Sheila Wood Foard

I've been interested in the Harvey Girls, turn of the century waitresses who worked in Fred Harvey Houses as waitresses on railroad lines, for a couple of years. While we were in St. Louis, we got to see an actual Harvey Girl uniform at the train depot turned mall in downtown St. Louis.

The book is light. The story is interesting, but the writing is pretty basic. It's not a bad book by any means, just not as hefty as the books I'm used to. The characters are pretty one dimensional, not all that fleshed out.

It's more of a light hearted historical look at what a Harvey Girl was more than anything. It just kind of lacked oomph. Interesting if you're interested in the Harvey Girls and turn of the century American history. It was a really, really fast read. I think I read it over three days and that was pretty much just while I was using the potty hee hee hee… (mehr)

Harvey Girls is a story of a young girl who is tired of her father controlling her every move. After she refuses to drink the spoiled milk her father wants her to drink her father has ordered a whipping with his famous strap. Clara runs away from her father finds her cousin Opal. Opal left home as well to start a career as a Harvey Girl. Clara's father does not believe that women should vote, be educated and make her own money. Clara hides out a her grandmother's house for a while until Granny Hites gives her money to cure her itchy feet. The itch is the desire to travel. Clara takes the train down to her cousins job site in Kansas City. Her Cousin is not happy to see her and hides her in her dorm which could cost her career. Clara must pass herself off as an 18 year old so that she can become a Harvey Girl. After passing herself as 18 Clara gets the job! She is excied and is shipped off to New Mexico. Clara is extremely tall for her age and forgets to tell her travel mate that she is 18. Clara slips up and tells her co-worker her real age. Nellie says that her secret is safe, and uses this as a way to contol her for a while. Working hard to keep her job Nellie gets Clara in trouble, and she vows to herself that she will not allow Nellie to get her in trouble any more! An incident happens and Clara's real age is discovered, she is fired and is on her way back home. In the time that she has been working Clara has saved enough money to take her mother and sister out of the town their living in to New Mexico where her sister may have a chance to survive TB. After escaping her father Clara, Beulah, and their mother are off to the west to start a new life.… (mehr)

Harvey Girl tells the story of Clara Fern Massie, a fourteen year old farm girl from rural Missouri. Her family life is hardscrabble and she and her father have reached the point in their relationship where disagreements and arguments are common. A shouted showdown one evening results in Clara running away to Kansas City, Missouri to her cousin Opal Wilhite who works as a Harvey Girl.

Clara is big for her age and when she makes it very clear to her cousin that she simply can’t go back home her cousin gives her a “makeover”, some interview tips, and sends her to the Fred Harvey main office in Union Station for an interview. Clara’s interview is a success and she is sent off to Belen, New Mexico for training and her first job. The novel follows Clara through the ups and downs of her experiences at Belen and later at El Tovar on the Grand Canyon rim.

While Clara Fern Massie is the product of author Foard’s imagination she is very believable. Her actions, bearing, speech, and awe at the sights of the big new world she has entered, correlate well with her postulated upbringing and the historical facts of the time. Her adventures (and misadventures) are believable and mirror the world of the real Harvey Girls as documented in published first person accounts. The author takes advantage of Clara’s reactions to the novelty of her surroundings, not only to move the story forward, but also to introduce facts and history of the real Harvey Girls. The end result is a novel that entertains and informs.

In an after word the author gives a brief history of the Harvey Girls, offers some additional information about the facts used in the story, and provides a bibliography for further reading.… (mehr)