North Platte, NE

It was a relatively short drive to North Platte and we were fortunate enough to get a campsite with shade.   Of course we also got the birds and their white splotches.    We were glad for the grass and shade.   Across the way was an Airstream Bambi and we met the couple who are calling it  home as they travel to International Falls, MN for the summer.   They have an apartment there and a boat.   We visited back and forth and toured each others Airstreams.   We were sorry to see them leave the next day.

On Monday we spent 3 hours at the Lincoln County Historical Museum.   They also have a Western Heritage Village which was part of the museum.    The most enjoyable portion of the museum was the PBS movie on the North Platte WWII canteen.    It showed pictures of the canteen and troop trains and also a reunion that took place 60 years later.  

"Welcome to North Platte, Nebraska!"  Many a soldier hear those words during WWII.   Women in the 125 communities worked hard to mae the soldiers feel welcome.   Offering home baked goodies and hot coffee, it was the goal of the women to take the soldiers minds off the war - if only just for a little while.

Little did the town know that their hospitality would be talked about for years.   The North Platte Canteen story has been written about in magazines, books, movies and plays.   One particular story by New York TImes author Bob Greene tells the story at its best:   Once Upon a Town - the Miracle of the North Platte Canteen