Evening Telegraph | Dec. 26, 1918 North Platte will long be remembered by the soldier and sailor-boys who passed thru our city yesterday and partook of Xmas Turkey dinner prepared for them by the local Canteen ladies. The ladies spared neither time nor energy in making the day the supreme success that it was. The Canteen rooms were elaborately decorated. Long tables and benches were provided for the boys. In the large room at the west end of the building, a large tree stood from which each boy received a bag of candy, popcorn ball and a small gift. The boys were loud in their praise for the sur- prise given them. Among the boys on the morning trains were 30 convalescents, and to these men who so valiantly fought for us, there was given a special Xmas package to each. In return for their labor, the ladies felt more than repaid when the boys left the Canteen with smiling faces and repeating the oft-heard remark, “what would we do without the Canteen ladies.”
spontaneous jubilation. Somewhat scattering and disorganized at first, it swiftly gathered momentum until the entire populace of North Platte, wild with joy, were joining in the hullabaloo on Dewey street. Although so entirely impromptu, the demonstra- tion was most spectacular and ear-splitting. The whistling of the different whistles at the [North Platte] Water works, U.P. Shops and other places announced the news first, and the crowd commenced to congregate. The band and drum corps soon appeared, and the singing and march- ing commenced and continued throughout the day. A large bonfire was started at the corner of Dewey and Front streets, and the Canteen ladies were soon on hand to take care of the public in the way of hot coffee and sandwiches. About 2 o’clock a parade was formed which tra- versed the principal streets of the city, after which speeches were made from various places in the city. North Platte celebrated, and it was a celebration which will not be forgotten for many months. The Red Cross Canteen operated for 10 months after the armistice, 2½ times as long as its war- time service. If the volunteers needed motivation, they could read the following letter. Evening Telegraph | Nov. 14, 1918 Camp Mills, New York, Nov. 8, 1918. To the Canteen Ladies of North Platte: I am sorry I did not have the opportunity
of passing through my home town on my way east. I hear many compliments paid you on the kind treatment given the boys while stopping there. They have traveled from coast to coast, and they say that North Platte gave them the best reception. Through the Red Cross they have made North Platte known to most every soldier that passes thru. They boys never forget how they were treated and the place they were treated the best. … Your friend, Sgt. William Ritner, Co. D 8th Ammunition Train, 8th Division. The World War I Canteen also set the tone for its successor’s holiday hospitality. (The Siberian reference indicates the French officers were headed for the Russian Civil War, in which the Bolshevik “Red Army” defeated anticommunist “White” forces.) Evening Telegraph | Nov. 29, 1918 The Red Cross Canteen ladies yesterday served 106 turkey dinners to soldiers passing thru on regular trains. Several French officers were served who were on their way to Siberia. Mr. Warren of this city donated two turkeys, and the Canteen ladies furnished the remain- der of the dinner, which consisted of turkey and all the trimmings required to make a perfect Thanksgiving dinner.
A monthly service report gives an idea of the original Canteen’s activity.
Evening Telegraph | Jan. 11, 1919 The report of the Red Cross Canteen in North Platte, as prepared by Commandant Mrs. Chas. [Anna] Bogue, shows that during that month [of December] 5,980 soldiers and 1,236 sailors were served. This required 324 gallons of coffee and 607 Continued on page 16
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