Railroad Postcards and Harvey Girls
Picture postcards have been part of the sent/received mail landscape for decades and during the years of railroad passenger travel one could purchase a picture postcard of just about anything railroad at the railroad station.
One feature of the Santa Fe railroad stations as well as many of those big Union stations where the Santa Fe called were the Harvey House Dining Halls. At those stations, in addition to railroad pictures, one could also purchase pictures of the associated Harvey houses.
From time to time either a postcard with a "Made for Fred Harvey" mark on the back or just a postcard for a particular railroad station would feature, in addition to a picture of the station itself, people coming and going and, once in awhile, the Harvey House staff. Below are two railroad postcards with this combination of station and Harvey House staff.
Station Arkansas City, Kansas
Detail
Station Chanute, Kansas
Detail
The Harvey Houses and the Harvey Girls were an integral part of the Santa Fe railroad for many decades. If you should be interested in learning more about them I would recommend the book The Harvey Girls.
