The Red Cross Canteen Service at Glenns Ferry

Compiled from Data Furnished by Rev. A Leonard Wood

Early in March 1918, the Northwestern Division of the American Red Cross, with headquarters in Seattle, upon the advice of the chairman of the Elmore county chapter sent their Field representative to Glenns Ferry to consult with the officers of the local auxilliary in regard to the opening of a canteen station.

Rev. A. L. Wood, rector of Grace Episcopal Church, was appointed chairman of the canteen committee and given full power by the chairman of the auxiliary to proceed with the organization and to enlist workers in this branch of the chapter whose headquarters were in Mountain Home.

At this time the work of the Canteen service was in its infancy in this country, and no provision whatever had been made to finance such activities. Through the generosity of the business men and railroad employees, sufficient supplies were donated to serve the first troop train which passed through Glenns Ferry, March 26th, 1918.

Thirty ladies volunteered for this service and were duly enrolled after each application had been recommended by the canteen chairman, endorsed by the chairman of the chapter and finally passed upon by the director of the canteen service at Seattle.

Rev. A. L. Wood was appointed commandant and early in the month of April, the applicants, after taking the canteen oath of allegiance were duly sworn in and given identification cards without which they were not permitted to take part in the work of the canteen service.

In July permission was obtained from the officials at Pocatello and a canteen was erected on the platform of the depot. It was one of the first canteens to open its doors for regular daily passenger trains going east and west, a plan later adopted by all canteens and two ladies were daily on duty, together with one additional worker who assisted the Commandant in the purchase of necessary supplies for daily consumption. Upon notification of the arrival of troop trains all members of the service were called.

The loyalty and devotion to duty and the faithfulness of these ladies is worthy of the highest commendation, they were ready and willing to serve at any hour of the day or night in order that all men in the service of our country passing through Glenns Ferry might receive attention.

In recognition of the splendid work being accomplished by the Glenns Ferry Canteen the commandant Rev. A. L. Wood was appointed Field Director of the Canteen Service in Southern Idaho and Oregon, having under his jurisdiction some 14 canteen stations, including Portland, The Dalles, Salem, Ashland and others, all of which he visited and assisted in getting thoroughly organized. After the armistice was signed many drew their support and it was then that the Elmore County Chapter assumed the greater portion of the financial burden in order that the canteen might remain open and welcome home the soldiers and sailors who had received their discharges.

During the entire period of the canteen service at Glenns Ferry not one cent was charged for any article provided, with the exception of two small contingents when the officers insisted on paying for coffee ordered by wire in advance.

Not one instance was recorded where the canteen was not able to meet all emergencies, even if previous notice of movement of troops had not been given. A large stock was always available and so promptly did the workers answer calls made on them that no one was missed. The largest number of trains served in any one day was number 6, nearly 5,000 men in all, on this occasion the trains were running five minutes apart and as soon as one pulled out another came in but even this did not swamp the little band of workers, never in the history of Glenns Ferry was so much lemonade made and dispensed with in one day and in so short a time.

A rough idea of the amount of things served can be obtained from the following list which is by no means a complete one, the first few days no record was kept, but from them on daily service records were made out by each set of workers, all of which are available: 150,000 sandwiches, 35,000 doughnuts, 175,000 cookies, 15,000 chocolate bars, 300 pounds of candy, 34 crates of bananas, 7,000 oranges, 185,000 cigarettes, 5,000 cans of tobacco, 6,000 boxes of matches, 15,000 cigars, 250,000 magazines and books, 35,000 postal cards, hundreds of gallons of coffee, iced drinks, hundreds of pounds of water melons, apples, enormous quantities of chewing gum, peaches and grapes, 5,000 Red Cross games, 1569 packages of cigarette papers, together with a number of articles like drinking cups, writing material, butter, bread, pencils, ink, postage stamps, handkerchiefs, tooth brushes, drugs, tooth paste, soap, playing cards, shoe strings, overalls, material for dish cloths, telegrams for individuals anxious to meet their relatives enroute, salts and in fact most anything that a boy needed was obtained and given free of charge.

The records show that about 200,000 men were served by this canteen during the period of active service, covering about eighteen months.

Miss Ellie Lahtinen – Enlisted in the Navy as a Trained Nurse and Served Through the War at Mare Island.

Miss Nancy Watts – Miss Watts Worked With the Salvation Army in New York, and in Idaho's Section of The Hall of States.

The Canteen at Glenns Ferry – The Canteen was Organized in April, 1918, and During Two Years Served Lunches and Refreshments to More Than 50,000 Men