will get your well-deserved rest,” Miss Wilson said. Ira Bare, member of the auditing committee, pointed out that the husbands of the women de- serve credit, as they have made sacrifices, too, [by] “not seeing their wives, often two or three days a week, and eating cold meals for the past four years.” “You ladies have made history, and you have given a challenge to the whole United States in voluntary services to the armed personnel,” he declared. Daily Bulletin | March 30, 1946 All the officers of the day of the North Platte Canteen will hold “open house” Sunday at the Canteen. Hosts for the day will be the Brandon and Venango communities. Hosts on Monday, when the Canteen will be open for the last time, will be the circles of the First Lutheran church [of North Platte]. The Holyoke, Colorado, community, a group from Shelton and an Episcopal circle are serving today. Two Gothenburg groups, the New Hope Dorcas guild and the ladies aid of the Free Mission church, were hosts yesterday.
Canteen regulars in this photo from about 1946 included (front row, from left) Mary Ellen Land, Harriet LeMaire and Laura Barnell and (back row, from left) Helen Christ, Rae Wilson, Louella Murdock, Dorothy Hosford and Aubrey Hosford.
Telegraph | March 28, 1946 The final meeting of the North Platte Canteen membership, including all the regular workers and committee members, was held at a potluck dinner at the Canteen at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Mrs. Adam [Helen] Christ, general chairman, briefly thanked the workers for their cooperation and time given … Originator of the Canteen, Miss Rae Wilson, also expressed her appreciation, warning the women that after April 1, they will not be expected to run Canteenward at the sound of a train whistle. After more than four years of faithful work, “you
serving at the Canteen for the past four years and two months and thanked the North Platte women for their cooperation. The North Platte women responded, thanking Ogallala for their splendid support. … The Ogallala group contributed eight angel food cakes, four loaf cakes, five sheet cakes, eight hams, 18 pounds of butter, two gallons of dill pickles, 12 pounds of ground pork, two quarts of mayonnaise, 15 quarts of cream, 80 loaves of bread, 10 dozen doughnuts, 300 magazines, one quart of sweet pickles, three dozen boiled eggs, 24 dozen cookies, and cash for all supplies purchased during the day.
In fact, the North Platte women weren’t alone on the Canteen’s final day.
Telegraph | April 2, 1946 (published April 1)
Sixteen trains were scheduled to bring servicemen and women to the North Platte Canteen on its last day of operation today, and the regular Monday
122 CANTEEN: AS IT HAPPENED
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