This first Canteen’s approach would be replicated during the next war. So would the stream of thank-you letters and telegrams that began arriv- ing almost immediately. Telegraph | July 18, 1918 The following letter was received this morning [July 16] by Mrs. [Anna] Bogue from one of the Sergeants of the first troop of soldiers that went thru yesterday morning. The ladies are more than pleased to know that the boys are appreciating their efforts, and they are more enthused than ever over their work, if such a thing is possible. Beg to say we are more than thankful for the welcome and kindness shown us while waiting this A.M. and desire to show our appreciation through this little note. We know you are with us boys all the time, and we trust to be able to bring back the winners’ end of the scrap before very long. Again thanking you for your kindness. Beg to remain Enroute Eastward, Aboard Train No. 6 July 15, 1918. All Members of Canteen Station:
Company C Canteen volunteers pose in this photo from about 1919. From left are Esther Antonides, Elizabeth LaRue, Amanda Huffman, Anna Brown, Leona Timmerman, Nettie Robinson, Ella Huxoll, Jennie Buchanan, captain Callie Davidson and Anna LeDioyt. This group met as a club as late as October 1937, according to the Lincoln County Tribune.
western part of the state, and they were a husky bunch of Americans too. They remained in North Platte for breakfast, eating at the various restau- rants and assisted by the good work of the ladies of the Canteen. … Tonight another train will pass thru here, and our own kin and kindred will hit the trail for the powder-burnt regions of the world’s greatest battlefield, France. Evening Telegraph | Aug. 9, 1918 Early this morning a special train carrying about 500 recruits gathered up from Iowa, [South] Dakota and eastern Nebraska arrived in North Platte and breakfasted … and were royally served with edibles, reading, etc., by the Canteen here.
The two sergeants had passed through North Platte the day German forces launched their last bid for victory. This Second Battle of the Marne (the first of which, in 1914, had brought the Germans within 30 miles of Paris) had fizzled by the 18th, when French Marshal Ferdinand Foch — with increasingly critical help from Gen. John J. Pershing’s American Expeditionary Force — be- gan driving the Germans back through France. The four months between the first Canteen’s opening and the Nov. 11 armistice witnessed ever-growing troop movements as the Allies smelled final victory. Telegraph | July 25, 1918 This morning, second train number six brought in 556 raw recruits from various sections of the
Sgt. M.C. Fisher, Co. C, 320 Signal Bn., Camp Fremont. Sgt. W.W. Adams, Co. L 12th Infantry, Camp Fremont, Cal.
12 CANTEEN: AS IT HAPPENED
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