Nothing changed
America as much as the iron horse.
People were finally able to travel across country in relative comfort
and not have to worry about the weather, Indians, or some of the other mishaps
that plagued early travelers. A train
passenger’s greatest fear was food poisoning. That’s how bad meals were along
the rails.

Hear That Whistle
Blow
Fred Harvey invented
the “fast-food” concept long before Ray Kroc.
Passengers were allowed only thirty minutes to get off the train, eat and
board again, so time was of the essence.
He devised a system in which train conductors would telegraph passenger
food orders to the restaurant in advance. This allowed the restaurant staff to
prepare the food before the train pulled into the station.
From Dishwasher to
Household Name
Harvey learned the business the hard
way. After traveling to America at the
age of seventeen, he landed a job as a dishwasher at a famed New York
restaurant, working his way through the ranks from dishwasher to line-cook. He eventually landed in St. Louis where he
took over the Merchants Dining Room Saloon.
His success lasted only a short time. The winds of war could not be
ignored and after his partner joined the secessionist army, taking all the
money the two men had saved, Harvey’s restaurant was doomed.
After a series of
jobs and personal losses, he eventually took over an eating
house at the Santa
Fe depot in Topeka. He arranged for
fresh fruit and meat to be railed in from Chicago and other states. His food was so good that railroad officials
worried that no one would want to travel past Topeka.
Harvey House in Barstow, CA. |
First Female
Workforce
As the number of his depot restaurants
increased, so did his troubles. Black men were hired as waiters, but this often
created conflict with cowboys. After one
unpleasant midnight brawl at the Raton Harvey eating house, Harvey’s friend Tom
Gables suggested a radical idea; why not replace black male waiters with
women? Harvey decided to give Tom’s
idea a try.
Harvey ran ads in newspapers for “young women
of good character, attractive and intelligent, 18 to 30, to work in the Harvey
Eating Houses.” He offered a salary of $17.50 a month, a tidy sum for a young
woman. Soon he had all the help he
needed.
The women lived in dormitories above the
restaurants under the watchful eye of a house mother. Their uniforms consisted of a black dress,
black shoes and stockings, and a crisp white apron. The women had to adhere to strict rules and
were not allowed to marry for six months.
His new female staff
was a great success and helped ease racial tensions. Even the roughest of
cowboys and railroad workers were willing to don the required (and dreaded) dinner
jacket just for the pleasure of being served a good steak by a pretty girl.
He Kept the West in
Food—and Wives
That quote from Will Rogers says it all; Among
his other talents, Fred Harvey not only “civilized the west” he was indirectly responsible
for more than 5000 marriages. That’s enough to make you want to forgive him for
inventing fast-food. Almost….
In case you're wondering, the reason I'm writing about Fred Harvey
is because of my new book.
Someone is killing off the Harvey Girls and
undercover Pinkerton detective Katie Madison hopes to find the killer
before the killer finds her—or before she burns down the restaurant trying.
Great post, Margaret. What a guy! Shows what one person, despite numerous setbacks, can accomplish if they don't give up.
ReplyDeleteHi Linore, yes, it does show the power of one. I love reading (and writing) about people like this.Thank you for stopping by.
DeleteVery interesting! Thanks for the info. I love this blog!!
ReplyDeleteHi Connie, and we love having you as a reader!
DeleteHi Margaret. I love reading about the Harvey girls and Fred Harvey. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome! I really enjoyed visiting the old Harvey House pictured above and I used it as a model for my book. The dining rooms and kitchen were empty but I could just envision the Harvey Girls racing about in their black and white uniforms.
DeleteLoved this post; so well written. I've always been intrigued by Harvey girls a swish I could have been one. Ha! Must checkout the Barstow building. Is it still there? Am. wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
DeleteYes, the Barstow building is still there. We stopped on the way to Vegas. It's now a Chamber of commerce and musuem. It's worth checking out!
Correction to my post! And wish I could have been there. And. It is sm wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com. Thanks
ReplyDeleteCorrection to my post, too. I misspelled museum.
DeleteI enjoyed reading about Mr. Harvey. He was very inventive. It sounds like the early version of ordering online. Of course, I had heard about the Harvey Girls, but didn't know much else. This was really interesting.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I never thought of that, but you're right; it was an early version of ordering on line. But then the telegraph has been called the Victorian Internet.
DeleteThanks for another great history lesson. I loved learning about Fred and his ingenuity and I am hoping to get to read Calico Spy very soon!
ReplyDeleteConnie
cps1950(at)gmail(dot)com
Hi Connie, you're very welcome. Fred was something, all right. Hope you enjoy the book!
Delete