Once Upon a Town : The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen

Rating:
Summary: I Grew Up There
Review: I was born in North Platte in 1958 and can remember the Canteen, Front Street and Bobby Kennedy coming through town and giving a speech from the back of a train. I shook his hand. So naturally, I am not an unbiased reader, I loved the book.

Some reviewers seem to feel that the story could be better told, forgetting the modern day of the town. I disagree strongly.

Greene's description of the town is ABSOLUTELY correct. I was amazed how he painted a picture for readers that was absolutely accurate of not only the physical town today, but of the spirit of its people - both then and now. Today's North Platte is a small midwestern community that has been ravaged by a farm and ranch economy that has battered the foundtions that existed in rural America of WWII, a banking crisis that, to a large degree destroyed the "family farm", isolation caused by distances and lack fo transportation service with the outside world.

I can attest that the picture Greene paints is an accurate one....

Rating:
Summary: A Good, Sentimental Journey
Review: Bob Greene has put together a collection of stories about the fabled North Platte Canteen, as told by people who were there. The stories are wonderful reminders of how even a short, 15-minute stopover for military troops on the move can produce ripples in the lives of the people involved. It's also a great illustration of the kind of people that lived in central Nebraska in the 1940s - kind, generous, and willing to help.

Greene spends much time wandering through North Platte, trying to establish contrasts between city today and the city as it was at the time of the Canteen. About two-thirds of the way through the book he finally asks the question that seems to have been on his mind as he wrote - would the North Platte of today do the same thing? Reluctantly, he answers himself "No".

I almost wish Greene had focused exclusively on the stories (for they are heartwarming and touching, and occasionally really funny) and left out the commentary on life today. Also, it would have been nice to see some photographs - Greene mentions a few in the text but you never get to see them.

All in all, a good book. But if you read it, try to ignore Greene's cynical view of North Platte (and by extension, all of us) today, and focus on the great stories from the time of the North Platte Canteen.

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Summary: Touching tribute to patriotic Americans in WWII
Review: After reading this book, I just don't know how to describe how it touched me. It seemed I got teary every few pages, reading how important the Canteen work was, not only to the soldiers passing through, but to the communities that served it. The Canteen was such a selfless, heartfelt way for people on the homefront to do what they could for "the boys". It made me want to step back in time and meet the people and see for myself how it boosted morale. There were a few times when I was a bit impatient and I wanted the author to get back to talking about the people who were there, and then I realized that that is part of the story; there just aren't many people left, and the author was blunt about trying to get there to uncover the story before all those gorgeous voices are stilled. I highly recommend this book. It is a shining, beautiful example of the best that happens when you're giving for the sheer joy of it, and to further a cause. The people who achieved the success of the Canteen were outstanding, wonderful, and examples for all of us. God bless them.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been much better!
Review: Interesting subject and a story that needed to be told, but it's rather repetitious (everybody seems to have the same recollections of the famous North Platte Canteen), and lacks photos, which would have helped (the cover photo is the only one, and it doesn't even show the canteen). It would have been nice to see what Greene was writing about, especially since the station no longer exists--a fact we are constantly reminded of throughout the book. It's a quick read, and a decent book to pass the time with, but could have used an editor to tighten up the prose and clean up some typos. I was disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Nice story but poorly written
Review: Everything that was said in this book could be said on two pages

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Summary: Is one picture worth a thousand words?
Review: Don't get me wrong, I really loved "Once Upon a Town" and also wish it were a longer book. However, what I most missed, were photographs. Aside from the cover image there was not a one! I can't imagine there weren't photos of the canteen from that time, or of the various servicemen who told their stories or women who volunteered there as girls. This was especially brought to mind as one of the networks did a tv segment on North Platte some months ago, complete with interviews and remembrances. My thought is that the publisher just didn't want to opt for the expense of inserting photos, which is a shame. Well, kudos to Bob Greene anyways for uncovering and chronicling this lovely-- and unique-- slice of Americana.

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Summary: Required Reading for High Shoolers
Review: Excellent book. I think it should be required reading for High School kids. It shows the dedication, spirit, devotion, pride, patriotism, duty, sacrifice, etc. that Americans went through during WWII. The book is also short and easy to read. Thanks Bob Greene for putting this story down on paper for others to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story. Ok Storytelling
Review: Bob Greene discovered a story of WWII known to many, but fading from living memeory. It is the story of a community that banded together to provide a little bit of home to six million soliders as they traveresed the country. Each officer and man was a part of the family for the ten minutes that it took to refuel a train in a remote spot in Nebraska. Now the soliders and their hosts are part of a passing generation. This book makes sure their deeds will never be forgotten.

I loved the stories in this book and wish that Bob Greene had found the space to add in a few more. That each of these soliders passed through a little train depot for 10 or 20 minutes and recalled it vividly 60 years later stands as a better monument than any of the townspeople could have dreamed of. The stories of those women and girls who created the canteen proves the adage 'They also serve those who only stand and wait'.

Bob Greene weaves the story of the contemporary town into the narrative for each chapter and this was done perhaps to excess. The rise and fall of this one small town in the middle of the country might seem as typical any other but really this book is about the men and women of the 1940s and how they gave hope to six million of their boys in a time that seemed almost hopless. That was the story I will carry with me.

Rating:
Summary: Bring back the trains!
Review: From Christmas Day 1941 until the end of WWII, the people of North Platte, Nebraska, met every troop train that stopped at their railroad terminal, providing coffee, candy, apples, sandwiches, birthday cakes and other treats. Green's book is replete with testimonials attesting to how much this meant to our boys in uniform. One of the most touching anecdotes was about a sixteen-year-old from Chicago who had enlisted and been sent to San Francisco. The military authorities there found him out; he admitted he wasn't old enough and was given his discharge. He hitchhiked back across country, stopping to rest at North Platte. The ladies arranged a ride to Omaha with the promise of another to Chicago. The ladies also collected seven dollars to tide him over until he got home.
Green tracked down some of the ladies and young girls who worked at what became the North Platte Canteen. One of them had a sister whose name had been put in a popcorn ball as a possible pen pal for one of the soldiers. He wrote to her, asking if she had a sister who'd be willing to write to his buddy. The sister ultimately married the soldier's friend, although she never actually worked at the Canteen.
Between testimonials, Green walks through the town, visiting the place where the Canteen (which was torn down by the Union Pacific in the middle of the night) used to stand. The trains no longer stop in North Platte. Downtown is pretty much deserted. He wonders where all of the people are. He can't find them at the local mall. One day he stops at the local Wal-mart and there they are. He thinks they congregate there because they feel at home at Wal-mart's. Because most Wal-marts are the same, they know what to expect. Green pretty much scorns so-called progress: he's down on freeways, airplanes, and television. The freeways bypass towns like North Platte; the planes fly over them, and television keeps people at home, unlike those in 1940's North Platte who came to town on Saturday night just to people watch.
This book had some special meaning for me. As an ex serviceman, I remember how welcoming the ladies at the USO in Chicago were during a weekend pass from Navy boot camp. They didn't fire any live ammo at us there, but the Navy company commanders were brutal just the same. The USO was an oasis of humanity, just like North Platte, Nebraska.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the ... Show!!
Review: ...

Here is what totally irked me about this book: Bob is convinced that the America we live in now is some kind of sham - a culture bent on destruction and mayhem (read the first chapter where he describes the newsheadlines! ...) without the slightest inkling of altruism or duty. The past was good, the modern day is nothing short of Sodom & Gommorah ... Bob seems to lack this self awareness function, however. ... A little analysis in his unfavorable comparisons of period would have been more honest, intelligent, and historically responsible.

I'm glad Bob related this story. Really, I am. Again, it's a good story, to be sure, but RELAYING it to us is all he does (the book is largely a compilation of quotes). I find this method to be story telling of the laziest kind, and not completely honest. The point is not all self-expanatory as he may think. His sparse commentary is so negative about the world today that I think he owes it to his audience to portray his true feelings about the past and present (even if it is a negative one) with fairness, and less hopeless nostalgia. For instance, the destruction of the train depot is not the sign of the apocalypse. It simply outlived its usefulness. ...