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Gold Star Mothers, a designation for those who lost a child in war, meet on the Lima railroad station platform to give food and drink to traveling service members during World War II.
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Lima's WW II canteen still serving memories

Lima's WW II canteen still serving memories

LIMA, Ohio - A bologna-salad sandwich, a piece of pie, and a steaming cup of coffee were just about as good as it got for troops passing through Lima by train during World War II.

Lima's "Free Servicemen's Canteen" - the longest continuously operating service canteen in the country - was, in Scott Trostel's words, hometown support at its finest.

"These guys did not get on a train to go off and fight a war not knowing how the people back home felt," said Mr. Trostel, a Fletcher, Ohio, historian who has written several books on the topic. "These people gave them food, drink, a magazine to read. They gave them emotional support, a smile, a listening ear - anything that was necessary to make sure these guys knew they would not be forgotten."

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On Thursday, the Ohio Historical Society will dedicate an historical marker on the site of the canteen as a tribute to the volunteers who fed an estimated 2.5 million troops between 1942 to 1945 and 1.5 million more servicemen during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Some 120 former canteen volunteers have been invited to attend the event, which begins at 2 p.m. at the former Pennsylvania Railroad depot, 424 North Central Ave.

Patricia Smith, director of the Allen County Museum, said the canteen is a unique chapter in Lima's history, although its implications went far beyond northwest Ohio.

While there were believed to be 12 such canteens in Ohio and 43 nationwide, Lima's was the only one that stayed in business after World War II, serving its last cup of coffee in 1970. Servicemen traveling to distant ports to ship out, others on furlough from basic training, and still others returning home passed through Lima by the thousands.

"It actually had an impact nationally, and just by virtue of the letters that came back from these servicemen we know they didn't forget it," Ms. Smith said. "Some of them even said other canteens they would stop at charged for their food, and this one was all free. That made a big impact because a lot of these fellows didn't have any change in their pockets."

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Food and money to support the canteen came from a 12-county area around Lima, including Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Putnam, and Van Wert counties. Churches would take turns baking cookies. Service organizations would use the proceeds from fund-raisers to purchase whatever it was the canteen needed that particular week. Individuals would donate their ration cards.

"I can't think of a more profound gesture made on such a grand scale as at Lima and the other canteens," Mr. Trostel said. "They wouldn't ask you what your rank was, what state you were from, what your race was. It was, 'come and get it, boys.'•"

For Mr. Trostel, the servicemen's canteen is one of the great untold stories.

"It's not taught in school," he said. "This stuff about the homefront is not known, and it needs to be."

The Lima chapter of the American Women's Voluntary Services Organization led by Eloise Larsen founded the canteen and officially closed it down Nov. 5, 1945 - a few months after World War II ended. Still, many of the volunteers kept showing up with food to meet the trains, and the operation continued on until Sept. 12, 1970.

Ms. Smith said the Allen County Museum has an extensive collection of letters from servicemen grateful for the women stationed at the little white hut along the railroad tracks.

"Sometimes they wouldn't know where to send them so they'd send a letter to the newspaper," she said. "It was basically, thank you for your act of kindness, that kind of thing, or they'd run into somebody from Lima and be able to say, 'I went through Lima and those ladies there treated us right.' Those kinds of thing are very, very gratifying. Most of these ladies said the reason they volunteered was just because it meant so much to the guys."

While there were many touching stories, Ms. Smith said some were amusing as well.

"Some of the younger gals said the only reason they'd volunteer was to get down there and meet the guys," she said. "The older women would tell them, 'No. You can't get on the platform. You can't get on the train. Get in the building and make sandwiches.' That always tickled me."

Contact Jennifer Feehan at:

jfeehan@theblade.com

or 419-353-5972.






First Published October 16, 2007, 12:38 p.m.

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Gold Star Mothers, a designation for those who lost a child in war, meet on the Lima railroad station platform to give food and drink to traveling service members during World War II.
A marker will be dedicated Thursday at the former Pennsylvania Railroad passenger station in Lima to note its role during wars between 1942 and 1970 as a canteen for traveling soldiers.
Volunteers distributed free food and beverages to traveling service members whose trains stopped at the railroad station in Lima beginning during World War II and up to 1970 during the Vietnam War. The Lima canteen was the longest operating canteen in the United States. For 28 years volunteers looked after soldiers from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.  (Handout; not Blade photo)
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