The Harvey House chain of restaurants got its start in Topeka, KS when Fred Harvey opened a cafe geared to those traveling on the AT&SF. Preferring the term “Harvey Girls” to waitresses, he recruited single women to work at the Harvey Houses that gradually sprang up all the way to California and Texas. Between the 1880s and the 1950s, more than 100,000 women–many of them Kansans–proudly wore the black and white uniform of the internationally known Harvey Company.
The presentation will explore the adventures of these pioneering young women. Program presented by Michaeline Chance-Reay, courtesy of the Kansas Humanities Council.
Open to the public. Admission is free.