Saturday, April 24, 2010

conquering the west with beef steak and a cup of coffee

Henry and Neva Hanna Crownover, circa 1910
Harvey Girl uniform

Uncle Henry and Aunt Neva were packed and ready to leave their home in Decatur, Indiana and head into the wild west to visit her parents, Palestine and Mary Hanna, who were living in Albuquerque at the time. I adore their smart travel attire. Neva's wool houndstooth skirt, with matching coat, over one arm, complete with pocketbook, gloves and hat. Uncle Henry looks mighty dapper, himself, in his summer straw hat, and collar perfectly held in place with studs, and a lovely silk tie.

I heard a fascinating piece on NPR this week about Fred Harvey, responsible for bringing good food at reasonable prices in clean, elegant restaurants, to the travelling public throughout the Southwest in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They were well known for their great steaks, coffee, and excellent service. By its peak in 1928, the Fred Harvey empire ran nearly 100 restaurants and 25 hotels from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Harvey Girls Maryellen Harris Skillman*,
right, and friend

No doubt, Uncle Henry and Aunt Neva would stop somewhere along the way, at least once, at a Fred Harvey railroad eating house. The train would stop just long enough for hungry passengers to order a blue plate special, a sumptuous meal, served on china with a blue pattern. Men patrons were even required to wear a jacket and tie in order to be served. Uncle Henry would definitely pass inspection.

Harvey Houses were famous for their excellent service, provided by their staff of Harvey Girls. Fred Harvey sought out single, well mannered, educated ladies, and placed ads in newspapers throughout the east coast and midwest for "Young women, 18 to 30 years of age, of good character, attractive and intelligent." It's estimated that 100,000 women went west to work as Harvey Girls.

Today, the Harvey Girls are most likely known from the 1946 MGM musical The Harvey Girls, in which Judy Garland plays a young woman heading west, as a mail order bride, but ends up joining the Harvey Girls, instead.The hit song from the film "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe", won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer.

In this movie, it was said that the women were "conquering the West with a beef steak and a cup of coffee". Sounds pretty good to me.



This is a Sepia Saturday post.


*Thanks to Sheri Fendley for the photo of her grandmother.



73 comments:

  1. I really like Aunt Neva's hat. People dressed up back then, didn't they? Today travelers are so casual. This post is so interesting to me. Thanks for telling about Fred Harvey.

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  2. These are definitely no-nonsense people setting out on their journey. Fun to imagine what they saw from the train windows as they travelled along the old, but not so old then, Santa Fe line.

    Harvey Houses, of sorts, were still around into the late 50s, but no longer had any charm other than as a fairly decent place to stop for a meal along the two lane highways. Back then travel was still an adventure and not just something you had to suffer through to get from one place to the next.

    For any little kids out there wishing to imagine those days there is actually a paper doll set that can be bought easily at Amazon called:

    Far from Home: West by Rail With the Harvey Girls Paper Dolls

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  3. I would wear Neva's skirt in a heartbeat - love it. Great name as well. I wonder did it get passed down through the family? Interestingly, I have stayed in a restored Fred Harvey property. The La Posada in Winslow, AZ. was designed by Mary Colter and was a stop along the railway until 1957. It has now has been restored and is a hotel/restaurant. It was very charming and the food was surprisingly delicious.

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  4. What a fun post. Love the images. I am so glad you do Sepia Saturdays Willow.

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  5. Did you ever go to a White Castle for coffee and a hamburger? I loved those places - thought they had the best coffee.

    I don't remember the Harvey restaurants. I never had a lot of money in my travels so the White Castles and White-Castle-Wanna-Bees were there to feed me for a quarter or so.

    I like the old photos too.

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  6. Harvey girls, how simply exciting that would have been for them.
    Your Uncle and Aunt look amazing! I can almost SMELL their clothes, such quality! A lovely post!

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  7. Jeanette, Neva was short for Geneva. It's a beautiful name, isn't it? It hasn't been used in the family so far. I am lucky enough to have been given her engagement ring and I wear it every day. see below...

    http://willowmanor.blogspot.com/2009/12/winnie-on-ice.html

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  8. Wonderful piece of history! Lovely pictures of your ancestors here, Willow. You appreciate them with all the dignity they deserve. Wonderful read.

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  9. Hey, I learned a lot from this one. Blue plate special never made sense to me before now. I had never heard of the Harvey Eateries. I will have to look that up. Great blog.

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  10. Oh my heavens, what a wonderful photographs! They are such a handsome couple, they are stylin'! Thanks for sharing! Great post!

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  11. Great little history lesson. Modernism is so pale and sterile by comparison. I wish they would bring back passenger trains. I know some still run but they are very limited. I remember taking the train as a kid to Tyler in east Texas one summer to spend a couple of weeks with my aunt and uncle in Jacksonville.

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  12. very cool willow...what a neat time to have been in...

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  13. Such a terrific post! I heard the piece about the Harvey girls too! Fascinating! And your aunt and uncle are quite a pair!

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  14. Thank you from

    www.getawaysincalifornia.blogspot.com

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  15. Black and white picture reminds me of good old days.

    www.imagesalbum.blogspot.com

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  16. Hello Willow,

    I too heard the Fred Harvey NPR piece. It was fascinating, and I was anxious to see the book. So I was thrilled with this post. Thank you.

    Marjorie

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  17. Those gals must have been gutsy, to venture out West. I love the Judy Garland movie. She looked beautiful in the costumes they designed for Harvey girls. Sepia pictures have built-in romance. Thanks for reminding us that women conquered the West too.

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  18. In your film clip, the skulking 'Hollywood Indian' is a classic!

    Have a great weekend, Willow. Bisou, Cro.

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  19. that sounds awesome even to me!! even though my religion bars me from having beef... :)

    now i have to watch this movie...

    PS: this is why i love my blogger friends so much.. they always tell me something i never knew :)

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  20. When I first saw that movie with Judy Garland, I wanted to be a Harvey girl in the worst, and best, way. What a life, eh?

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  21. Hi Willow

    this is a great piece of history to go with a wonderful family photo. I am intrigued though, are they leaving their home?

    because what is that little white pitcher in the left background...are they at a hotel or restaurant?

    Happy days

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  22. Willow,
    You sure know how to entertain a fella!
    rel

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  23. Delwyn, yes, that's Uncle Henry and Aunt Neva's home. She was an avid collector of antiques and their home was literally dripping with them inside and out!

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  24. I adore Neva's outfit and also her luggage. I found a set of suitcases in a thrift store that are almost exactly like hers! I display them, one stacked over the other, in a corner of my livingroom. How interesting about the Harvey girls. I'll be on the lookout for that movie with Judy Garland.

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  25. Hello Willow,

    Your aunt and uncle look as if they mean business. Even photography was serious in those days. Ramrod straight pose and face. Pity we can't catch a glimpse of the softer side that a wide smile can bring. Fascinating info about Harveys. I must remember when that film comes round again!

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  26. i Know & Love that Catchy Song.but never before knew it's origin.
    I fear I wouldnt be allowed in Harvey's1 (a) because I'm too scruffy & (b) If I did wear a tie,I would no doubt get it in the soup!
    Why are people so underdressed these days?Henry and Neva look so dapper.

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  27. I love the way you weave old family photos with the history of the Harvey Girls, the settlement of the West and throw in an MGM Musical for good measure.

    You sure know how to inform and entertain us, Willow.

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  28. Delwyn, now you've got me thinking. Actually, this photo might have been taken at the rear of Palestine's house in Albuquerque, perhaps as they were ready to leave for home. It makes more sense, since the photographers of the family were all in New Mexico at the time.

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  29. Such a dignified couple they are!!
    I LOVE these old photos and the way they dressed! XOXO

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  30. Harvey Girls! Yes I remember the movie with Judy Garland! The costumes impeccable! The hair, wow...amazing! The service back then must have been excurciatingly difficult for the ladies. Today we have people wanting to go out west and work at ski chalets and summer lodges in Muskoka (like the Adirondacks...we call the Adirondack chair the Muskoka chair. Typically the good ol' yankee dollar could afford such excesses. We need more American visitors. By the way, (BTW), would you compare Harvey's to Denny's, Big Boys or Bob Evans? And is Harvey's now Harvey's Hamburgers (Harvey's makes a hamburger; a beautiful thing)in Canada? Isn't that...ps I would love the uniform, I love uniforms, use to (at 16 work as a waitress at The Hearth a Greek family restaurant) loved it til the hot chocolate machine incident (we wont talk about that!). :)

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  31. So glad I found your blog. Love the story. Just posted about my house in Sweden and the people who lived there from 1870-- I'm on a history kick of late. Will visit here often.

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  32. I think Henry and Neva could have conquered anything and anyone in those outfits! Interesting to read about the Harvey phenomenon. It was all new to me.

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  33. Really great history of the Harvey restaurants & Harvey Girls--of course, I love railroad history! Uncle Henry & Aunt Neva do look quite sharp!

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  34. you really should put together a compilation of your family stories--they are wonderful reads and like you, very interesting folk! I love the Harvey Girls idea--having travelled through the southwest I can see where their presence would make the landscape just a but more inviting;-) have a great weekend.

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  35. I love that picture of them! :)

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  36. Fascinating post Willow. I love the blending of personal history with interesting facts of the day. You really have a treasure trove of family photos.

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  37. A dapper couple, indeed!
    And
    they looked quite serious about
    their journey.

    Fred Harvey and his Harvey Girls were such an important part of opening the American West to travelers .. . he also commissioned Navajo jewelers to do special silver jewelry for sale at those restaurants.
    That genre of vintage silver is now
    very collectible.

    Judith

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  38. in this new world of ours, Train travel and Harvey Girls are old news...replaced by the interstate and Hooter's Girls...no, they don't sing like Judy Garland, but they look great in a t-shirt.

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  39. Those were the days, I just got in on the end of the white gloves and hat era, but glad I got to be a part of a bit of it.

    I am soooo robbing the rhubarb patch...sounds yummy!!!

    Thanks!
    s

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  40. They both look so stylish and I love the old luggage. I wonder what the paper is, that's tucked in his suitcase.
    I remember seeing the Judy Garland movie and want to see it again now. The costumes were so nice in the movie.

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  41. What a handsome, well-groomed couple they were!

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  42. The post with the most! Everything is better with a hot cup of coffee!
    :) The Bach

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  43. Smart looking couple. The Harvey
    Girls first thing I though of was Judy Garland. It had to be a hardship to travel then. Nice post
    ps--Willow did you ever see the movie WARM SPRINGS? It's so good all about FDR.

    You are you betting on in the Derby?

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  44. Yvonne, is it Derby Day? Gosh, I'm always a day late and dollar short.

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  45. wonderful to be back over to the manor, ladywillow! there's always a tantalizing story to be heard and wonderful images to be seen - and no exception today! love the photos! and the film is a "must see" - i came across it many moons ago and love it still! thanks so much for another great post!!! have a fabulous remainder of the weekend!

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  46. Such a neat post. And by coincidence, I was just reading about the Harvey Houses and Harvey Girls in one of my historical cookbooks--I found it absolutely fascinating! I would love to go back in time for luncheon at a Harvey House...

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  47. That was so interesting. I have seen the Garland movie buy years ago and had forgotten the story line and who the Harvey Girls were. Love the uniform and the pic of your aunt and uncle.

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  48. as always very interesting. They sure look like they meant business wherever they were going! Funny how folks used to dress up to travel and today we get as down and comfortable as we can! I was not registering about the Harvey girls until you mentioned the movie. Decatur, Indiana, we have friends we visit there, making a stop this year on our way to PA. Actually they live outside Monroe, but Decatur is the big town, and then Ft. Wayne, up the hwy.

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  49. I just loved this post. The photos were wonderful and very informative and the video clip was great - I got goosebumps when Judy Garland popped out.

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  50. Fascinating. I had no idea about Harvey Girls. It must have been a grand adventure for young ladies not used to working outside of their homes or family businesses.

    You aunt and uncle were very attractive.

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  51. You do have the best old pictures!

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  52. Henry and Neva look like they should be going first class all the way in their fancy travel attire! Your family photos are always so wonderful. I have no such memories. My mother had only one picture of my grandmother - I never met her, my grandfather or any of my aunts and uncles ( out of 13 "half" aunts and uncles except one ). They were poor Mississippi sharecroppers who worked picking cotton. My mother never stayed in touch with any of them after she "escaped" to go to GA and nursing school. She divorced my father and we never knew anyone on his side of the family. It's really pretty sad.

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  53. It is that perfect Sepia Saturday mix : a fabulous picture, some fascinating family history, and an extra measure of wider social history. If the Harvey girls sated the appetites of the travelers of seventy years ago, surely Willow and her family do the same for the virtual travelers of more modern times. (in other words, marvelous post, as always)

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  54. Fascinating, fascinating, willow, to this long-term Brit fan of the Old West.

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  55. How I missed your family posts, Willow! Stranded for an additional week in Kuala Lumpur, whenever I had the chance I read your ever-interesting columns. Many thanks. I'm back home now.

    Greetings from London.

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  56. Such an informative post, Willow. I am a huge fan of the silver jewelry of the Harvey era.

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  57. You are so lucky to have some incredible family photos and you do an amazing job of bringing their experiences to life for the reader.

    Aunt Neva's facial expression makes me think that she might be up to something!

    As usual, a wonderful post.

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  58. That top photo is absolutely fantastic! It is so representative of that time - packing up and moving on to a new life.

    I haven't seen "The Harvey Girls" and did not know that was why they were called such. (I may have seen clips here and there - certainly, I've seen the redition of the "Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe".

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  59. Jojo, you guessed right! Neva was quite the character. She most likely was up to something!

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  60. I admit that I love not having to wear suits, stockings, and heels every day to work, the way I did in the past, but sometimes, (like when I look at these old photos,) I do bemoan the fact that I won't look as good as my ancestors did in photos for the future! I still "gussy up" here and there, I suppose, but my grandparents dressed up every day the way your Aunt Neva and Uncle Henry did here. I never saw my grandfather that he wasn't in a 3 piece suit with a watch fob and chain, fedora (or panama hat in the summer,) and my grandmother always wore pretty dresses and gloves with some sort of hat. I love all the old photos and seeing the beautiful clothing is just the best, isn't it?

    What a wonderful history the Harvey girls created. I heard that piece as well.

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  61. Henry and Neva definitely look dapper and stylish in their traveling outfits.

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  62. Those were days of travel eh willow.

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  63. The movie still plays from time to time..what a treat to see Judy Garland, so pure of heart and just the best voice ever! Thanks for all the memories..

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  64. I just read a similar story about how diners came about-- those late night places that serve breakfast all night--they started as a small van on wheels outside places where people worked late so they could find a bite to eat-- pretty soon they were popping up all over the place too.

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  65. What fashionable travelers they were
















    Oh to be such a fashionable traveler!

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  66. I enjoyed the story and the film clip. The old films were mesmerizing, even when they sang and danced their way through them.

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  67. You are so blessed with these old family photos....and you tell their stories so well...I love Aunt Neva's outfit...

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  68. I'm with Henry & Neva here, I like to look good whenever I travel too. You never know when you might have to slide down the escape chute of a plane with the world's media & their telephoto lens aimed directly at you!
    Millie ^_^

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  69. I wonder what that glove holder thing is that Neva has her gloves hanging from. I also like the way Henry has his newspaper strapped to his suitcase.

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  70. Barbara, I didn't notice that Neva's gloves where attached to some kind of holder. Interesting!

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  71. One's ancestors all have interesting stories to tell, especially when there are photos to go along with them.

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  72. Oh you Americans! You really do have a solid backbone of fine people. I see why some will put their childrens' lives in jeopardy to defend that stalwart priviledge to which many feel that God has entitled them.You belong to the only nation capable of that dream. Despite all my liberal, Canadian carping, I really do raise my hat to you and your heritage. Do not think that I am being caustic or sarcastic. I raise my hat to the ideals that have made America a great nation.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)