The Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the Harvey House Centennial Celebration event on Monday, December 15th to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Brownwood Harvey House. The celebration included several special events including the unveiling of a new Harvey Girl statue, a book signing by “Harvey Houses of Texas” author Rosa Latimer and special appearances by three of the original Harvey Girls from the 1940’s. The documentary “Harvey Girls: Opportunity Bound” was also shown at the Lyric Theatre Thursday night to cap off the day of events.
Former Harvey Girls Evelyn Adams, Dorothy Cason and Maxine Keller visited the Brownwood Harvey House on Monday and were treated as the special guests for the event. Each lady recounted special memories from their days working in the restaurant during World War II and compared stories with each other from their days working in the establishment.
The statue sculpted by Neil Logan from Arizona is one in a series of bronze statues commemorating the Harvey Girl legacy. Logan modeled the statue after his wife’s aunt, Luz Degadillo, who worked as a Harvey Girl in Arizona. The run of statues will be limited to only 12 and the Brownwood piece is the 4th for Logan to produce.
Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes unveiled the statue after reading a city proclamation commemorating the 100th birthday of the Harvey House.
Brownwood’s Harvey House originally included a lunch room, kitchen, dining area and dormitories for the employees. Today the building houses the offices of the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce, Gordon Wood Hall of Champions Museum, and Council Finance.
The Brownwood Harvey House was built and opened in 1914 immediately east of the Brownwood Santa Fe Railroad Depot and was one of a series of restaurants across the country operated along the Santa Fe line by the Fred Harvey Company. The Harvey Houses were the concept of railroad agent Fred Harvey whose idea was to provide superior food for travelers.
Tours of the Brownwood Harvey House and the newly unveiled statue are available daily at the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
Pictured from left to right are former Brownwood Harvey Girl Dorothy Cason, Maxine Keller and Evelyn Adams standing with the newly unveiled statue.
