Civilising the West: Life with the Real Harvey Girls - Page 2
© Katie Anne Gustafsson
Whether on or off duty, a Harvey Girl was a representative of her company and as such was not allowed to wear make-up, chew gum, or be out past a curfew of 10.00 pm. She lived in a dormitory above the restaurant and a housemother in each Harvey House ensured that the rules were followed, and also acted as a chaperone to any of "her" girls who happened to be "courting".
Before commencing employment with Fred Harvey, the girls signed a contract that said that they would not marry in the first year of their employment (this may have been reduced in later years as there are some reports of it being 6-months). After this period however, many of the girls did marry and remain in the West. So many in fact that Will Rogers is often quoted as saying that Fred Harvey "kept the West in food and wives". Women being scarce in the West, a cultured Harvey Girl was an asset to any man endeavouring to carve a life for himself in the new territories. Many girls found themselves married to ranchers, railwaymen, professional men such as doctors and lawyers, and even the cooks who kept the Harvey Houses supplied with the food that helped to make them famous.
In 1917 there were 100 Harvey Houses across the United States. Although they moved with the times as best they could, branching out into feeding passengers actually on the trains as opposed to in restaurants, feeding the troops on the troop trains during World War II etc, as modern technology progressed and the need for the railway gave way to faster modes of transport, the golden age of the Harvey House was over. The memory of it remains very much alive however, and evidence of what once was can be found in such places as the Grand Canyon National Park.
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