FRED HARVEY’S SOUTHWEST COURIERS: “ALL ABOARD !!!”

Grab your walking shoes, cameras, and a hat as we bump along the old dirt roads to take a detour of the grand southwest !!

A New breed of courageous, intelligent, and hard-working women traveled west from the 1880’s as Harvey Girls, and then as Southwestern Detour Couriers from the 1920’s through the great depression. The railroads and the Fred Harvey system encouraged these young unmarried girls to head west to work for him, and become a part of the Southwestern landscape. The college-educated Detour Couriers, or Tour Guides, were a major part of the travel industry enlightening travelers about the history, and unique beauty of the entire southwest. Along with young men who drove the touring cars, and buses, these women took willing passengers off the railroads and from the Fred Harvey Hotels to the ancient Indian Pueblos, National Parks, and other places of interest. They were the “walking-talking billboards” for the history, beauty and opportunities of the then little known southwest.

October 12, 2019 7:00 PM
Raton Museum – 108 South 2nd , Raton, NM