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Blog from a Guest

gculver • July 19, 2015

We really appreciate when our guests share the word about their Harvey House experience. Shared below is from Neil Kurtzman, M.D., who stayed with us a few days ago. This is from his own blog, which we highly recommend because of his amazing humor writing skills. Check this one out and try not to laugh out loud several times.

http://medicine-opera.com/2015/05/if-you-are-a-homicidal-maniac-press-1/

Here is his review and photos of the Harvey House, excluding some of the basic history posted previously on this website:

With just one half-time employee, the Slaton Harvey House has been restored and operates through a labor of love by dozens of dedicated area volunteers. One of them is Tony Privett, shown below. He is a Slaton native whose father was a Santa Fe conductor.

The The Harvey House of Slaton hasn’t received as much notice as it should. It beautifully displays a bygone piece of Americana that deserves recognition and attention. Lubbock is a city with a population of 300,000. Because of its universities and medical centers it receives many visitors. A trip to the Harvey House would add a lot to their stay in the Hub City. Locals should also visit the establishment and use its facilities. Below are a few photos I took during my recent recent to the House.

Staff circa 1912

Dinning and reception area

More great photos from Neil (some that we will use again unless he objects)

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNAZiR485Ap0deIxk5at8crOcaZeMvmLbMgKAaweFjpxG-EcCjhq8qOaiDsysJQEQ?key=R2Y0bnJHeWNyR3I2MFRnNXRVTVRweXNDa1h5MHlR

Here is is blog in full, and we again encourage you to read more from this fascinating guy.

http://medicine-opera.com/2015/07/harvey-house-slaton-texas/

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By gculver • April 26, 2018

By Rosa Walston Latimer. The story of the hiring process of the Fred Harvey company is well known. Harvey’s advertising in women’s magazines and newspapers for “educated women of good character to go West to work” enticed young women to the Kansas City office for a personal interview. If they met Harvey standards the women […]

A Lasting Legacy of Hospitality

By gculver • February 5, 2018

By Rosa Walston Latimer. Research of Fred Harvey and his inventive approach to business has revealed his contribution of many familiar hospitality-related practices such as the “blue plate” lunch special and requiring men to wear coats in the dining room. However, perhaps the Harvey “way”’s most influential and long-lasting impact is dedication to exemplary customer […]

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By gculver • December 22, 2017

By Rosa Walston Latimer. When the railroad forged its way through the West, it brought Fred Harvey restaurants and hotels with it. Certainly Mr. Harvey had a unique vision and was an astute businessman, as were his sons and grandsons who continued the business after his death in 1901. However, it was the employees, […]

Ozzie and the Sobbing Black

By gculver • May 25, 2017

by Jessica Kelly Slaton Harvey House April 4, 2017 He is just a little guy, but his dreams are big. Ozzie, his brother, and his parents came to stay at the Slaton Harvey House Bed & Breakfast in September 2016. It was his sixth birthday and, being the train enthusiast he is, spending the night […]

Engine 1809

By gculver • February 27, 2017

Built in 1906, her career lasted 49 years, including service to Slaton. Donated to Slaton in 1955, now residing in the town square park. (photos courtesy argusrail.com)

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By gculver • November 7, 2016

By Rosa Walston Latimer, Author of Harvey Houses of Texas Visitors to the Slaton Harvey House have an opportunity to experience firsthand one of the lesser known Fred Harvey merchandising successes – the Harvey newsstand. The Slaton newsstand remains intact along the west wall of the area that was once the Harvey lunch room. In […]

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By gculver • August 5, 2016

We are grateful for Rosa Latimer’s support of the Slaton Harvey House by serving on it’s board and providing wonderful ideas, offering illuminating stories for your reading pleasure. (Such as below) and, coming soon, having her delightful play “The Harvey Girls” acted out in our own Harvey House. Here’s Rosa: The year: 1913. The place: […]

Waiting for the Train – A Slaton Harvey Girl Love Story

By gculver • June 29, 2016

By Rosa Walston Latimer Rose Heilers sat on the window sill of her second floor bedroom of the Harvey House in Slaton, Texas. She leaned against the glass so she could see further down the railroad track below. Since meeting Bill Farschon, a railroad man, a few months ago this is how she has spent […]

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By gculver • May 11, 2016

By Jessica Kelly As a child, bouncing along in our family’s VW van, I always looked forward to the times we passed a train. I loved joining in as all seven of us broke out in the same tune, gleefully singing about the “little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train.” My generation saw […]

And then there were six…

By gculver • May 7, 2016

By Rosa Walston Latimer In almost every discussion about Harvey Houses, the question is asked: “Wonder how many are still standing?” When Fred Harvey died in 1901 (at the age of sixty-five) he owned and operated fifteen hotels, forty-seven restaurants, thirty dining cars and a San Francisco Bay ferry. I haven’t found a definitive list […]