But would North Platte ever do such an audacious thing ever again, for any length of time? The answer arrived during Nebraska’s most memorable postwar weather event: the Blizzard of 1949. It barreled up from the southwest the evening of Jan. 2-3, settling right over North Platte. It moved east, then surprisingly doubled back west, dropping so much snow and driving drifts so high that it took all winter to dig out many of the small towns and isolated farms and ranches that had supplied the Canteen’s human lifeblood. President Truman called in the U.S. Army and Air Force to drop supplies and clear deeply buried roads. But in North Platte, while the blizzard was dropping 15 inches of snow over three days, driving it high with 75 mph winds and plunging thermometers and visibility to zero, a troop train was stranded at the Union Pacific Depot. North Platte responded with an all-out revival of their Canteen. Telegraph-Bulletin | Jan. 5, 1949 Reminiscent of the days of World War II, the old North Platte Canteen in the Union Pacific depot again is swarming with servicemen. At the request of the U.S. Army Recruiting Office, railroad officials have opened the Canteen room for servicemen and veterans stranded here. The American Legion and Auxiliary are directing operations, and volunteer women again are serving coffee and sandwiches and other refreshments. Local merchants went to bat, donating food and money to buy sup- plies. A juke box and records have been installed, and local talent is aug- menting that of the servicemen in furnishing entertainment. To date, 20 merchants have contributed to re-opening of the North Platte Canteen. Some 300 servicemen, new recruits and veterans, some accompanied by their wives, are stranded here. The local Red Cross office has found beds for all, sleeping two in a bed at one hotel, on cots in another and calling on private homes for the overflow. The Army Recruiting office has issued 421 meal tickets.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Sir: I have just recently been relieved from six years of active duty with the U.S. army. I cannot return to civilian life without expressing to the city and the women of North Platte and surrounding communities my sincerest appreciation for the most wholehearted and friendly reception, when passing through on two occasions by train, that I ever met with in this or any other country. As I am sure the same courtesies were extended to thousands of other servicemen, I offer my congratulations on the truly fine American spirit which must prevail among the citizens of North Platte and surrounding communities.
Gratefully yours, A.H. Hilliard (Colonel, Inf. Res.) Nevis Estate, Irvington, N.Y. Telegraph | Sept. 26, 1946
132 CANTEEN: AS IT HAPPENED
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