Saturday, August 3, 2013

HARVEY GIRL SERVICE By Cynthia Hickey

As we continue our series on the Harvey Girls, the Women Who Tamed the West as waitresses along the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe railroad, what better way to get an inside peek at their lives, then to look at their jobs. Harvey's first waiters were men. After getting into a brawl one night and serving customers with cuts and bruises, Fred Harvey decided he needed a more gentile workforce. The female waitress was born! Men were relegated to the tasks of cooks and busboys. Fred Harvey, the enterprising man of vision, expected and demanded perfection. The finest service, the best linens and silverware, the loveliest smiles, and a top of the line menu that left customers forgetting they were eating at a railroad stop. Harvey wanted the best and wouldn't stop at anything to achieve it. Here is a menu from a Chicago Harvey House in 1945.
Once a girl was employed as a Harvey waitress, her uniform became hers, although it was washed and ironed on location. Once the uniform began to show wear, Harvey replaced it for her, even going as far as to reimburse her for the uniform, depending on signs of wear, at the end of her contract. Nothing but the best! But let's not romanticize the lifestyle too much. While Fred Harvey may have been a fair man, he didn't stand for foolishness or laziness. Harvey waitresses, cooks, and managers worked hard. Often ten to twelve hours a day only to collapse into their dormitory style rooms and start all over again the next day. Yet the women seemed content. They were supporting themselves in a profession that was rapidly gaining approval. Many say if not for Fred Harvey's vision, we wouldn't have female waitresses.
As I continue to research these amazing women, I am constantly astounded at their strength. Long hours left little time for socializing or courting, yet these women married and continued to forge westward, providing the western men with upstanding wives who could work as hard as they did.
Cynthia Hickey is the author of Cooking Up Love, the first book in the Finding Love the Harvey Girl way. Look for the second book in the series in March 2014. www.cynthiahickey.com

9 comments:

  1. One day I'll have to visit the Harvey House here in Topeka.

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  2. I've always found the Harvey Girls interesting!

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  3. Cynthia, this is such an interesting post. Thank you for sharing. I just began reading Cooking Up Love and I'm enjoying it very much.

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  4. Thanks for your posts about the Harvey Girls. They're one of my favorite ladies history. Can't wait to read Cooking Up Love.

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  5. I'm fascinated and my curiosity is piqued thanks to you Cynthia! I can't wait to get my hands on Cooking Up Love! And thanks to Mr Harvey for making it possible for me to get my feet in the door for my favorite jobs in the service industry! How fun would it have been for me to be a Harvey girl!!

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  7. I'm intrigued with stories on the Harvey Girls. I've seen ElTovar at Grand Canyon, which I think was one of the Harvey Girls' hotels for the RR. sharon, CA

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  8. Hallo, Hallo Ms. Hickey! :) :)

    Last month I believe!? Whilst I was attempting to sort out why my OpenID wasn't working so I could drop by the Society {note to self: your blog has to be public!},.. I believe it was Ms. Harris who was talking about the Harvey Girls! I was so happy to see more postings about them, because ever since Feb/March when you all were bringing them to life in your posts -- I felt akin to sourcing out which books/authors are featuring them! I jolly might have to sort out a way to read a selection of them before Autumn comes along, because each new piece that is featured here, the more I am drawn to want to delve more into their personalities and lives! Which is one reason I *love!* historical fiction so very much! It puts the personal touch on the stories behind the lives that were lived!

    Wicked sweet addition!

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  9. This is a new subject to me - will have to explore it further. Thanks for your interesting blog entry!

    bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

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