It was nearing Christmas, 1941. America had just entered World War Two and the people of North Platte, Nebraska, heard their local soldier boys were coming through town on a troop train. Deciding to give them a touch of home, North Platte townspeople brought food and drink to the Union Pacific depot. But to their dismay, their boys were not on the train--all of the soldiers on it were strangers.
The people decided to go ahead as planned anyway, giving lunches to the soldiers on that train. The troops responded so positively that the townspeople decided to do it all over again when the next train came through. And the next train, and the next. Being a huge railroad repair yard, lots of trains came through there.
Throughout the entire war and for half a year after, the people of North Platte met every troop train that passed through. Despite wartime rationing, they brought the soldiers sandwiches, milk, coffee, cakes, pies, and even fried chicken. They offered lunch, smiles, and a warm welcome to each soldier. When they concluded this act of love at the end of 1945, they had served SIX MILLION TROOPS, sometimes coming in 32 trains a day.
This effort was organized by volunteers. They used no state or federal funds. The food was supplied from the pantries and pocketbooks of North Platte and surrounding Nebraska and also some Colorado towns. Author Bob Greene researched this amazing act of patriotic generosity for his book, Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen.
This book is more than a heartwarming episode in American history. It is a record of how people respond in a time of need. It's a true story of a town generously giving its heart during wartime. It is a snapshot of how Americans will welcome strangers in their midst.
No passenger trains stop in North Platte today, and the depot has been gone for thirty years. But the people there have a special place in the hearts of thousands of old soldiers who still remember a time during the Great War when they were gven a taste of home while passing through Nebraska.
Helping people doesn't require a government program. It takes caring people who see a need and fill it the best way they can. Hebrews 13:2 says, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
And sometimes angels entertain the strangers!
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