ONCE UPON A TOWN The Miracle of hte North Platte Canteen

Ten days after Pearl Harbor, residents of North Platte, Nebraska, heard that men would be coming through town on their way to war and gathered at the train station with Christmas presents and gifts of food. This started a tradition that would last as long as the war--the North Platte Canteen. The canteen was staffed by women and children from North Platte and nearby communities who met troop trains from 5 in the morning until 12 at night. In ONCE UPON A TOWN, Bob Greene interviews residents of North Platte and the soldiers they met and tries to understand how a small town could sustain such a major effort. Gradually, the author builds a three-dimensional and moving picture of what the canteen meant to soldiers and the people who ran it. With a voice reminiscent of a WWII newsreel, Fritz Weaver marches through the story with a steady pace. The story has enough human interest to survive the treatment. J.D.P. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 02/ JAN 03]