April 21

Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen

By Bob Greene

This heartwarming book tells the story of the North Platte canteen that opened to every single train that stopped at its railroad depot during the second world war.  North Platte was a frequent stop for American soldiers headed to the east coast and Europe or heading west to the Pacific.  Starting on Christmas day 1941, the women of this small town (about 12000 in the 1940s) transformed their train depot into a center of hospitality, meeting every train starting at 5 AM and continuing through till after midnight, when the last train steamed off.  They offered baskets of homemade food, coffee, magazines, music and friendly conversation to weary soldiers every single day until the end of the war, eventually serving over six million GIs.

The population of North Platte has about doubled in the last 75 years since this story ended and today it is served only by freight trains - but it is encouraging to hear of a group of women who rose to the occasion when they had the opportunity to serve.