OTTAWA — After weeks showing people about Fred Harvey and his Harvey House restaurants, the Old Depot Museum is going to feed people like Fred Harvey did at 7 p.m. Thursday at the museum. Following a presentation called “Meals by Fred Harvey” given by author and historian Tom Taylor and the National Archives’ Dee Harris, those who attend will get to sample a dessert made from Harvey House recipes, museum director Diana Starsinic-Deane said. The recipes were written for use by Harvey House restaurants, which used wood stoves, she said. That prompted some quick research on the Internet to convert the recipes to more modern ovens, she said. Harvey changed the nature of railroad meal stops beginning in the 1870s, she said. The string of eating establishments called Harvey Houses, staffed by young women, became a 3,000-mile-long hospitality empire from Ohio to California, largely followed the route of the Santa Fe Railroad. Harvey espoused the principles of excellent food, impeccable service, reasonable prices, and standardized service, she said. Indeed, Harvey’s experiment revolutionized American dining habits as well as having a major impact on the development of the American Southwest, she said. The special National Archives exhibit about Harvey and his ground-breaking restaurants will be at the Old Depot Museum through Nov. 8.
Monday, Oct. 19, 5 p.m.
