard, with a house mum 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 make was a grueling 30 days of information stern cleanliness, grooming and table maintenance without pay. The training era was onerous and stressful, but sundry women spoke of how the encounter gave them self-assurance and poise.

They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the train programme, timing was incredibly important. When the string arrived in the site, the foremost course was already on the table. United girl came as a consequence and took tipple orders as another was pure behind her pouring. A system of coffee cup emplacement was the indication to communication. As the cardinal course was being cleared, a manager would come up in with trays of steaming entrees which would be served close to the girls. Bounteous portions and seconds were the standard. And so was the timing. The trains no greater than stopped for 30 minutes and Harvey provided a ladylike, delicious dining happening on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a key to success. If they weren’t busy, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their position, polishing nacreous or nerve, folding napkins or dusting. In gall and wormwood of the dust and offal of the West, Harvey Houses were known pro their pure tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be smart, unspotted and ironed. If they got obscene during a shift, they were expected to change uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was prepare pro dismissal. Harvey himself would give rise to floor inspections and closely perform a stainless glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would have a stab to lure away the chef anytime he had a excellent meal. He paid his people grandly and believed in the best quality ingredients. The chefs had the authority to forge their own menus and expend handsomely benefit of supplies and produce. Not unlike huge restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the first acceptance and the best sell of substance and fresh vegetables. Hence, they had the skills to provide diners with first 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 unruffled became managers. Another in the pipeline he emphasized respect and respectability was in the name he chose notwithstanding his stay staff. His girls were never referred to as waitresses. Sooner, they were known by and proud to be called Harvey Girls. Being a Harvey Fianc‚e meant aplomb, bearing, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the restrict restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not solely did they provide a benefit to the travelers and the communities at the end of one’s tether with their restaurants and mere composure, they became the standard of courteousness and dining. Multitudinous Harvey girls did find association and adventure. Multifarious had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would be undergoing been impossible assist East. Some paid as a service to college and went on to change professionals in other careers. No concern what paths they set up themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Fashion & Style.

When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its peak, the Harvey Quarter restaurants were the most affluent in the countryside, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing shape and stand for to behove the largest fare discipline troop in the Combined States. During both In every respect Wars, the Harvey Company was instrumental in providing meals to the troops being moved across the mountains on trains. But the Wright brothers, the automobile, and the Cyclopean Melancholy led to the demise of the empire. Fair dining and civility in the West are legacies that Fred Harvey and his Girls bequeathed us all.