Link: North Platte Canteen.
I can’t believe this story. From December 25, 1941 until April 1, 1946, more than 6 million servicemen and women stopped in North Platte, Nebraska during World War II. Thousands fondly remember the hospitality of the North Platte Canteen–where every troop train was met by volunteers who prepared and served sandwiches, coffee, cookies, cakes, and other homemade goodies during stops there.
Envisioned and initially organized by drugstore clerk, Rae Wilson, the North Platte Canteen “Movement” made 10 minutes count for 6 million service personnel passing through their town during WWII. The “movement” eventually involved more than 55,000 volunteers from 125 communities in Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado.
I’ll be unpacking this story in future posts. It is perhaps a classic case study on movement building. Join me by reading Bob Greene’s Once Upon a Town.