Small town friendliness pays off

During World War II, the Union Pacific railroad transported over 6 million troops across the county in the infamous troop trains.  Someone in a small town in the Great Plains had a bright idea: These troops were really mere boys in their late teens and early 20s, lonesome, homesick, and unsure of their future.  Why not open a canteen and serve them free coffee and rolls, give them a smile and friendly handshake?  So, starting on Christmas Day, 1941, until April 1, 1946, every serviceman passing though, day or night, had his morale boosted by pretty girls and motherly matrons serving refreshments.

This hospitality was offered, not by a big city with big city resources, but by the folks in North Platte, Nebraska, then a town of 12,000 people.  Six million troops! How many rolls and doughnuts were added during those four and a half years?  How many soft drinks, how many pots of coffee and tea, were served by the volunteers?

It took a small town to do this big deed, and the generous action paid off.  Its spirit of volunteerism and enthusiasm helped North Platte double its population by the end of the century.  It was selected by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as the permanent site of a state-wide celebration, “Nebraskaland Days.”  The Union Pacific built the nation’s largest rail classification yard at North Platte.  Nebraska Public Power built a 2,000-megawatt generating plant near North Platte. And, Wal-Mart selected North Platte as the location of a large distribution warehouse. Small town friendliness pays off.