REMEMBERING THE HARVEY GIRLS AND HOW THEY TAMED THE WILD WEST

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast · Jun 22, 2025 · 54m

By 1880 the ATS&F Railroad had laid tracks from Kansas City to California- and people and products were starting to move through the still untamed west. Food along the way, however, was a spotty proposition, and the railroad was faced with a dilemma. Cooks were hard to keep employed, and waiters were hard to find. Thats when Fred Harvey, who had emigrated from England to the US at age 15 and got into the restaurant, and then the train business- saw an opportunity. He went to the offices of the Atcheson, Yopeka, & Santa Fe Railroad and offered them a plan. If the railroads would give him the…