Rosa Latimer and The Harvey Girls

1. Your new book is "Harvey Houses of Texas." For the uninitiated, what were Harvey Houses?  

Harvey Houses were restaurants built along the Santa Fe Railroad. Founded by Fred Harvey and established with a hand-shake agreement with the railroad, the lunch counters and dining rooms served railroad passengers, railroad employees as well as residents of the community from the late 19th century until the 1940s.

 

2. What got you interested in Harvey Houses?  

As I learned my family history, I noticed a great deal of family pride in the fact that my grandmother was a Harvey Girl in New Mexico. I didn't know what a Harvey Girl was and as I began to learn more I realized this was a little-told story about a significant part of women's history in our country.

 

3. In 1946, Judy Garland starred in a movie called "The Harvey Girls." Besides providing us with the classic song "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe," what were the movie's other contributions to Harvey House history? 

Actually, the story in this movie is the only Harvey House history that many people know. 

 

4. You interviewed a number of former Harvey Girls for the book. What was that experience like? Did they see their time at Harvey Houses as particularly noteworthy or was it just another food service job?  

Meeting former Harvey Girls and hearing their stories was the best part of writing this book. Most of these women still exhibit the energetic, adventuresome spirit that led them to become Harvey Girls and their Harvey Girl experiences were a very important part of their lives.  I didn't find one who considered it "just another job" - the women (and their families) are eager to share their stories.  Preserving these personal stories and paying tribute to these women is the focus of Harvey Houses of Texas and will continue to be my focus as I write the Harvey Girl/Harvey House history of other states.

 

5. How long have you been researching Harvey Houses and their originator, Fred Harvey?  

I took several years to research the Texas Harvey House book and then it took several more years to find a publisher - at least ten years altogether.

 

6. You've owned Ruby Lane Books, the bookstore in Post, for eleven years. What is it like going from bookseller to author?  

The two fit together quite nicely. I was a free-lance writer long before I opened the book store and it was a challenge to separate work time and space from my personal life. Because it is a small store in a small town, I have plenty of time to write during business hours and the store provides a great work environment apart from my personal space.

 

7. There were sixteen Harvey Houses in Texas. Which ones stand out as the most interesting?  

The history of the Gainesville Harvey House is probably the most interesting to me because...well...I suppose you'll need to read the book to learn why.  The Slaton Harvey House is interesting because it has been beautifully preserved and is the only Harvey House in Texas that is still used for its original purpose.

 

8. I've heard it said that Harvey Houses were ahead of their time. What do people mean by that?  

Mr. Harvey's vision for fine dining regardless of how remote the location along with his use of the railroad to ship fresh food and supplies to all of the Harvey Houses was extremely innovative for the late-19th, early 20th centuries. Certainly his understanding of the importance of "branding" his product was unusual for the time.

 

9. Besides the Harvey Houses in Texas, where else were they located?  

California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Illinois.

 

 

10. So are there plans for more Harvey House books from Rosa Latimer?  

Thank you for asking!  "Harvey Houses of New Mexico" will be released May, 2015, and "Harvey Houses of Kansas" is scheduled for release in the Fall of 2015. Both are published by The History Press.  We have discussed books about the Harvey Houses in Arizona and Oklahoma, but no contract on those yet.

11. What's been the most rewarding part of writing this book? 

I loved, loved, loved the time I was actually writing the final manuscript for the publisher - so I'd say that was the most personally rewarding. However, now on the other end of the process, I have met many fun, interesting people (known as Fred Heads) who share my enthusiasm for Harvey Girl and Fred Harvey stories and preserving this history and that, too, is a rewarding experience.

 

12. You've told us about the future Harvey House books. What other subjects interest you that might one day make it into print?  

 I have begun preliminary research for a book about women ranchers in the Panhandle and counties south of Lubbock and would love to create a fiction series on Harvey Girls. I am also developing a play about the real "Rosie the Riveters" based on the true story of four sisters who grew up on a farm near Plainview, TX and all went to California to work in the airplane factories.  Actually, the list of possible projects is long, but finding the time to complete them is limited! 

My Life With Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney’s Lubbock concert is less than a week away. In honor of that historic event (he’s appearing for the first time in the hometown of his musical hero, Buddy Holly), I’ve been reflecting on my favorite McCartney moments.

Mind you, these aren't about his life and achievements, but about times when his iconic presence and music played into my life in some form or fashion:

1966 (first grade at Greenbriar Elementary in Fort Worth) – Robbie Tarvin came to school with a Beatles lunchbox, which was about the coolest thing a six year old could do. As he pulled out his baloney sandwich with way too much mayo and began adding Fritos , he made the ridiculous suggestion that John Lennon was the leader of the Beatles. I pointed out that McCartney was not only the best looking Beatle, but also clearly the leader, since he sang lead on the two greatest Beatles songs, “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “Michelle.” Before long, classmates Regina, Jess, Kent, and Charlie had joined the discussion and the whole table was involved in a Beatles debate. The worst part was the silly six-year-old who couldn’t keep straight the difference between The Monkees, Beatles, and Herman’s Hermits. Miss Hunt, the incredibly attractive fourth-grade teacher who had lunch room duty that day came over to see what the fuss was about. After hearing the crux of the matter, she quickly sided with me, noting it was also McCartney who sang lead on “Nowhere Man.” Turns out she was wrong about that, but nobody in first grade knew it. Robbie and I were never close after that (which was fine, because his breath smelled like mayonnaise). For the rest of the year, every time Miss Hunt saw me in the hall, she would engage in a short but sweet bit of Beatles conversation. That’s heady stuff for a first grader.

1973 – Ellen Jobe, the blonde who lived across the street from my grandparents in Fort Worth, apologized for saying Paul McCartney wasn’t a real rocker. This came after he and Wings released the regrettable “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and many rock fans cashed in their chips and moved on. While I still can’t figure out what he was thinking, I chose to focus on “My Love” as a rock ballad for the ages, rather than the goofy “Mary.” When “Live and Let Die” came out, McCartney got his “cred” back with Ellen and gave us an excuse to strike up a conversation. Thanks, Paul. Ellen Jobe was a cutey. 

1974 – At church youth camp, the always cool Steve Marsh brought his guitar. He knew how to play “Rocky Raccoon,” but mangled the lyrics a bit. When he reverted to la-la-la-something-or-other, I jumped in and helped him out. Since I was only a freshman and he was a senior, that was either a heroic move or a huge faux pas.  As Rocky rode off into the North Dakota sunset, Steve said, “You’ve got a nice voice. What else you want to sing?” Cha-ching!

1978 – A sad moment which still embarrasses me. I went to see Peter Frampton, The Bee Gees, Alice Cooper, and Aerosmith in the movie version of Sgt. Pepper’s. I enjoyed it and said so to anyone who would listen. Then Rolling Stone magazine declared it the worst rock music movie of all time. Whatever cred I got back in 1974 was now pretty much gone. Looking back, Rolling Stone was right and I was clearly an idiot.

Early- to Mid-1990s – Singing my daughter to sleep each night with a medley of songs that started with “I Love You” from Barney the Dinosaur and ended with “Blackbird,” by McCartney. Maybe that’s a connection he was hinting at way back in ’73 with “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” 

1976 – Winning a KZEW t-shirt for being the first caller to correctly identify the snippet of a “new” song they played and name the band. It was “Got to Get You Into My Life,” which was originally recorded in 1966 but not released as a single until a decade later to promote the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” Beatles compilation album. Always one of the Beatles most underrated songs and a key reason why Revolver is the second best Beatles album of all time.

1971 – The TCU Theatre in Fort Worth was running a Sunday afternoon double feature: Yellow Submarine and Let It Be. It was my father’s weekend to see us, but he was a no-show on both Friday night (we were supposed to go camping) and Saturday (“Got held up at work. We will go camping tonight.”) He showed up Sunday afternoon as my little brother and I were walking out of church and about to get on the “blue goose” church bus to be driven home. He told us to come with him and he would take us to do whatever we wanted. Knowing how much he hated anything even remotely tied to rock music (he never forgave Buck Owens for “letting” the Beatles do a cover of “Act Naturally), I said I wanted to go to the movies. My mother had refused to take me to see the Beatles double-feature for fear there would be “hippies with drugs” lurking about. Turns out, she was right. I got my first whiff of marijuana sitting in that theater. My father, who couldn’t backtrack after promising to take us anywhere we wanted, sat and stewed for four hours while I rocked to the Beatles and my brother (nine years old at the time) curled up and took a nap.

1965-69 – Sunday mornings meant two things: getting ready for church and watching the Rankin Bass Beatles cartoon, followed by Bullwinkle. Both of them remain two of the wittiest, best-written cartoons of all time.

1965 – Music has always played an important role in my life. In 1965 my grandparents asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told them I wanted a new record player and a Beatles record. I got both. Score!

1997 – Going through security at the Tokyo airport and seeing a large picture of McCartney in handcuffs following his 1980 arrest for marijuana.

 The caption, in multiple languages, read, “If we will arrest him, we will most certainly arrest you. Please follow the rules.” I pulled out a camera to take a picture of it and was quickly reminded by a man in a uniform that one of the rules was NO CAMERAS IN THE SECURITY AREA.

See you Saturday, Paul.

The Bird's Eye View on Moving to South America: David Sasaki

David Sasaki's contributions are found on two of my favorite Facebook sites: What's Happening in Cotacachi Ecuador and Ecuador Expats. You can also find him by simply searching David Sasaki. All sites are extremely informative with a good mix of news about Ecuador and networking between current and prospective expats.

For anyone who has considered relocating to another country, or wonders what makes someone else do it, I thought I'd share some of David's thoughts on living in Ecuador. As his FB site explains, he lives in a small town, Cotachi, north of Quito. The photos he shares of the mountains around his home are nothing less than stunning.

So my first question for David was how did you go from 'I could move to South America' to 'let's do it?'

David explained, "My wife and I came to Ecuador for a short visit to see if we liked it. We did. We went back home, sold our house, and came to Ecuador with just suitcases." He said both he and his wife lean toward the adventurous side of life, so the idea of moving was appealing to both of them.

Having said that, he also "needs stability" and doesn't like to constantly be on the go. Therefore, Cotacachi provided a good mix of exotic locale, but with small town roots.

I asked David what surprised him most about moving to Ecuador. His answer is a cautionary tale for those of you considering the move. "There are some expats who try to take financial advantage of new arrivals," he said. Therefore, if you are considering moving, be very cautious about trusting other people simply because they also come from the USA.

On the other hand, David noted, "The people of Ecuador have been very welcoming. Some are cautious around foreigners which is understandable." We also found that to be true. Once again, you have to be careful not to trust people too much until they earn that trust. Caution is a good by-word.

I asked David about all the news media hype regarding Americans moving to Ecuador and how that has affected things there. He said, "The cost of living has been going up. While it's still cheaper to live in Ecuador than in the US, it's not as cheap as it was a few years ago. And the cost of living depends on your lifestyle."

That's an excellent point. When you read that a meal in Ecuador costs around two dollars, keep in mind the writer is probably referring to rice and beans. If you want to eat like a king, you will pay considerably more.

While some commentators report that the average stay by Americans in Ecuador is less than three years, David tends to dispute that number. "I think people are just making guesses," he said. "There are no official figures."

David would know. He is as well informed as anyone I have run across about the country. His FB sites offer what most Ecuadorian sites do not, a great number of news articles on the country.

I asked him what he missed most about living in the US. His answer was short and sweet: "Not much really except maybe family and a few good friends." What does he most appreciate about Ecuador, besides the great beauty? He is glad to be out of the "rat race mentality." Tranquilo, which means to be tranquil or to chill out is a popular word in South America.

He suggested if someone is interested in investigating a new culture, rather than trying to impose their culture on others, they would enjoy Ecuador. But that's an important point. Those who hear life in Ecuador is dirt cheap and who see the people as their personal servants give Americans a bad name and sour Ecuadorians on all of us.

Ecuador is not the southern wing of the United States. The culture is different, the people are different. If you are considering moving, that's important to realize. Also, English is not the official or unofficial language. At least trying to learn Spanish is important.

David's advice: Find an area that suits your lifestyle. "I'm not a beach person. I love the mountains. My wife and I made a decision early on that we did not want to live in a city. We prefer small town life. I think if their financial resources allow it, people should visit first to see if they like Ecuador. The country is not for everyone."

Wise words from someone I admire. If you are considering Ecuador and want to learn more about it, I believe you will enjoy David's sites.

Welcome to the Paper Tree Forest

Most people have a Bucket List of places they very much want to visit before the one-way trip to the next plain of existence. Tops on mine is Turkey.

One place that wasn't on my Bucket List, because I didn't know it existed, was the Paper Tree Forest in Cajas National Park outside Cuenca, Ecuador. However, it was such a magical experience, I would urge you to put it on yours.

Stepping into the Paper Tree Forest was like instantly being transported to a magical, enchanted land. The trees are so different from anything I'd ever seen before, and so different from the surrounding bogs and mountains of the Cajas, that it very nearly took my breath away...or was that the elevation?

 The official name of Paper Trees is polylepis, which is Latin for "many layers." That's because the trees don't have rings like other types of trees, but more resemble onions. They can literally be peeled apart and the layers used for writing paper or to roll cigarettes. As you can see from these pictures, the lack of a strong inner core causes the trees to grow in some fascinating ways, winding, bending, and turning like a hermit's fingernails.

In Australia the trees tend to look more like scrubs. However, in the rain forests/cloud forests of the Cajas, the trees grow much taller and wind in fascinating ways.

When llamas munch on them, they also tend to fall over, but can continue growing. Therefore, you might see one growing along the ground or winding in a circle. (Having said that, I am anything but an expert on Paper Trees. My only experience was hiking the Cajas and stumbling across this magical kingdom.)

Our guide said many of the native peoples of the region saw/see the forest as enchanted. Not hard to see why. If you have ever wondered what it would feel like to step inside a fairy land, visit the Paper Tree Forest.

Our guide said there are actually a number of tales from the native peoples that happen in the polylepis forests. As I began writing The Ecuadorian Deception, my intention was that much of the book, especially the chase scenes.

If you have read the novel, you know that while the Paper Tree Forest is certainly there, it has a much more minor roll...more of a backdrop scene than a centerpiece.

In spite of that, or maybe because of it, I wanted to take time to encourage you that if/when you visit Ecuador, make time to visit the Cajas (pronounced Cah-haas). When you first begin your hike, you will go through a rain forest, move into bogs, and then eventually make the Paper Tree Forest. Having said that, you don't have to be in top shape to make the hike, but you do need to be able to trudge at least 10 miles in high altitudes.

It's not recommended to do this on your own, either. If you get lost in the Cajas, it can be very dangerous. That's probably not so different from national parks in the United States, where getting lost is also not a great idea.

The bogs along the Inca Trail.

For those of you who have hiked the Inca Trail or visited the Paper Tree Forest, I'd love for you to share with us in the comments section. Further, if you have other "magical" destinations, feel free to recommend them.

Books, Hotels, Restaurants, and a Favor to Ask

When Caryl and I began traveling twenty-plus years ago, we had very few options when it came to planning. Life is too short and money too tight to eat bad food or stay in crappy hotels. So about December of each year we would begin shopping, first for vacation spots and then for books about that spot.

The right travel guide (Mobil used to publish our favorite) could steer us toward fantastic restaurants, attractions, and hotels that fit our budget and our demographics. But today, fortunately, something far better than the Mobil Guide exists.

It's you. And you. And you. And you. All of you joining together through a variety of Internet sites and applications to express your opinions about everything from books to restaurants to doctors to handymen. Once our best option was looking at the opinions and evaluations of a few "experts" who wrote for Fodders and Consumer Reports and newspapers.

Now I can ask you - thousands and thousands of you - what you think of a certain book, travel destination, or restaurant. And, like the Olympics, I can throw out the high and low scores and come up with a pretty decent picture of what I'm going to get if I spend my money on this attraction or that hotel.

ReviewPush published an article in 2012 explaining point by point how and why online reviews are so important. You can read it here: http://www.reviewpush.com/blog/how-online-reviews-impact-your-business/.

As the article points out, we are now blessed with the opportunity to hear from dozens, hundreds, or thousands of like-minded people on a variety of subjects for which we share a common interest. As we read the reviews, it is even possible to say, "Wow, this person was having a really bad day. I'm not sure I trust their opinion on that particular restaurant." On TripAdvisor, we can even read multiple reviews by the same person to see if they are easy or hard graders. (Since TripAdvisor almost always sends me to great restaurants, hotels, and attractions, I very seldom need to write bad reviews.)

The moral of the story is this: If you like (or dislike) something, your opinion matters. Those who have read The Ecuadorian Deception are probably tired of me asking them to post reviews on amazon.com. However, I know - and research validates - that book buyers are fiercely reliant on those reviews to help them make their purchases. I even heard one person, in discussing books, say he chose a particular novel because some of the reviewers claimed it had large amounts of gratuitous violence, sex, and bad language. This person, a doctor, said he liked that in a novel. (He may not enjoy The Ecuadorian Deception, by the way.)

That's not how I pick my books, but hey, it works for him. And it shows that even people with very different points of view can do you a great service in helping you make your next purchase. If you're not on sites like www.tripadvisor.com, you're missing out on a wonderful resource.

And, if you haven't written your review yet of the latest book you've read, it's time to get cracking at www.amazon.com. Enough said.

Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison

I met someone today who said, "Your name is very familiar to me."

It turns out he had seen a story on the Internet that I wrote. The piece was part of a series on famous people from West Texas. If you aren't from West Texas (or even if you are), you may not realize how many very famous people came from there:

Roy Orbison

George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Gen. Tommy Franks, Waylon Jennings, actor Woody Harrelson, his father Charles Harrelson (a convicted hitman who killed a federal judge), actor Tommy Lee Jones, Dan Seals (of England Dan and John Ford Coley), his brother Jim Seals (of Seals and Croft), Brian Presley of General Hospital fame, Buddy Holly, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks (I know, I know, don't start), Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, singer/actor Mac Davis, Richie MacDonald (of LoneStar), and Roy Orbison, just to name a very few.

I interviewed hundreds of people and the stories I gathered were priceless.

Larry Gatlin told me of the time when he and his brothers were small and they were in a talent contest competing against Roy Orbison. By this time Roy was a young adult and the leader of a band called the Wink Westerners. Momma Gatlin knew the winner would be chosen by the loudest audience applause. She told the three boys to smile really sweet and pretty at all the sixteen-year-old girls in the audience like they would a favorite babysitter.

It worked. They won. Larry also told me about watching Roy on local TV when he hosted an afternoon program for teens sponsored by Pioneer Furniture. Ah, the days of live local television.

Larry Gatlin

Raymond Benson, the only non-Brit to write James Bond novels, talked about his work. You might wonder how someone who grew up in the oilfields of West Texas could get inside the head of Bond, James Bond. I did. In addition to learning a lot about writing from Mr. Benson, I also read some really incredible spy novels he authored. I don't know if any are still in print, but if they are, check them out.

I worked for over a year to get permission to interview Charles Harrelson at the Supermax Prison in Colorado. It is harder to get into than Fort Knox, but I was one permission slip away from getting in. And then came the news. Charles Harrelson died of a heart condition.

Charles Harrelson

Harrelson implicated himself as part of the Kennedy Assassination. Whether he played any role is something conspiracy buffs and historians will debate forever.

But the most fun research to do was on the day Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley discovered Roy Orbison and set him on his path to stardom. Cash, Presley, Wanda Jackson, and Floyd Cramer were playing a concert at Midland High School. That afternoon Cash was to appear on the Pioneer Furniture Show to invite people out to the concert. Cash was riding high on his first number one record, "Cry, Cry, Cry."

While waiting to go on, Cash heard Orbison sing. He reported to everyone who would listen that the Wink native had the voice of an angel and was the ugliest human being he had ever seen. Talk about a left-handed compliment.

Working on the story carried me back in time to the homes in Midland that Elvis hung out at whenever he came in concert (he played in Texas a lot before he made it nationally). I talked to former Midland High students who were there for the concert. And I stood at the spot backstage where Cash introduced Orbison to Elvis.

If you want to read the story, it's still online on several websites. Just Google Bear Mills, Elvis, and Roy Orbison.

Bob Dylan says songs are just looking for a ride into town and he's been fortunate enough to give a few good ones a lift. I found the story in my novel, The Ecuadorian Deception, was the same way. But there are other stories that lie hidden like a secret treasure, waiting to be dug up. That's what it was like uncovering the Elvis/Roy Orbison/Johnny Cash story. How many others are out there, just waiting to be discovered?

The Never-Ending Movie Inside the Mind

One of the questions I get most often is, "How do you find time to write unless you're a full-time author?" The easy answer is that if you're willing to give up sleep, you find all kinds of time to do things. Actually, that was far more true twenty years ago than it is now. When my wife and I first married, she was amazed someone could get by on only three or four hours sleep a night.

Now I need at least six hours sleep or I'm not good for much the next day. So how do I find time to write? You might say that I'm actually writing all the time, at least in the back of my mind. Currently, I'm working on the sequel to The Ecuadorian Deception. It's called The Ecuadorian Assassin and the scenes of the book are constantly unfolding in the back of my head.

Bottom line, I couldn't turn off the book if I wanted to. It's like that song that you can't get out of your head. It was the same way while I was writing The Ecuadorian Deception. The movie was rolling. I would just step into the viewing room as time allowed.

Right now, I'm working on a scene for The Ecuadorian Assassin that takes place in the La Sal Mountains of Utah, right outside Moab. At any quiet moment, my mind goes back there. It's not so much that I'm writing the scene, per say. It's more like I'm watching it, then rewinding, then watching it again. Then I change angles from which I'm viewing the scene and start it over.

Part of what I'm looking for is which point of view I want to write that chapter from. Many fiction writers follow the lead of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and write their books in the first person. They become one of the characters in the book and simply tell the story from that perspective.

Though I love Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I personally find that approach too limiting. As a reader, I want to know not just what people are doing, but what they are thinking. What's their hidden motivation? And if you become a character in the book, you are stuck in that person's head. Unless you get the other characters to totally spill the beans through dialogue, you have no idea what it is in their past that motivates them. (Or, if you have a Sherlock Holmes, you can have him seem to read people's minds and inform you what they're thinking.)

Regardless of how busy I am with my day job or with my next project, I always make time to learn from other author's work. If you want to be inspired, read inspiring ideas, right? In my last blog, I talked about how much I enjoy Sue Henry and Nevada Barr. They are both excellent mystery writers.

 Another author I admire is Brandilyn Collins. The one thing I don't care for in Nevada Barr's work - the excessive amount of profanity - is one of the things I appreciate about Ms. Collins. She can tell a spine-tingling story without making every other word an expletive.

If you are looking for a fantastic book, I might recommend Violet Dawn or Dark Justice by Ms. Collins. Hopefully, I will have a lot more tips from her about writing gripping prose next month. I am attending the same writers guild meeting she will be at in February.

So if you're an aspiring writer, my advice would be to stop trying to make a plot happen. Treat it like a movie you're watching. Let the scenes unfold before your mind's eye. Then find the right words to capture what's going on. It might not work for anybody else, but for me, that's how it happens.