Postcards: All Aboard for Slaton

Slaton’s 1912 Harvey House offers visitors a glimpse of the golden age of American railroads.

As a frequent traveler from Austin to Lubbock, I always look forward to the sweeping views of the Caprock Escarpment that unfold along US 84 between Post and Slaton. On a recent trip, I explored the small town on the western side of the dramatic divide and found that Slaton has worthy attractions of its own.

Named for Lubbock banker O.L. Slaton, who helped persuade the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway to come to the area, Slaton originated in 1911 as a division point for trains passing through the Panhandle. A century later, Slaton’s last original Santa Fe building—a carefully renovated 1912 Harvey House—offers visitors a glimpse of the golden age of American railroads.

One of some 80 Harvey Houses that the Fred Harvey Company built along railroads across the U.S. from 1876 to 1949, Slaton’s two-story, Mission Revival structure provided railroad passengers and others with elegant meals and ef-ficient service for three decades. Trains telegraphed passengers’ orders ahead, and when the diners arrived, well-trained, impeccably groomed “Harvey Girls” served their meals around a horseshoe-shaped counter on the first floor.

I checked into the Harvey House late on a Tuesday evening. My room, one of four upstairs suites that share a large common area featuring Mission-style decor, proved more luxurious than I’d expected—soft linens covered a cushiony, queen-size sleigh bed, and the spacious, tiled bathroom offered a generous supply of plush towels. I thought passing trains might keep me awake—freight trains still run on the tracks alongside the Harvey House—but I found the rumbling noises strangely comforting, even sleep-inducing.

The next morning, I joined longtime Harvey House supporters Sue and Ernie Davis in the dining room. Over a spread of fluffy biscuits, blueberry muffins, bacon, and fruit, they shared the backstory of the building’s transformation from deteriorating landmark to historic treasure.

I learned that the Harvey House was almost destroyed in 1990, when a Santa Fe demolition crew arrived unannounced with the intention of tearing down the long-abandoned building. Had it not been for local plumber Bill Burks, who was asked to salvage fixtures and then quickly alerted city leaders, Slaton’s signature structure wouldn’t have survived.

After the close call, residents formed the Slaton Railroad Heritage Association, the organization that raised funds and spearheaded renovations for almost two decades. The Harvey House reopened officially in September 2007—this time as a museum, a community center, and B&B. The same year, it was awarded a Texas Historical Marker.

 “We didn’t rebuild the dining counter that originally filled the room,” Sue told me. “We wanted to make the building more functional as an events center.But the newsstand on the west wall looks much the same as it did back then.” Later, she showed me a black-and-white photograph of the original newsstand: Periodicals hung across the top, and postcards, candy, and other items resided in a glass case below, just as they do today.

Other original features include the large, divided windows with stained glass at the top, which offer views of passing trains. “I never get tired of watching them,” said Sue. “My father was a Santa Fe engineer in the ’50s so they bring back a lot of memories.”

Later that morn-ing, I met another Slaton resident with ties to the railroad. Jolene Fondy’s parents both worked at Harvey Houses: As a teenager, her father was a butcher at the Slaton Harvey House, and her mother was a Harvey Girl at the Sweetwater lo-cation. “Everything was so elegant,” said Fondy, recalling  meals at the Slaton Harvey House. “The desserts were always beautiful. There was fine china, and the linens came from Ireland, the silver from England.”

Fondy told me that while some Harvey Houses offered lodging, the Slaton one didn’t (until recently). The second floor ori--ginally included a small apartment for the manager’s family and eight tiny rooms and a shared bath for the Harvey Girls.

“Like all the Harvey Girls, Mother had to sign a contract when she was hired that she wouldn’t marry for a year. I also remember her talking about the strict curfews and other rules. They had to wear opaque, black hose, and black shoes, and the hems of their uniforms had to be eight inches from the floor.”

Later, as Fondy showed me around the building, she pointed out a mannequin wearing a replica of the starched, black-and-white Harvey Girl uniform. Other displays included historical photographs, Harvey House china and glassware, and advertising items, as well as Native American baskets and other artifacts that Fred Harvey collected throughout the South-west and sold in his gift shops.

A call to lunch cut the tour short, so Fondy and I joined the group that had gathered for the Wednesday buffet, which B&B managers Weldon and Sandy Self began serving last fall. On the day I visited, the menu in--cluded chicken enchiladas, salad, beans, and cornbread, with carrot cake for dessert.

At lunch I learned that Slaton was planning its centennial celebration July 1-4; the kickoff reception will be at the Harvey House. The Slaton landmark seems destined to come full circle—a gleaming symbol of the railroad’s glory days is now the site of a celebration honoring Slaton’s 100-year heritage.

Next, I headed downtown to another landmark—the 88-year-old Slaton Bakery. When you enter the bakery, you’re greeted by a glass case filled with an array of donuts, kolaches, cookies, candies, and cakes. Off to the left, there’s a small eating area where lunch customers can order salads and sandwiches. Bakery owners Sherrell and Robin Wilson and their son Chad told me what it was like to be in the bakery business in the same community for more than six decades. “We feel like we’ve raised a lot of our customers,” said Sherrell. “We’ve made 80th-birthday cakes for grandmothers who had their wedding cakes made here.”

Sherrell’s parents, Barney and Ollie Mae Wilson, bought the business from Barney’s employer in 1943. (The bakery’s origins can be traced to 1923.) A Texas Historical Marker on the building’s exterior states that the Wilsons introduced sliced hamburger and hot dog buns to the area. Later, when Sherrell showed me around the “Antiques Room’’—a large area displaying baking equipment from the company’s early days—he pointed out a slicing machine. “We downsized in the late ’50s,” he said, “and continued making donuts, pastries, and cakes, just on a smaller scale.”

Of the bakery’s dozens of items, the Wilsons told me that donuts are the most popular, followed by thumbprints and vanilla wafers. After sampling the thumbprints I understood why they made the cut; they’re lighter than most versions, with just the right amount of frosting in the center.

Customers also find a few nonedible items at the bakery, including a large collection of colorful cookie jars and a cookbook the Wilsons compiled—Baking With Memories: A Collection of Recipes by the Slaton Bakery. It includes 65 pages of anecdotes from customers relating their favorite memories of the bakery. “That’s what our business is all about,” Sherrell told me, “making mem-ories for people.”

If you count the bakery’s “Antiques Room,” Slaton will soon boast five museums. I didn’t have time for a proper tour of the Slaton Museum or the Texas Air Museum, but I stopped in at the Slaton Model Railroad Studio downtown, where Robert Mamlok and others have laid the groundwork for a model-railroad museum. They expect to complete renovations in time for a re-gional National Model Railroad Association convention in Lubbock this

June. The eclectic crew of artists, train modelers, and computer-savvy folks has begun converting a 1930s CTC (Centralized Traffic Control) machine that once ran the Santa Fe line between Slaton and Muleshoe into a control center for an HO scale model-train layout. The 120-foot by 40-foot layout, which runs the length of the building, mimics the old Santa Fe route, complete with tiny, historically accurate buildings alongside the tracks.

I made two other stops before I left town. The AT&SF 1809 Locomotive, which has resided on the east side of the square since 1955, played a key role in Slaton’s agricultural economy, making runs delivering bales of cotton from this area to ports on the Gulf. The Slaton Heritage Mural, which graces a building on the other side of the square, pays tribute to the town’s agricultural and railroad history. Painted by local artist Bill “Tex” Wilson, it depicts a Santa Fe train in the center, beneath bold, red letters spelling “SLATON.” After my brief stay in this friendly small town, the scene resonated with me, and as I drove away, the image seemed a perfect souvenir of my visit.

See the full article in the March 2011 issue.

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