www.aldonco.com IN FOR THE LONG HAUL: 111 YEARS OF RAILWAY SAFETY priceless . c n I ny, ny, SPRING/SUMMER 2015 a Copyright © 2015, 2015, © Copyright Comp Aldon EMPIRE How Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Railroad opened the BUILDERS American Southwest to tourism and economic development 1 2 3 Red Dots indicate Fred Harvey Restaurants in 1910

The Railroad Man William Barstow Strong 1837-1914 4 The Topeka eating house was an im- mediate success when it opened on The Restaurateur January 1, 1876. The Leavenworth friends. Strong gave Harvey the Fred Harvey 1835-1901 Times touted it as “the neatest, clean- green light to operate Santa Fe eat- The completion of the first est dining hall in the State … It was ing houses in Kansas and Colorado. transcontinental railroad in a luxury to sit down to such a ta- A handshake was all that was needed. 1869 unleashed a wave of rail- ble. A man who takes such pains 5 road construction west of the to serve the public ought to be re- Mississippi. The U.S. govern- warded with liberal patronage.”3 ment underwrote much of this building boom by offering loans and free land — And so he was. In a pattern that as much as 20 square miles for every would be followed in all Harvey eat- mile of track laid. The railroads could ing houses, conductors would wire then sell land to finance track construc- ahead to Harvey to say how many tion. Within 16 years, four great cross- passengers were on board and what country rail lines were built. The most their menu choices were. As the pas- successful of these was the Atchison, sengers got off the train, a waiter at Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad — soon the restaurant door banged a brass to be known simply as the Santa Fe. gong to announce the dining room was open. Stepping inside, the trav- Fred Harvey’s first Santa Fe RR eating house Chartered in 1859, the Santa Fe was Born to a poor family in London in ellers found linen tablecloths and Topeka KS built to connect Kansas with the 1835, Fred Harvey had emigrated to napkins, sparkling silverware, ice wa- Southwest. By 1876, the railroad had the United States as a teenager, deter- ter in pitchers and fresh-cut flowers In 1879 the Santa Fe tracks had moved beyond Kansas and into east- mined to rise in the world. His first in crystal vases at each table. Harvey reached the territory of New Mex- ern Colorado. As each new Santa Fe job was washing dishes in a New York had hired the best cook he could 6 ico. The railroad and Fred Harvey now depot was built, freight and passen- City hash house. Like many immi- find and insisted on buying only turned their attention to develop- ger traffic increased. And therein grants, he tried one career after anoth- fresh meat and vegetables. He ing tourism in this desert para- lay a problem for the railroad: how er, including the co-ownership of a St. organized his small staff so dise. It would be a new source to provide food service to passen- Louis restaurant, which folded when well that the passengers of revenue for them both. The gers on ever-lengthening train runs. the Civil War interrupted steamboat could finish a full meal in railroad bought a small hotel traffic on the Mississippi. Undaunted under 30 minutes and still and natural hot springs near Train travel in the Wild West of the by failure, Harvey started over again. have time to buy a newspa- the village of Las Vegas, New 1870s offered no comforts. Smoke and He built up a business selling freight per or cigars at the counter. Mexico. Plans were made to grit from the engine filtered through space and tickets for several Midwest- build a luxury resort hotel on the the open windows onto clothing, hands ern railroads and made personal con- Between trains, townspeople began site, where those suffering from tuber- and faces. The passengers slept on hard nections with key railroad people. taking their meals at Harvey’s second culosis and other diseases could bene- wooden seats as best they could. When floor restaurant. For $.35 ($7.50 to- fit from New Mexico’s sunshine, fresh it came to food, it was even worse. Be- Riding trains as much as he did, Harvey day) a hungry man could get steak and air and the curative power of mineral cause vestibules had not yet been in- knew first-hand how primitive travel eggs, a platter of hashed brown pota- springs. Health tourism for wealthy vented, there was no way to move from conditions were in the 1870s. In his own toes, a stack of pancakes oozing but- Americans was a growing trend, as car to car while in motion, so trains words: “...there wasn’t a square meal ter and maple syrup, coffee made fresh was touring for pleasure. Under Fred could not be equipped with dining cars or a decent lodging west of St. Louis.”2 every two hours, and a quarter section Harvey’s management, the four-story, 4 and kitchens. You either brought your of pie thrown in as well. No one left 270-room Montezuma Hotel opened own food or took your chances at one of It occurred to him that if he could Fred Harvey’s establishment hungry. organize good food service for to great fanfare in April, 1882. With the “eating houses” which the railroad its landscaped grounds, fountains, ten- established at its depots. These were passenger train riders, he could At this time, the Santa Fe was pouring make a lot of money. The market all its cash into track construction, so nis courts, archery ranges, and min- often 100 miles apart— the distance a eral baths, it seemed like an oasis in locomotive could travel before need- was there, but no one was serving it Harvey had to wait two years before properly. So Harvey went back into getting any more eating house con- the desert. The dining room sat 500 ing coal and water. The Santa Fe, like people. Fred Harvey went on a massive other railroads, generally left the man- the restaurant business, to put his the- cessions from the railroad. The turn- ory into practice. By 1875 he was run- ing point in Harvey’s restaurant ca- shopping trip back East to furnish the agement of these depot restaurants to hotel; he hired top chefs from hotels in outsiders, who often took advantage ning three eating houses for the Kan- reer came in 1878, with the appoint- of a captive market. Travellers found sas Pacific Railroad. When there was ment of William Barstow 7 bitter-tasting re-boiled coffee, rancid a falling out over expenses, he de- Strong as president of the bacon, greasy doughnuts, and some- cided it was time to move on. Har- line. An iron-willed and thing called “railroad pie,” which tast- vey approached friends he had made full-bearded railroader of ed like cardboard and glue.1 The pas- at the Santa Fe Railroad in Topeka, much experience, Strong sengers barely had time to consume Kansas. If they would let him man- was determined to see the their meals before they were hurried age their depot lunchroom rent-free, Santa Fe go beyond New out to the train. The waiters would provide gas for lighting, coal, ice, and Mexico to the Pacific coast. scrape the half-eaten platefuls back free transportation for supplies, Har- He was also open-minded into the pots to await the next train. vey would pay the help, buy the food enough to believe in Har- and drink, and supply the linen, place vey’s theory that good One man had a solution to this settings, and furniture. He was pos- food meant good busi- problem of bad food and poor ser- itive he could increase business for ness for the railroad. The vice: his name was Fred Harvey. the railroad. They made the deal. two men became close Montezuma Hotel, Las Vegas NM late 1880s

ALDON Company, Inc. | 3410 Sunset Avenue, Waukegan, Illinois 60087 | 847.623.8800 | aldonco.com | [email protected] London and New York, as well as all and replaced at intervals from a railroad was more efficient to feed passengers on tour guides to the Southwest. All this the maitre d’s, waiters, housekeep- tank car outside. On his inspection vis- board. Harvey worked out a contract to changed a decade later with the on- ers and medical staff required. Two its, Harvey was known to fly into a rage manage all the Santa Fe dining cars, hir- set of the Great Depression. Train years later the frame-built Mont- if he spotted a smudge on a tablecloth, ing the waiters and cooks, and setting travel and tourism declined sharp- ezuma burned to the ground. The or a chipped cup. He would yank the ta- up a huge bakery in Chicago for his ly, and many Harvey railroad restau- hotel was re-built, but without Fred blecloth and its contents on the floor and use. Passengers trav- 9 rants closed. There Harvey’s presence. He had found demand an instant replacement. Yet, de- elling from Chicago to was a brief resurgence running it too much of a strain. He spite such strict discipline, he inspired Los Angeles found lux- during World War II, already had plenty on his plate.5 intense loyalty among his employees. urious dining cars with when Harvey Houses thick carpeting, oak pan- fed thousands of ser- By 1883, Fred Harvey was operating Between 1883 and the 1950s, an esti- elling and menus that of- vice men and wom- more than a dozen eating houses on mated 100,000 young women worked 6 fered blue point oysters, en travelling to war. the Santa Fe Line, from Kansas to New as Harvey Girls . Their feminine pres- spring lamb, beefsteak, Mexico. It was in this year that ence transformed the quality of life in three kinds of potatoes, The 1946 Hollywood he made a decision that would the Southwest. Many of them married cakes, cheeses, English hit film, “The Harvey revolutionize his business, and local ranchers, cowhands and railroad plum pudding and five Girls,” starring Judy create an American institution. workers. Families were raised, towns choices of wine — all for Garland, brought back became more orderly, and schools and one dollar ($23 today). a brief moment of Most of Harvey’s waiters were male, churches were established. Custom- glamour to Fred Har- since living conditions out West were ers who entered a Fred Harvey eat- Success, however, came vey’s creation, but the not considered suitable for unmar- ing house were expected to watch their at a high price for Fred handwriting was on ried women. All this changed when manners. Harvey has been credited Harvey. By the mid- the wall. In the post- Harvey learned of a knife fight among with “civilizing” the West, but in ac- dle 1890s, worn out World War Two world, waiters at his Raton, New Mexico eat- tuality, it was the Harvey Girls who from nervous exhaus- travel by private auto- ing house, which left several men dead. changed the culture of the frontier. tion, chronic headaches 1888 Fred Harvey Dining Car Menu mobiles and airplanes Harvey jumped on the next train for and stomach trouble, was making passenger Raton and on arrival fired all the wait- Fred Harvey’s success was tied di- he turned over active management trains a thing of the past. In May 1971, ers, and the manager. He put a family rectly to that of the Santa Fe Rail- of the firm to his son, Ford Harvey. the Santa Fe Railroad ran its last pas- friend in charge. To replace the wait- road. By 1884, he was earning more A few years later, in 1901, Fred Har- senger train from Chicago to Los An- ers and avoid any more trouble, the than a million dollars a year from his vey died of colon cancer, at age 66. geles, before Amtrak took over rail pas- new manager recruited young wom- chain of depot restaurants, some of senger service nationwide. A few years en who had worked for Harvey in which offered hotel accommodations. The next generation of Harveys earlier, in 1968, the third generation of Kansas. Harvey recognized at once And there were more to come, as Wil- embarked on an even greater ex- Harveys sold what remained of its ho- the customer appeal this would have. liam B. Strong pushed his construc- pansion program. Between 1901 tel and restaurant empire to the Am- tion crews across the Arizona desert and 1935, the Harvey Company built fac Corporation, a major travel and Gradually, Harvey began to re-staff his and into southern California. Harvey 23 hotels in the Southwest, of which eating houses with young women wait- leisure company. Now operating un- picked up one eating house concession the crown jewel must be the El Tovar der the name Xanterra Parks and Re- resses. As more new eat- Hotel, located at the South Rim 8 sorts, a division of the Anschutz Com- ing houses came under of the Grand Canyon. The San- his control, he placed ad- pany, only a few Fred Harvey grand ta Fe Railroad built a 65-mile hotels remain, including the El Tovar vertisements in Midwest- long rail spur to the hotel, so that ern and Eastern news- at the Grand Canyon, and the La Fon- large numbers of tourists could da Hotel at Santa Fe, New Mexico. papers. The response see the most magnificent natu- was immediate. Hun- ral wonder in North America. In 1995 the Santa Fe Railroad dreds of young women, merged with Burlington Northern stuck on lonely farms or The Harvey family introduced Railroad, to be known as BN-SF. in small towns, leaped at Americans to Southwest this chance for adven- Native American art and 11 ture and to earn a living handicrafts. The com- on their own — this was pany employed Indian an age in which young artisans in New Mexi- women had few oppor- co and Arizona to cre- tunities to be indepen- ate modern versions of dent. Eventually, hir- Hopi, Navajo, and other ing halls were set up in tribal jewelry, rugs and Kansas City and Chica- Harvey Girls at the El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon 1905 pottery for sale to ho- go, with training at the tel guests. The Harveys La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe, NM circa 1930-1945 Topeka eating house. For $17.50 a after another, eventually controlling 30 were early collectors of original Na- After nearly a century of partnership, month, plus room and board, the young railroad restaurants, and giving each tive American works of art, many of Fred Harvey and the Santa Fe Rail- women signed up to work at least six one the Harvey treatment. In 1887 the which were donated to museums. road had entered the history books. months and promised not to marry Santa Fe could offer direct service from in that time. Dormitories were estab- At its peak in the 1920s, the Fred Har- Kansas City to Los Angeles. In the fol- vey Company employed 5000 peo- lished at the far western locations, and lowing year, Strong began building a Photo Credits housemothers enforced a strict cur- ple, and ran its own publishing com- rail line from Kansas to Chicago, which pany, producing scenic postcards and 1 3 4 5 6 few. This was the Wild West, after all. would make the Santa Fe the most im- A special uniform was devised: ankle- 10 KansasMemory.org, Kansas State Historical portant railroad in the nation. The rail- Society length black dress, long white apron, road’s advertisements boasted “Meals 2 The author’s private collection black stockings and shoes, and a hair- by Fred Harvey” all along the route. A net. Looking as chaste as nuns, the 7 Dana B. Chase, Courtesy Palace of the national brand had been established. Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), “Harvey Girls” — as they were imme- 056980 diately named — could not chew gum, Harvey’s volume of business was such 8 Arizona State Archives. Image #01-4777. wear makeup or jewelry, and they had that he could order a year’s supply of “Photograph of a group of Fred Harvey to be quick and cheerful in their duties. tenderloin steaks at 12.5 cents a pound employees at Grand Canyon, 1905.” from the biggest meat packer in Kan- 9 Jere Krakow Collection with thanks to Los With only half an hour in which to serve Angeles County Transportation Authority sas City. He travelled to Ireland to or- and Stephen Fried, author of “Appetite for a trainload of passengers, everything had der thousands of linen napkins and America.” to be organized down to the last minute. tablecloths; to England for mono- 10 The author’s private collection Before the train arrived, salad or fruit grammed china, and to France to or- 11 Wikipedia. Public domain. plates were already set out on the tables. der carloads of wine. He paid cash for One waitress took the drink orders, an- 12 13 Courtesy Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ everything, and operated debt-free. 12. Photographer, Craig Smith other took the menu choices. Fred Har- 13. Photographer, Jewel Clark vey was a fanatic about quality control. He took advantage of technology, as well. References Bread freshly-baked had to be sliced ex- The development of vestibules between Stephen Fried. Appetite for America, Fred Har- actly 3/8” thick; orange juice had to be passenger cars in the late 1880s made vey and the Business of Civilizing the West — freshly squeezed for each customer, and it possible for trains to include dining One Meal at a Time. (Bantam Books; 2010) never left over in the ice-box. Water for cars and kitchens. As train speeds in- Juddi Morris. The Harvey Girls — The Women Who Civilized the West. Walker Publishing coffee had to be tasted for alkali dust, creased and train runs grew longer, it Co., 1994. 12 William Patrick Armstrong. Fred Harvey — 13 Creator of Western Hospitality. Canyon Lands A LASTING LEGACY Publications, 2000. Fred Harvey Company collections of “History Lesson about a Forgotten Food Giant,” Southwest Indian art and handicrafts Jim Sullivan, Nation’s Restaurant News, 11/4/2002 are found in major museums, as Information Diggers, Ginger Frere, Chicago, IL shown here at the Heard Museum of and of course ... Wikipedia Phoenix. Other museums holding Numbered Notes Harvey collections include: The 1. Morris, page 5-6 Smithsonian, The American 2. IBID, 17 Museum of Natural History, The 3. Fried, page 50 Denver Art Museum, and the Field 4. Morris, page 11-12 Acoma Jar c. 1890 5. Fried, page 102 Museum of Chicago. 6. Sullivan INTRODUCING: The Brake Stick TRUCK DOCK SAFETY No need to climb aboard to apply the hand brake. Stabilize your trailers Operate the hand brake without climbing on the car or standing in the track. High quality Brake Stick telescopes and locks in place from 27” to 42”. 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