THE HARVEY GIRLS By Cynthia Hickey

Excitement! Independence! Adventure! The waitresses of the Fred Harvey Company were strong, moral-minded, and not afraid of hard work, and rarely did they fulfill their six-month contract with the company, although required to. Most were married a few months into their careers. Known as The Women Who Tamed the West, Fred Harvey was very particular about the type of women he hired. WANTED: Young women, eighteen to thirty years of age, of good moral character, attractive and intelligent as waitresses in Harvey Eating Houses on the Santa Fe Railroad in the West. Wages $17.50 per month with room and board. Liberal tips customary. Experience not necessary. Write Fred Harvey, Union Depot, Kansas City, Missouri.

Many of the Harvey Girls were young ladies with no family and no prospects. A job with the esteemed Harvey Company, traveling the railroad, meeting new people, often seemed like a dream come true to many of them. They didn't mind the strict rules and long hours. They were fending for themselves!

It wasn't until the Judy Garland movie in the 1940s that most people learned who these amazing women were. Garland romanticized a career choice that was often anything but glamorous. Not when trails pulled into stations with hungry passengers that needed to be fed, sometimes within a half hour. Still, young girls flocked to be accepted into the company.

Starting at the bottom, earning points for a job well-done, the girls could work their way up the ranks to the priviledged title of Head Waitress (called Wagon Boss) by some. The Harvey Girls made waitressing an honorable profession in a time when many people frowned on women working outside the home. These brave girls cleared a path not only to the west, but for women's freedom. The first of my Harvey books is newly released. Leave a comment for a chance to win Cooking Up Love, Finding Love the Harvey Girl Way.