Telegraph | Sept. 17, 1942 The P.H. Halligan post of the American Legion [appointed a committee] to organize a pledge card campaign for support of the North Platte Canteen. This campaign will be conducted with the help of service and civic clubs not only of North Platte but from all the communities of this territory which so generously have supported the Canteen. The object of this campaign will be to provide the ladies in charge of the work with a regular income for the expenditures necessary to maintain the organization. The three counties in Colorado’s northeast corner — Sedgwick, Phillips and Logan — have long identi- fied closely with their western Nebraska neigh- bors. This next item shows that Canteen support had crossed the state line. Telegraph | Sept. 19, 1942 The following telegram was received at the Canteen today: “Sending eighty cartons cigarettes, Ended program [on] account [of] polio epidemic pre- caution, Signed, Kangaroo Court.” The citizens of Julesburg, Colo., have been holding kangaroo court there for some time as a means of raising money for various community activities, and the local Canteen had received help from that source many times. The ladies expressed their thanks for the cigarettes but were disap- pointed that the court was being discontinued for the time being.
they do not care to donate it they will buy their surplus sugar and see that it gets into the hands of those who will bake the needed cookies. If you have sugar or [ration] stamps that you do not need, contact the Canteen. Meanwhile, Roscoe, an unincorporated town near Ogallala, was becoming renowned for its Canteen support. Telegraph | Aug. 19, 1942 Fried chicken and plenty of it was the order of the day Tuesday at the Canteen when ladies from the Roscoe community reported early with 22 fried chickens to serve during the day. That is, they expected them to last during the day, but they mis- judged the number of men and their appetite for chicken. Anyway, it was good as long as it lasted. In addition to the chicken the ladies con- tributed 70 dozen cookies, 16 loaves of bread, 6 dozen cup cakes, 4 cakes, 5 large boxes of candy, 9 cartons of cigarettes, 1 crate of oranges, 1 crate plums, 200 post cards, 2 jars sandwich spread, 180 bottles orange juice, 2 pounds of cheese, coffee, cream and pickles. Telegraph | Sept. 16, 1942 A small group of Mexican section hands working near the Union Pacific station Tuesday overheard the ladies of the Canteen discussing the financial condition of the Canteen. One of their members “passed the hat,” result $9.60.
The end of September brought in the world- famous founder of Boys Town near Omaha and survivors of the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, sunk at Midway. “Prowler,” Daily Bulletin | Sept. 29, 1942 Father [Edward] Flanagan was an interested visi- tor at the Canteen … Also [among] interesting visitors at the Canteen were 25 sailors from the ship Yorktown who had survived the disaster.
Nellie Davidson (in polka-dot dress at center) was among members of North Platte’s VFW Auxiliary serving at the Canteen one day in 1942. Union Pacific Railroad President William M. Jeffers, Canteen patron and North Platte native, appears in the picture above the women.
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