2014 One Book One NebraskaOnce Upon a Town: The Miracle of the
North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene
One Book One Nebraska
• Encourages Nebraskans across the state to read and discuss one book, chosen from books written by Nebraska authors or that have a Nebraska theme or setting.
• Committee of the Nebraska Center for the Book selected this book from a list of 71 titles nominated by 141 Nebraskans from across the state.
• Sponsored by: – Nebraska Center for the Book, – Humanities Nebraska, – Nebraska Library Association, and – Nebraska Library Commission
2005 - 2014
Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene
• Nonfiction story• Finds "the best America there ever was" in a small Nebraska
town • During World War II, American soldiers from every city and walk
of life rolled through North Platte on troop trains en route to Europe and the Pacific.
• Railroad depot was transformed into the North Platte Canteen. • Every day of the year, every day of the war, the Canteen--staffed
and funded entirely by local volunteers--was open from five a.m. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight, providing welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more than six million GIs by the time the war ended.
Nebraskans Actively Engaged throughout 2014
• Publicity• Book Club Kits, Website and other resources, including:
– The NebraskaStudies.org website www.nebraskastudies.org/0800/stories/0801_0116.html
– NET program: The Canteen Spirit, http://netnebraska.org/basic-page/television/canteen-spirit-0– Resources from the Nebraska State Historical Society—school and public– Resources from Humanities Nebraska, including presenters and funding
for programming:• “Nebraska Spirit: The North Platte Canteen” by Charlotte M. Endorf• “Sharpie: Queen of the Air” by Diane Bartel• “Nebraskans Remember World War II” by Doug Rung• “Produce for Victory: Nebraskans in World War II” by Martha Ellen
Webb
Canteen Worker Remembers
Rosalie Lippincott, Canteen Volunteer
interviewed by Nebraska Center for the Book Board member, Nancy Johnson
Get Involved
• Schedule a book club or book talk• Book a program• Local radio and tv talk shows• Join us at the November 8 Celebration of
Nebraska Books: – 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. – 1200 N Street, Lincoln– Nebraska Center for the Book Annual Meeting at 2:30 – Awards Reception, book signings, and announcement
of the 2015 One Book One Nebraska book choice
For more information:
Mary Jo RyanCommunications CoordinatorNebraska Library Commission [email protected] http://onebook.nebraska.gov/2014/index.aspxwww.facebook.com/OneBookOneNebraska
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