Stephen Fried wrote that he was “Ray Kroc before McDonalds, J.W. Marriott before Marriott Hotels or Howard Johnson before HoJo’s (…), Howard Schultz before Starbucks.” This is because he created the first chain of restaurants and hotels in the U.S., for which he set high quality standards. Fred Harvey was a culinary visionary and a missionary who spread the eating culture and good hygiene in places where barracks with disgusting food were referred to as restaurants, and where cottages with straw mattresses on the floor were considered hotels. The American West owes him not only the superb cuisine, but also wives. It was the legendary Harvey’s Girls that came to work there and settled in the area who contributed to the civilizational growth in these “wild” lands.

Chapter 2 - Fred Harvey - Vol. 2, pages 16-29. To see sample page from that chapter click here

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