Radio Broadcasts from the Canteen
Pieces of a 230-pound cake shaped like a May Day basket were presented by KODY employees to service personnel at the canteen on April 30, 1944. They were also given a picture of their favorite movie star and a letter written by a KODY listener. Taking part in a canteen broadcast then were (from left) KODY announcer Ed Launer, unidentified naval aviation cadet, North Platte Mayor Sid McFarland, unidentified cadet, Helen Christ, Glenna Parks and Feyadell Wells.
“From North Platte Canteen,” a regular 15-minute radio program originating from the center, started in February 1944 and continued until war's end. As North Platte's only radio station at the time (it was then owned by WOW Radio in Omaha), KODY added to the canteen’s publicity by broadcasting live at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday. The broadcast was repeated in the evenings. There were also special Sunday broadcasts.KODY radio announcers, using a roving mike connected to the studio through telephone lines, described the canteen scene each day - as best allowed under wartime censorship. Announcers were very restricted in being able to talk with service personnel. (Off limits were their names, destinations and how many were in the canteen at the time.) Interviews were mainly with the day’s workers and their families.
The KODY program permitted instantaneous over-the-air appeals for additional food or workers, should either be needed. Assistance sometimes came within minutes of the broadcast.
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