By Shelley Bennett
Yesterday’s flag ceremony at Diamond Crest Cemetery was everything you could hope it to be. The sun was shining bright with a few picturesque clouds dotting the sky, the wind whipped through the avenue of flags to keep them at attention, and the words provided by Larry Rogers, Jim Dandois, and Blue Star mom Joann Darlington were just perfect.
There were also donuts. Just like the donuts provided by the Donut Lassies during WWI.
As Carla McDonald, coordinator at the Susanville Salvation Army, explained to me the Donut Lassies were made up of women who volunteered on the front lines of World War I. They provided supplies to the troops, including homemade baked goods.
As you can imagine, it was difficult to bake treats on the front lines, so one day two innovative women gathered supplies to make dough, shell casings and wine bottles to substitute for rolling pins, and fried the crullers in a soldier’s helmet filled with hot oil. After coating them in powdered sugar, the troops enjoyed a taste of home along with a cup of coffee.
For over one hundred years the Donut Lassies have made donuts for soldiers and Carla, with the help of Major Shrum, is resurrecting the tradition, starting at yesterday’s Memorial Day ceremony. They will also be providing donuts this Friday, June 4th (National Donut Day) at the Veteran’s Clinic on Johnstonville Road from 8:00a.m. to 3:00p.m.
Major Shrum assured me that these donuts were not prepared in a soldier’s helmet and said the original recipe, containing flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, and milk, did not stay fresh very long. They would be hard as rocks within a few hours of making them.
The Salvation Army still supports troops on the front lines, although their needs have changed. One thing that hasn’t changed is a soldier’s need for comfort and a caring message from home. Thank you to Carla and Major Shrum for bringing this tradition back!
The Salvation Army provides a myriad of services to folks in Lassen County. Their offices have recently been remodeled and Carla invites everyone down to take a look at their location in the Grocery Outlet shopping center.
They have table food, where shoppers can choose from fresh produce, bread, and other non-perishable items. This varies from week to week depending on their donations. Recently they launched their Golden Grocery program, which provides an extra assortment of food, picked specifically as more nutritional choices, for clients who are 60 and over.
Even though local schools are still in session, they are taking applications for their Back to School program. They will provide backpacks, school supplies, and $100 clothing shopping sprees for awardees.
If you have extra time, money, or supplies, please consider donating to the Salvation Army. I volunteered at Food Truck Fridays for a few months during quarantine and it was some of the most rewarding work I’ve done.
Remember when news was ‘newsy’? When you read about weddings, family events and engagement announcements in the newspaper? If you have something that might be newsworthy, please submit it to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to include it here in “The Good Stuff.”
