Mrs. Sleight said one special train that came through was transporting soldiers who had been badly burned at Pearl Harbor to a hospital in the East. She received a call from San Francisco asking that the Canteen workers help relieve the porters who had been caring for the burn victims. Mrs. Sleight called area doctors, who in turn contacted hospitals and soon had a large staff of nurses on hand to care for the soldiers. Because most of the burn victims had only thin gauze wrappings on their wounds, a North Platte doc- tor had Canteen workers tear up old sheets and rewrap the wounds, using a salve. “We went on the train, there was an awful stench of human flesh, and held cigarettes for the soldiers so they could have a smoke,” said Mrs. Sleight. The soldiers also begged for something to drink, she said, so the word was put out and soon North Platte families arrived with thermos[es] full of cold
water for the soldiers to take on their journey. “It didn’t matter what we’d ask for. People brought it in,” she said. Helen Christ, who lived next to Rae Wilson on East Eighth Street, also was among the Canteen’s initial officers. She now took over her neighbor’s leadership role until the Canteen closed. Telegraph | March 19, 1942 It has been reported that there is an oversupply of cookies being donated to the Canteen. “This is er- roneous,” Mrs. Adam [Helen] Christ, co-chairman in charge, said today. … She is urging North Platte residents who have any doubt “about food being wasted” at the Canteen to come and inspect for themselves and see how it operates and see the demand daily for cookies, cakes and other food articles.
After her March 1942 collapse, Rae Wilson, left, handed over her Canteen leadership duties to next-door neighbor Helen Christ, right.
Daisy Hinman, who would die Nov. 18, 1944, directly linked North Platte's two canteens. The Company D captain of the World War I Red Cross Canteen served as founding treasurer of the World War II Canteen, telling residents in her initial three-month report (see next page) that 52,000 soldiers had been served by then. Telegraph | April 11, 1942 At various times during the day Norwegian, French, Canadian and English merchant marines were served coffee. Workers said the array of ac- cents was imposing. And the piano located in the Canteen finds good use. Yesterday, with a civilian passenger at the piano, a group of soldiers indulged in some close harmony for the workers.
A few days later, North Platte and the Canteen got their first celebrity “shout-out.”
Telegraph | March 23, 1942 Another nation-wide tribute was paid to the Canteen yesterday when Kate Smith, in her morn- ing broadcast, singled out the Canteen for special commendation. She stated that of all the canteens working in the country, North Platte’s was one of the best since it was adjacent to the station and charged nothing for their services.
Volunteers in front of the Canteen, circa 1942. From left: Harriet LeMaire, Helen Christ, Jessie Hutchens, Edna Neid and Mayme Wyman.
38 CANTEEN: AS IT HAPPENED
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