Rosa Walston Latimer - Harvey Houses of Kansas: Historic Hospitality from Topeka to Syracuse

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2015 by Rosa Walston Latimer

All rights reserved

First published 2015

e-book edition 2015

ISBN 978.1.62585.370.7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946486

print edition ISBN 978.1.62619.847.0

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

HARVEY GIRL

An excerpt from the poem by Jessica Helen Lopez, Poet Laureate of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2015

Harvey Girl we salute you

transcontinental dreams come true

going out on the line and casting your hopes

your union station stories

You woman

who fed the boys

who paved our way

who opened doors

You blue collar woman

break back break nail

wear a smile woman

You westward dream woman

You

Harvey

Girl

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank-you to the following individuals for their help in obtaining information and images: Louise Reynolds and family; Julia Ortolon; Julie Grubbs McCombs, Kearny County Historical Society, Lakin, Kansas; Nancy Sherbert, Kansas Historical Society; and Judy Mills, Florence Historical Society. Also my appreciation to the Hamilton County Historical Society; Jane Jones and Kristine Schmucker, Harvey County Historical Society; and Connie Pennick, Depot Theater Company.

A special thank you to Carolyn Rosser, who shared photos of her Harvey Girl grandmother, Dott Rahlin. I met Carolyn at a book signing for Harvey Houses of Texas when I was just beginning Kansas research. I commend her for her resolve to provide images for this book, and although we were unable to determine the exact location(s) in Kansas where Dott worked as a Harvey Girl, I am pleased that we could preserve this little bit of her story.

After long searching for certain details about the Fort Scott, Kansas Harvey House, two days before the deadline for this manuscript I was directed to Arnold Schofield, a Fort Scott historian who graciously verified the information I needed. At the end of this long project, this act of kindness from a stranger was very much appreciated.

Without the help and support of Michael McMillan and his fabulous vintage postcard collection I could not have properly told this story. How fortunate I am to have become acquainted with this very talented, knowledgeable individual. Thank you, Michael, for your continued contribution to the telling of the Harvey House story!

Im especially grateful to Danyelle Gentry Petersen and Beau Gentry for sharing the story of their father, Skip. By all accounts, Skip was a great friend to all who knew him, and his collection of Fred Harvey/Harvey House memorabilia is unsurpassed. We are fortunate to have some of Beaus photos of pieces from Skips collection included in this book.

Thank you to the poet laureate of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jessica Helen Lopez, for allowing me to print a portion of her poem Harvey Girl as an introduction to this book. I wish I could somehow embed a recording of Jessica performing the poem in its entirety. I guarantee goosebumps!

A special shout out to Jim and Kathy Weir. I count their friendship as one of the valuable, unexpected benefits of writing this book. Im looking forward to more Fred Harvey/Mary Colter adventures with these two special people.

Many, many thanks to Janice Plummer for looking after all my critters, to Kathy Beach for being a wonderful traveling companion and to Melissa Morrow for her encouragement and wisdom during this project.

To my daughter and best friend, Lara: I love you and am so thankful to have you in my life. Thank you for all you do to make everything better for me.

In everything I do since meeting His Happiness, I acknowledge his unfailing love that continues to be a profound presence in my life.

INTRODUCTION

Although this is my third book about Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls, it is actually the beginning of the story. Kansas is where it all beganthe first depot restaurant and the first combination hotel and restaurantbefore the waitresses were called Harvey Girls. Mr. Harvey chose Kansas for his familys home and built a lovely house in Leavenworth. Perhaps lacking some of the flair that lured tourists to the Southwest Harvey Houses, luxurious Harvey hotels were built at strategic points along the Santa Fe Railroad as it raced across Kansas, and the Fred Harvey Company established operating headquarters for more than half of the Harvey eating system in Newton.

I first became interested in Harvey Girls when my uncle Bill provided me with a detailed family tree and pointed out that my grandmother had worn the now iconic black-and-white Harvey Girl uniform in the early 1900s. At the time I heard this family story, I had no idea what a Harvey Girl was, but I felt that if I learned about these adventuresome, hardworking women, I would also learn about my grandmother, a woman I last saw when I was two years old.

Gertrude Elizabeth McCormick met my grandfather William Alexander Balmanno in 1913 while she was working as a Harvey Girl in Rincon, New Mexico. When William was twelve years old, he left his family on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to work on whaling ships. At the age of twenty-nine, he and a friend quit their whaling jobs in Vera Cruz, Mexico, and decided to walk to California. On the way, in Rincon, William took a job with the Santa Fe Railroad to earn money to finish his trip.

My grandmother, an orphan who finished nursing school in Philadelphia, wanted to go to Alaska. (Looking for adventure, I suppose.) She reasoned that working as a Harvey Girl would be a good start as it afforded the opportunity to transfer to different locationsall the way to California. Her first assignment was at the lunch counter in the Harvey House in Rincon, where she met William. They were married three months later and spent the rest of their lives in New Mexico.

With this true story, I began my research about Harvey Girls, the Harvey Houses where they worked and Fred Harvey, the man who advertised for educated women of good character to come West to work. Initially, of course, my interest was in my grandparents and New Mexico Harvey Houses, but I soon became interested in the Harvey Houses of Texas. During this research, it became obvious to me that the Kansas Harvey story should also be told. After all, Kansas is where it all began.

I am so thankful for the structure and organization of the Fred Harvey Company forall these many, many years laterthat has made it possible for me to tell this story. Many of the photographs that we have today to help pay tribute to the Harvey Girls and other Harvey employees are possible because of the companys careful photographic documentation. In the early years of the Fred Harvey Company, the Harvey staff photographer, Gay M. Hamilton, recorded the Fred Harvey history for us. Hamilton was also the official photographer for the