NATIONAL HARVEY GIRL SYMPOSIUM A SUCCESS!
In two days of excitement and continuous activity, the National Harvey
Girl Symposium 2004 welcomed and honored the 13 real Harvey Girls able to
attend and 
paid
tribute to all the others who made history and civilized the Southwest.
Close to 50 were contacted but were unable to make the journey to San Diego.
Harvey Girl Rosine Gary won the first place award presented by Victoria Vanderbilt, great great granddaughter of Fred Harvey. Award criteria was based on number of locations of service, length of service in the Harvey organization, and age.
The Symposium was well attended by many groups, Harvey-related museums, authors, family members and interested parties. Letters of recognition and congratulations were received from First Ladies Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Roselyn Carter, and Lady Bird Johnson, Senators, Congresswomen, a phone call from California First Lady Maria Shriver, and a delightful letter from Angela Lansbury who co-starred in the Harvey Girl movie with Judy Garland. Attendees came from all over the United States, some as far away as Massachusetts.
The purpose of the Symposium, to bring together the last remaining Harvey
Girls focusing on their contribution to Southwestern culture and record
their personal 
stories
for posterity, was certainly accomplished. Two videotaping crews, Top Hat
Productions and Silent Tiger Studios, captured the ladies during the museum
event and activities as well as recorded their stories with personal interviews.
Documentaries will be developed from these sources and hopefully will be
available in the near future.
Beyond the Symposium, the SDMRRM is posting the Harvey story as researched and developed on story-boards used during the event for further education and information. These short articles delve into many aspects of the Harvey legacy, many that have been overlooked or forgotten. Following these summaries will be a listing of Harvey Girls, their names, years and places of service as available. It is our hope that by listing these pioneering ladies, and they were 100,000 strong, their names and significant place in history will never be forgotten
-HAL RITZ
