Telegraph Editorial | Sept. 17, 1988 Johnny Carson did pass through North Platte on a train during the Canteen years. Jim Cornwell’s unpublished manuscript on the life of Edd Bailey, former Union Pacific president, has a chapter on the Canteen. In it, Cornwell interviewed Rae Wilson Sleight, the originator of the Canteen idea, and was told that Carson had been at the Canteen more than once and was remembered by many of the volunteers when he later began his climb to television fame. … “For some reason, I was a trifle dubious about that … But a letter to the host of ‘The Tonight Show’ brought the response that he had, indeed, been to the Canteen and remembered it well,” Cornwell wrote. Rae Wilson Sleight died just before the 40th an- niversary of North Platte’s August 1946 Canteen reunion celebration. The Telegraph marked the oc- casion with a special section marking a fresh re- union Aug. 31-Sept. 1, which drew Gene Slattery and surviving Canteen officers Rose Loncar and Edna Neid.
“But the warmth and the love and the good feelings that it generated stayed with us. It was beautiful,” he said. Bell was a lieutenant colonel when he was shot down in Germany. He was crippled and is almost sightless. His impaired vision, and the fact that he makes use of records and tapes for the blind, is what enabled Bell to finally, after 42 years, say his thank-you. Among the records he listened to last week was a recording of CBS television’s Charles Kuralt, talking about the North Platte Canteen … Kuralt mentioned Rose Loncar, who had helped start the Canteen. “I sat and wept as I listened,” Bell said, his voice choking as he related the incident. He and his wife wrote the letter immediately. The letter came addressed [to] Mrs. Rose Lancar — “I wasn’t sure I had her name right” — or News Editor, WWII Canteen Operators, North Platte, Nebraska. It bore no street address, no zip code. It ended up at The Telegraph. “E.P. has spoken so often of the Canteen. At one time, he made me promise that if he died before he got his thank-you made that I would somehow track down the location and take care of it for him,” said his wife, Cecelia, who is 20 years his junior. His letter closes with: “I never forgot you and yours. This thank-you comes prior to my death and from the bottom of my heart.”
Rae Wilson’s husband, Frank Sleight, had died in Lincoln at age 53 on Feb. 20, 1970. He had served his nation in the 312th Field Artillery Battalion, reaching the rank of Specialist 4. After his burial in his native Ulysses, Rae remained there until 1982, when she returned to her home- town to stay. In the following story (parts of which were quoted earlier in this book), Rae adds one last entry to the Canteen’s unofficial celebrity ros- ter — though he wasn’t famous when he came.
Telegraph | June 2, 1985 By Rose Mary Buhrman
… In recognition of her dedication and service to the Canteen effort that has brought North Platte national recognition, Mrs. Sleight was awarded the Cody Scout Award from the City of North Platte Saturday night during the banquet of the North Platte High School Alumni Reunion. … She said a North Platte woman donated birth- day cakes to the Canteen for any soldier celebrat- ing his birthday. One hospital train had a medic that came through often, and his train always seemed to have someone with a birthday on it, said Mrs. Sleight. According to rumor, the young medic was Johnny Carson, she added. Three years later, Keith Blackledge confirmed (in the same editorial noting Edd Bailey’s regret about the depot’s destruction) that Rae’s story about Johnny Carson was correct.
Telegraph | Aug. 28, 1986 By Sharron Hollen
… Time has yellowed the scraps and pieces of paper that bear commendations and citations by high- ranking military officials, government and railroad representatives, lauding the Canteen’s war efforts. Continued on page 142
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