Published by The Evansville Courier

The booming defense industry in Evansville had virtually eliminated unemployment here, and toys and candy were difficult to obtain because of shortages.

But local newspapers already had found another outlet for their philanthropic energies.

In June 1942, The Courier and The Press donated a building to the local Red Cross to be used as a canteen to serve troops passing through the city by rail. It was located on land belonging to Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Co. near the Union Station on Fulton Avenue.

Throughout the war, The Courier reported on donations made to the canteen, the number of servicemen served and feedback from visitors. The Red Cross received numerous letters of praise from GIs.

What made the local canteen unique was that everything was free. Servicemen were used to being charged for refreshments at other canteens. When they arrived in Evansville, volunteers occasionally had to go on the trains to tell the troops their money was no good here.

The canteen put Evansville on the map. Local men often would hear about the canteen from other GIs they met overseas.

From the time it was dedicated on June 14, 1942, until it closed on Jan. 1, 1946, nearly 2,000 canteen volunteers served 1,618,000 servicemen more than 1 million sandwiches, 480,000 donuts, millions of cups of coffee, 30,000 pies, 20,000 pounds of potatoes, 8,000 gallons of ice cream, thousands of gallons of chili, soup and vegetables, and thousands of cakes, cookies, rolls and other dishes, all donated.

The city also put out the welcome mat at local churches and USO clubs for military people who descended on the city - as many as 10,000 on some weekends. They came from George Field near Lawrenceville, Ill., Camp Campbell near Hopkinsville, Ky., Crane Naval Depot in Martin County, Ind., but mostly from Camp Breckinridge near Morganfield, Ky.

Other local causes also got a boost from the newspapers during the '40s.

For years The Courier had sponsored Golden Gloves amateur boxing locally, and used the proceeds from it and other Courier-sponsored sporting events for charity. In 1944, Courier Charities was created to manage those donations.

The Courier and The Press also sponsored the Morning Institute, a series of programs featuring internationally known celebrities, artists and musicians. A similar evening program was called the Town Hall series.