Harvey Girls - Go West! portrayed by kim hanley
It is 1942 and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has joined the Allied Powers in the second Great War. Troops are on the move across the country and the Train lines are the most efficient means to move them. But an army needs to be fed! Who better to do so than the company that literally pioneered rail-way food service, Fred Harvey. His famous waitresses, known as The Harvey Girls were the first nationally known female workforce. They were known for efficient, courteous service. During the depression of the 1930’s, many Harvey Houses across the southwest had been closed, but with the troop trains on the move, many houses have to re-open, and they need to be staffed. Many is the old Harvey Girl who came out of retirement to do her duty to her nation by feeding the troops. In this presentation, we will meet Mrs. Alice Dougherty White. Along with many young women in search of independence and adventure, Alice left her home back East in 1907 when she was a teenager, answering the call to work as a Harvey Girl along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. These young ladies and the Fred Harvey Company are credited with civilizing the Southwest. Mrs. White will recount her days as a Harvey Girl as she considers coming out of retirement to Serve the Troops.
Kim Hanley: Bio of Actor/Historian, Reenactor, Interpreter, Impersonator