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From the files of “You Learn Something New Every Day” comes this story from the Salvation Army of North Texas.
At the request of Gen. John J. Pershing in 1917, around 250 Salvation Army volunteers traveled overseas to Europe to set up small huts near the front lines of World War I to provide soldiers with supplies, clothing, and, perhaps most importantly, sweet treats.
With the front lines not an ideal kitchen, two Salvation Army officers, Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance, innovated: They tried to fry donuts. It worked. The soldiers loved them.
The “Donut Lassies,” as they soon became known, are credited with introducing the donut to the American public when soldiers came home.
We are indebted to the “Lassies.”
The Salvation Army of North Texas on Friday morning marked the occasion of National Donut Day by handing out donuts and coffee to veterans and first responders at the Fort Worth VA Clinic on the Southeast Loop.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, The Salvation Army continued to make and distribute donuts, offering a sense of hope during the Great Depression.
When World War II began, volunteers from The Salvation Army once again brought donuts to the front lines, now assisted by the invention of the automatic donutmaking machine.
Since 1938, The Salvation Army in Chicago established the first National Donut Day. We’ve been doing it ever since.
Many thanks to you, Donut Lassies.
