Last night we had a standing-room-only crowd at the National Archives–over 215 people in a room meant for maybe 175, so they were lined up against the walls or watching from out in the hallway, apparently the biggest turnout ever in this handsome facility. And it was a wonderful and moving night as we watched Kansas Citians reclaim a part of their history. There were family members of some of Fred Harvey’s top executives there, as well as the children and grandchildren of Harvey Girls and chefs (some with amazing old photos we will post as soon as we get copies), and just people who knew Fred Harvey mattered, but never really realized how much the company had mattered here, and across the country. It was a warm and engaging group (who even forgave me for mispronouncing Arkansas City on the local NPR station earlier that day–it’s Ar-KAN-sas) and a lot of people waiting in the long book-signing line (they sold out) were comparing Harvey memories or swapping tips on visiting the Grand Canyon or Santa Fe or taking train trips. It was a Fred-topia! Afterwards we had a great dinner at Michael Smith’s restaurant with Kimberlee Reid, who organized the entire amazing event for the National Archive, Peter Hansen, the editor of the journal Railroad History, and Heather Paxton, the Kansas City researcher on the book. Today we do a luncheon event at Union Station–where I visited yesterday and got a chance to hang out in Ford Harvey’s old office on the second floor, which has been pretty well preserved (although two of the four carved Indian heads that Mary Colter had designed to hold up the fireplace mantle have mysteriously disappeared.) After speaking later this afternoon in Topeka at the Kansas State Historical Society, we catch the overnight Southwest Chief to Santa Fe, and we’ll be having a dining car breakfast somewhere near Dodge City–along with a gaggle of Harvey family members who are also “Chief-ing” to New Mexico for the Fred events there.

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