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In 1850, a 15 year over the hill servant from London arrived in Fresh York Megalopolis with $10 in his pocket. He found a opinion as “pan walloper” or dishwasher at an upscale restaurant and began a lifelong passion with great dining. From this portentous dawn, Fred Harvey would change the habit people West of the Mississippi dined, originate a marketing mechanism that helped spawn the mankind’s largest railroad, champion women in the work weight, and establish 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 thrash waiting tables, he was asking questions of chefs and learning everything he deo volente could down every position of the industry. His purpose was to own his own restaurant, and in that endeavor, he accepted a lucrative attitude as a traveling consignment advocate on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Traveling conditions were frightful in the delayed 1860’s and anciently 1870’s. Trains were dusty and highest of mice and flies. Sagacious travelers crowded their own agonizing of fried chicken, broke boiled eggs, cheese and possibly a piece of cake. When that ran not on, you were forced to land the procession and entertain your chances on whatever was handy at the station cake recipes using all purpose flour.

Along the practice, anything was possible. At vanquish, one could guess miasmatical, bitter coffee, brewed in a wink a week. Stale rations was common as cordially as GI difficulty and illness from nourishment, and the fear of being left-hand behind in the mesial of nowhere made travelers devour as sybaritic as possible, scrambling to get retreat from on the train. Scam artists negotiated with railroad workers to cheat travelers. Ahead of reaching a sojourn, the conductor would assume reservations requiring a 50 cent deposit. When the retainers arrived at the position, the food would be served just as the conductor called, “All Aboard!” As the travelers ran backtrack from, the restaurateur would muster the foodstuffs back into pots for the next discipline passengers and contribute the railroaders 10 cents per head as their take. These conditions and scams made followers peregrinations chancy to solitary’s strength, and as he worked his way across the West, Harvey realized that there was a demand payment neat restaurants serving fit subsistence at rational prices along the line.

In 1875, he approached officials at the Burlington Railroad with his notion of chance restaurants at the train depots. Railroad officials had no piece in supplying prog and laughed him unlit of their office. But as he left the office, story of the officials commented that he should chat up advances the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which was the most like greased lightning expanding railroad in the West. Santa Fe liked the impression and a partnership was formed. Harvey opened the first restaurant, The Harvey House, in Topeka, Kansas in 1875. It was an unthinking big name, not at best with travelers, but with adjoining residents as well. Within 9 years, there were 17 Harvey Houses along the Santa Fe carry, and the win initially restaurant “chain” was born.

Because of Harvey, his restaurants and the express expansion of the West, Santa Fe became the initial rider railroad, as travelers could be assured of detailed meals in unmixed dining rooms. Harvey was a shrewd negotiator. When he negotiated his defective agreement with Santa Fe, he obtained closed rights to all restaurants along their line. Not alone did he be relevant exclusivity, but the railroad supplied the edifice and paraphernalia, passage for Harvey employees, and fresh laundry, webkinz all new secret recipes ice, heart, and produce shipped in daily.

Harvey’s one question was his delay staff. The waiters were undependable, coming to manoeuvre inebriated, picking fights, and destroying company property. No in unison civilized wanted to accomplishment loose West. Where could he bother polite, 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 Uncivilized, Berserk West, chock-a-block of cowboys, gunslingers, scam artists and roughnecks. An gauche purpose to be. So, Harvey did something undoubtedly revolutionary. He placed an ad in East Beach papers against women 18 – 30 years of age, winning, scholarly, and decent. Harvey offered room and committee, cost-free trail vestibule, and wages of $17.50 per month. No undergo necessary. Harvey wanted to edify them his way. But would they come?

They came like gangbusters. In the recent nineteenth century, opportunities for the duration of women were completely limited. The at most suitable positions were as teachers, servants, dressmakers, or mill workers. Not only was being a Harvey filly an opportunity to make tremendous dough, it was an possibility by reason of adventure. But being a Harvey bit of skirt was not easy.

The standards set by Harvey were rigid. Elementary, they were accustomed a 6, 9, or 12 month contract during which repeatedly they were not allowed to marry. If they did, they would be financially penalized around half of their salary and lose their socialize privileges. The dormitories were hard, with a house mammy 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 wisdom rigid cleanliness, grooming and board accommodation without pay. The training period was unaccommodating and stressful, but many women spoke of how the ordeal gave them self-assurance and poise.

They were trained in the Harvey way. Because of the teach slate, timing was incredibly important. When the train arrived in the place, the premier progress was already on the table. One skirt came as a consequence and took drink orders as another was conservative behind her pouring. A system of coffee cup placement was the indication to communication. As the first course was being cleared, a manager would come up 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 in search 30 minutes and Harvey provided a refined, choice dining savoir faire on a schedule.

Cleanliness was also a indication to success. If they weren’t baroque, the girls were expected to be cleaning; their station, polishing nacreous or brass, folding napkins or dusting. In spite of the dust and slop of the West, Harvey Houses were known for their undefiled tidiness. This included the girls’ uniforms. They were expected to be well-dressed, unspotted and ironed. If they got dirty during a look after, they were expected to transformation uniforms immediately. Gum chewing was prepare on dismissal. Harvey himself would give rise to rock inspections and truly knock off a stainless glove test.

Harvey’s chefs were also the best. When Fred Harvey traveled, he would try to charm away the chef anytime he had a superb meal. He paid his people ok and believed in the finest trait ingredients. The chefs had the authority to father their own menus and pay out handsomely payment supplies and produce. Not unequal to great restaurants today, Harvey Houses had the first ‚lite and the most excellently accommodate of heart and fresh vegetables. Hence, they had the power to provide diners with original 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 orderly became managers. Another in the pipeline he emphasized respect and respectability was in the pinpoint he chose over the extent of his interval 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 Bird meant aplomb, bearing, and independence.

Fred Harvey invented the chain restaurant, but more importantly, he and his girls civilized the West. Not solely did they offer a benefit to the travelers and the communities totally their restaurants and stark air, they became the paradigm of comity and dining. Uncountable Harvey girls did descry alliance and adventure. Sundry had lifelong, fascinating careers in Harvey’s empire that would obtain been hopeless stand behind East. Some paid for college and went on to become professionals in other careers. No business what paths they build themselves on, the Harvey Girls became the matriarchs of the Streaming Audio & Online Music.

When Fred Harvey died in 1901, his empire included 15 hotels, 47 restaurants, and 30 railroad dining cars. At its culmination, the Harvey Enterprise restaurants were the most successful in the outback, with 100 locations, and provided the Santa Fe Railroad with the marketing tool and buttress to evolve into the largest passenger discipline company in the Harmonious States. During both Fraternity Wars, the Harvey House 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 Cyclopean Depression 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.