During World War II, troop trains rolled through Streator day and night. For two and a half years, local volunteers made sure nobody passed through hungry. The Streator Free Canteen is one of the proudest stories in our town’s past. For the wider timeline, see our History of Streator.
A Railroad Town at War
Streator sat on the Santa Fe main line between Chicago and the West Coast, so troop trains carrying soldiers and sailors to and from training camps and ports regularly stopped at the depot to be serviced. Those short stops gave the town its chance. Our railroads page explains how the tracks got there.
From Parents’ Club to Canteen
The canteen grew out of the Streator Parents Service Club, a group of parents whose sons and daughters were in the service. Local accounts credit Mrs. George Plimmer, Mrs. Irl Shull and Mrs. Ray Eutsey as key organizers. The canteen opened in late November 1943. The Wikipedia article on the station gives November 26, while some local sources say November 28. It ran until the end of May 1946, with closing dates given as May 28 or May 29.
How It Worked
When a troop train pulled in, volunteers boarded the cars and handed out food and refreshments while the train was serviced. Everything was free. The work was organized like a military operation, because a train might stay only a few minutes and another could be right behind it.
By the Numbers
Over its life the canteen served an estimated 1.5 million service members. On its busiest day, volunteers fed about 5,500 people. The effort reached well beyond Streator: volunteers came from 47 communities in nine counties, and around 30 local organizations took turns staffing shifts. Fundraising was constant. A tag day in June 1944, for example, raised about $1,300 toward a kitchen.
Famous Faces and Lasting Bonds
Local accounts say that Hollywood stars Claudette Colbert and Shirley Temple stopped at the canteen while traveling by train. The canteen also had personal effects that lasted for decades. Marjorie Swift Lamonica, for one, met her husband Joseph through the canteen, a reminder that the platform produced friendships and romances as well as meals.
The Canteen Monument
Sixty years later, Streator made sure the volunteers would be remembered. A bronze monument honoring the canteen workers was dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, 2006, at the old Santa Fe depot, 215 N. Illinois Street. The Streatorland Historical Society Museum also keeps a canteen exhibit, and the story is part of the city’s Tour of Honor.
The Official Marker
A historical marker titled “A United Homefront,” erected in 2006 near the depot on North Illinois Street, sums up the effort: the canteen used donated food, equipment and time to serve more than one and a half million service people in less than three years. The marker gives the opening date as November 28, 1943, and the closing date as May 29, 1946.
A Model of Home-Front Service
Streator was not the only railroad town with a free canteen; North Platte, Nebraska, ran a famous one too. But the Streator canteen stands out for its size and for how many neighboring towns joined in. It is a good example of what a small Midwestern community could do for the war effort, and of how many local women ran it.
Related Streator History
- Streator History Overview
- Streator Railroads: The Santa Fe Depot, Interurbans and Coal Lines
- Streator's Military Heritage: The Howe Brothers, Poundstone Flag and More
- Streator Newspapers and Radio: From the Free Press to WSPL
Sources
- Streator station – Wikipedia (World War II Canteen Monument). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streator_station
- Streator, Illinois – Wikipedia (World War II; Streatorland museum). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streator,_Illinois
- Streator Public Art – Tour of Honor. https://www.streatorpublicart.com/tourofhonor
- Historical Marker Database – Streator markers. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=185081
