[in Rochester, Minnesota], went in to pay her bill and, unable to find a parking place, parked in a lot designated “For Clinic Help Only.” When she came out, of course, she had a ticket. But then the sergeant asked her if she had worked at the North Platte Canteen. Receiving an affirmative answer, he proceeded to tear up the ticket, explaining, “I couldn’t fine any of you women. I was an army of- ficer and took many groups of men through North Platte during the war.”
Two months later, The Telegraph and The Daily Bulletin announced the latter’s purchase by Lincoln Journal Publisher Joe W. Seacrest and its merger, effective Nov. 1, with the Kelly family’s Telegraph into the North Platte Daily Telegraph- Bulletin. (The Bulletin name was dropped in 1966, then picked up in 2003 by a new, independently owned weekly.) Helen Christ, who had picked up Rae Wilson’s fallen baton, would die Oct. 26, 1956, at age 57. Rae married Frank Sleight shortly after the August 1946 celebration. The couple, who had one son, Gary, would live in North Platte for sev- eral years. Gene Slattery would graduate from North Platte St. Patrick High School. After marrying teacher Anne Schmidt in 1958, he would settle in Keith County with her and raise their family there. But he continued during his high school years to raise funds for Children’s Hospital in Omaha and other causes — sometimes selling “the shirt off his back” as when he raised nearly $2,000 for the Canteen. And the thank-you letters and messages from Canteen customers and their families kept coming.
Bob Getty’s last poetic Canteen tribute ran on The Telegraph's editorial page on Aug. 16, 1946. The North Platte Telegraph
Daily Bulletin | Aug. 15, 1946 [Major] General Butler B. Miltonberger, chief of the [U.S.] National Guard [Bureau], … cited the record of the 134th Infantry and Company D, which he commanded. … Robert B. Crosby … read a letter from General Omar Bradley lauding the activities of the Canteen. … Congressman A.L. Miller [of Kimball] said this section [of Nebraska] had done itself proud thru operation of the Canteen. He said, “The arrow of good will [that] you shot into the air has found a long and lasting spot in the hearts of many a soldier. It was as broad upon the waters to bless all who gave their time and energy to this worthy project.”
“Prowler,” Telegraph-Bulletin Sept. 25, 1947
A story told by Mrs. George [Gertrude] Muench indicates that the North Platte Canteen has not been forgotten by servicemen. It seems a North Platte woman, who went through the Mayo Clinic
In this 1949 photo, a now-teenaged Gene Slattery and Nebraska Gov. Val Petersen hold up a shirt sold by Slattery — for charity, of course — to future Gov. Robert B. Crosby of North Platte.
1946–2019 131
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting