From 1942 to 1946, the Big Four Route Veterans Association Women's Auxiliary No. 3 operated a free canteen service for troops in a small white building on the platform of the New York Central Railroad, representing the patriotic spirit of the homefront during World War II. Staffed and funded entirely by volunteers, with donations coming from ten counties, the 170 volunteer ladies met servicemen with welcoming words, thousands of sandwiches, desserts, fruits, drinks, and cigarettes despite federal government rationing restrictions. Approximately 702,779 soldiers, sailors, and marines were fed on their trips to and from the European and Pacific theaters of war. It was one of the few known canteens to serve all nationalities and races, and Margaret Clingerman, who started the canteen, influenced the establishment of six other canteens in Ohio.