Once Upon a Town (21 page)

There are many
people who helped me during the writing of this book. I'd like to thank them here.

At William Morrow, the professionalism on deadline of Tom Dupree and his assistant, Yung Kim, was a source of steady reliability. Michael Morrison, Lisa Gallagher and Sharyn Rosenblum have made my association with Morrow a pleasurable one.

At Janklow & Nesbit, Eric Simonoff, once again, was instrumental to my work with his advice, counsel and friendship. To Mort Janklow, as always, goes my appreciation and admiration.

In Nebraska, the fine assistance of Katie Klabusich was
invaluable. Katie's diligence, her eagerness to work long hours, and her eye and ear for detail were a constant help as I did my reporting and research.

At the
Chicago Tribune,
my thanks for making it possible to write my daily newspaper columns while working on this book, as well as for all the kindnesses over the years, go to Ann Marie Lipinksi, Howard Tyner, Jim O'Shea, Gerould Kern, Dale Cohen, Jim Warren, George de Lama, Don Wycliff, Bruce Dold, Tim Bannon, Geoff Brown, Mary Elson, Jeff Lyon, Scott Powers, Mike Zajakowski, Marsha Peters, Chris Rauser, Bill Hageman, Nadia Cowen, Bill O'Connell, Stacy Deibler, Stephan Benzkofer, Rhonda Rogers, Digby Solomon, Ben Estes, Jill Blackman, Charlie Meyerson and Dan Kening. Off the newsroom floors, my thanks go to John Madigan, Dennis FitzSimons, Jack Fuller, Scott Smith, Owen Youngman and David Williams. At WGN television, I am grateful to colleagues Carol Fowler, Steve Sanders, Allison Payne, Al Romero, David Parrish, Jennifer Lyons, Mitch Locin, John Owens, Eric Scott, Brad Piper and Vince Rango.

It was North Platte resident Cal Robinson who, many years ago, first told me about the Canteen, and about what had happened in his town during World War II. Mr. Robinson's emotion for, and pride in, the place where he lived were so heartfelt and vivid that I never forgot what he had told me—and I always promised myself that one day I would get there to see and hear for myself. I thank
him for that—and for helping me to understand the city and the Canteen.

For a reporter to go into a town as a stranger, and try to tell the town's story, would be a nearly impossible task without the generosity and goodwill of the people who live there. I cannot imagine any reporter being treated with more openness and kindness than I was by the people of North Platte. Many of their names you have read in this book, but so many more, through their taking of the time to speak with me, to share their memories of their town, and to make me feel at home were just as important in helping me tell the story of the Canteen. I will never be able to thank them enough. They are:

Marilyn Peterson, Marion Effenbeck, Lloyd Speicher, Dean Hiner, Faye Fisher, Gene Smith, Ken Killham, Cecil Jacobson, Walt Carlyle, Marge McHarness, Charles Bost-wick, Karen Hipwell, Lori Schoenholz, Dick Linn, Bob Kukas, Bruce Friedrich, David Bernard-Stevens, Jackie Lashley, Muriel Barrett, Kathy Swain, Mike Sharkey, Laura Johnston, Christian Zavisca, Kelley Gavin, Tonya Cross, Pat Dannatt, Frank Graham, Jenny Hasenauer, Sharron Hollen, Eric Seacrest, Craig Jones, George Lauby, Mark Lewis, Kristi Nixon, Antone Oseka, Misty Ryun, Tad Stryker, Rick Windham, Derek Lippincott, Dan Fisher, Alicia Rivera, Barb Fear, Amanda Olson, Deb Brooks, Tonya Carroll, Chuck LaLanne, Andrid Olsen, Heather Shlaight, Jessica Simpson, Aaron Brannigan, LeeAnn Thompson, Lisa
Blessin, Shirley Woodruff, Tammy LaLanne, Mary Anderson, Sheila Snyder, Tim Anderson, Howard Webster, Neal Baxter, Marge Jones, Merilyn Mitchem, Milo Shavlik, Irene Bystrom, Frances Newberry, Joe Ratzlaff, Nina Johnson, Dorothy Berryman, Les Weil, Anna Glaze, Jim Beveridge, Marilyn Brohman, Eunice Brown, Eileen Furrow and Ann Smith.

I would like to say a special word of thanks to Pasquale Grillo, an Army infantry soldier who passed through North Platte on a troop train in 1944, and who in recent years has suffered a stroke that makes conversation difficult for him. He spent long hours providing written answers to the questions I sent him, because he wanted to do everything he could to help with my reporting. Even though he can no longer talk without effort, his voice is very much a part of this book.

My admiration goes to two Nebraska historians whose affection for their part of the country, and their work in preserving its place in the nation's tapestry, not only provided valuable background information for me, but was of incalculable help in enabling me to locate the volunteers from the Canteen years, and the soldiers who once passed through North Platte. These historians are James J. Reisdorff and Martin Steinbeck; I hope they will feel I have done a worthy job in telling this story.

At the Union Pacific Railroad's headquarters in
Omaha, Mark Davis was gracious in allowing me to have access to the railroad's archives.

For the sections of the book dealing with the history of the sandhills, I owe particular thanks to Marianne Beel, who explained to me the significance and nuances of that part of Nebraska life.

More than anyone else, though, the person to whom I am grateful beyond words is Keith Blackledge, to whom, along with his wife, Mary Ann, this book is dedicated.

Mr. Blackledge turned seventy-five years old during the time I was reporting and writing
Once Upon a Town.
He is the retired editor of the North Platte
Telegraph;
he led that paper for twenty-five years, from 1967 to 1992.

His friendship toward me, his endless patience with my questions, his willingness to walk me through various aspects of North Platte's past…all were indispensable to my work. His love of, and uncompromisingly high standards for, his town are evident in everything he does.

Most impressive is his absolute sense of honor and fairness. He comes from the tradition of smaller-town editors who know that, unlike their big-city counterparts, they are likely to encounter on the streets each day at least one person about whom their paper has reported in that morning's edition—so they had better be confident enough in what they have printed to in good conscience look that person right in the face.

I made certain that the last stop I made before leaving North Platte was at Mr. Blackledge's house. I will say publicly here what I said in private to him that day: If every newspaperman and newspaperwoman approached the job in the clear-eyed and honest way that he does, with his readiness to give every person a chance for an unprejudiced hearing and just consideration, then we would never have to worry about the public having a low opinion of our business. My hope is that Mr. Blackledge's spirit is on every page of this book; it would not exist without him.