C Thomas shares a story of heroic women and their support of the soldier’s during WWII
Good morning, I’m Austerity Jones… C Thomas is back to write a history of the heartland as he reminds us that the worst of times can bring out the best in us.
But first here is a quote from Rae Wilson who C Thomas is going to tell us about today.
“I say get back of our sons and other mother’s sons 100 percent. Let’s do something and do it in a hurry! We can help this way when we can’t help any other way.” Rae WilsonC Thomas: On December 17, 1941, in North Platte, Nebraska a train was late as trains are prone to do. You see, it was supposed to be carrying members of the Nebraska National Guard and it was supposed to show up at 11 am. North Platte was a stopping spot for the steam trains of the day to fill up with water and this stopover allowed a 10-15 minute stop. The military was shuffling troops across that land in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor which had occurred 10 days earlier and the declaration of war that followed. Now in North Platte on this day, there were hundreds of friends and relatives who showed up with snacks and gifts to see “their boys off” as they were shipped off presumably to the Pacific. Well by noon the train still hadn’t appeared, and the townsfolk kept waiting until finally, the train appeared at 4:30 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the Nebraska boys weren’t on the train, but another group of boys heading off to war. Rather than wait, the townspeople treated the boys in the town like kings. They gave the passengers the food and gifts that they had brought for their own boys. This generosity inspired the boys and one local young woman who had come to see her brother off that day named Rae Wilson.
Inspired by the war mothers who had their own local “canteens” at their own local train depots during World War I, Rae was determined to put North Platte Nebraska’s Canteen on the map and lift the spirits of the soldiers traveling through. Austerity, can I have the word of the day canteen – and not the camper’s water bottle version.
Canteen- a restaurant by an organization such as a military camp, college, factory, or company for its soldiers, students, staff, etc.
Rae set out by writing articles in the paper, calling merchants, and organizing her town as best she could figure. From what she witnessed on the 17th, Rae had organized her first meeting on the 22nd and by Christmas morning the women of North Platte were ready. The surprised boys on that cold morning were overwhelmed by the giving spirit of random strangers who believed that all the boys going to war were “our boys” and were determined to treat them like their own. What transpired next was nothing short of a miracle. From Christmas Day 1941 until after the war on April 1, 1946, not a single train stopped in North Platte without the women making every soldier feel special. Housewives baked cakes and cookies all to give to the soldiers in 15-minute rushes of excitement. Merchants donated cigarettes, playing cards, and newspapers. Chickens were fried, salads and casseroles were made, and there was always something for dessert. The trains came at all hours and without warning due to military concerns so the women were on constant alert.
Austerity: So they didn’t know when they were coming?
C Thomas: No, but the dispatchers would get word to the canteen by asking “if the coffee was on.” That was code that a train of boys was en route.
This was at the end of the depression mind you, and there was not a lot of prosperity to draw upon. The war efforts would soon ration food and supplies, but Rae and her town would touch lives every time that train whistle would blow. The effort quickly overwhelmed not just Rae but her town. Remember times were tough so when word spread of what North Platte was doing, women from nearby towns began coming to North Platte to cook and help. Fundraisers were held to support the efforts as money was needed to support this unofficial war effort. The effort of improving morale had been undertaken by a most unlikely party.
Eventually, 125 of the neighboring communities would regularly rotate through the canteen, some traveling from as far as 200 miles away. Some cooked meals, others washed dishes, and others raised money, but they all derived the type of satisfaction that one gets with an honest sacrifice and everyone would be proud charter members of the Have More Grace Challenge for sure.
Soldiers asked to contact loved ones and the women accommodated them whether directing them quickly to a telephone or mailing letters for the GIs to their folks back home. When a soldier couldn’t disembark due to injury or otherwise the ladies would board the trains and walk down the aisle making sure that no one was left out of the generosity of the Canteen.
In total, 55,000 women combined to serve over 6 million servicemen and women as they passed through North Platte. Soldiers from Normandy to Iwo Jima were known to discuss with delight their 15 minutes of hospitality stopping in North Platte. Those 15 minutes of pure service to another and the respect for the soldier’s own sacrifice made North Platte famous in its own right. Small acts of kindness can take an idea from a young girl and transform it into an institution of what is good and right and noble in this world.
That’s why I’m proposing that the winner of the Have More Grace Challenge is Rae Wilson, even though she founded the North Platte Canteen 81 years ago. I can’t think of anyone that represents the spirit of the Have More Grace Challenge more than she does.
Austerity: C Thomas that is an amazing idea!
C Thomas: Well thank you Austerity, we can honor those who did amazing things by telling their stories. Here is this week’s Have More Grace Challenge – Look for an opportunity to be helpful. We have practiced grace, but have we sought out an opportunity actively. Let me give you an example. You are standing in line at the grocery store and you see someone with just a few items in their cart. Let them go ahead of you in line. It doesn’t cost you anything but is rewarding. And Remember, if you talk about doing it then it doesn’t count.
Sincerely Yours,
C Thomas
If you would like to see the original editorial that Rae Wilson wrote to her newspaper, we have a link to it on our website cthomasprinter.com, which is the home of our blog.
The blog is still a work in progress, I’m sure you are thinking much like this podcast, and it wasn’t going to be revealed just yet. However, since we have the link we thought you might like to see a copy of Rae’s letter to the newspaper, an advertisement for an audiophone company, and a listing for a diamond ring for $50.
Here is also a link if you want more information on the story of the North Platte Canteen. I would recommend the book Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen written by Bob Greene.
Also born on this date: Anette Bening, Bob Hope, Mr. “Give me liberty or give me death” Patrick Henry, fittingly this week Jean van de Velde, and the original John John, John F Kennedy Sr.