The Jews Who Tamed The Wild West

(Jewish Week) Growing up in the east — the product of suburban shuls and summer camp — I didn’t hear a lot of stories about bubbies and zaydes on horseback herding cattle, or great uncles at rail depots fighting off dusty desperados in cowboy America.
So I was deeply and pleasantly surprised to meet so many colorful and fascinating frontier Jews while researching the life of revolutionary businessman Fred Harvey.
Harvey was the founding father of the American hospitality industry, and his multigenerational family business, running a chain of trackside restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe railroad from Chicago to Los Angeles starting in the 1870s, was said to have civilized the Wild West.
One of the many lessons I needed to learn about American history is just how much more diverse and multicultural this country was far earlier than many of us have been taught. Continued

Image: Harvey House, Belen, New Mexico (Kim Choate/MDRails)