Today – the first Friday in June … and EVERY first Friday in June since 1938 –has been designated as “National Doughnut (or Donut) Day”!
In spite of a common misconception, it was NOT Homer Simpson who was responsible for creating this “Holey” Holiday.
Since we’re in the middle of a raucous election season, a burning historical and political question that I’ve wondered about that maybe you could answer: Was Pres. Kennedy really saying he was a popular type of donut when he famously declared, “Ich bin ein Berliner”?
So if you, like Pres. Kennedy, want to carry on the tradition of pledging yourself to donut-zealotry, today is your day – and with good historic and patriotic reason!
It was soon after our entrance into WWI that the Salvation Army sent a fact-finding group to France to learn how they could best serve the morale needs of our soldiers. It was their conclusion that setting up canteens called “huts” would fill the bill for helping with morale.
It soon became evident that their original hopes of providing “home-cooked meals” was beyond their scope – but two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of serving doughnuts. In fact they even sometimes would use the helmets of the soldiers to heat the oil used to fry the doughnuts. (Yeah, I, too, wondered if that is where the term “doughboys” came from in referring to infantrymen – but "doughboys" origin has a decidedly longer history.)
There were about 250 Salvation Army volunteers on the front lines during WWI serving up the treats, and it wasn’t long before these women were referred to as “Doughnut Dollies”. And when boosting the morale of the guys in WWII was largely taken over by the Red Cross, they too were called “Doughnut Dollies”.
But it wasn’t until the depths of the Depression in 1938 that the Chicago Salvation Army, in order to raise funds for the needy as well as to honor the women who served on the frontlines in WWI, created the first “National Doughnut/Donut Day”.
And if you’re wondering how cops are so commonly associated with donuts, there’s a good reason. Back in the 1940s, policemen working the graveyard shift had few options for grabbing a quick bite while on their beats. Donut stores famously start working very, very early to be ready for the morning rush – so it was convenient for cops to stop in and grab a cruller and a cup of Joe.
Some police units have embraced the tradition. Police in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois climb up on the rooftop of their local Dunkin’ Donut shop every year to help raise money for the kids of Special Olympics.
And another police outfit in Michigan actually pooled their money to buy a struggling donut store, expanded it and turned it into Cops and Doughnuts. So while you’re munching on one of their “Misdemeanor Weiners” you can buy one of their “Don’t Glaze Me, Bro” T-shirts.
If you want to get the old salivary glands a-churning, here’s a gallery from “USA Today” guaranteed to get a gourmand like you drooling.
And if you’re wanting to score a FREE DONUT, try one (or more) of these today – or maybe one from a local favorite in your neighborhood:
Dunkin’ Donuts
https://twitter.com/DunkinDonuts/status/738368858344415232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Krispy Kreme
https://twitter.com/krispykreme/status/733655676187250688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Giant Eagle
https://twitter.com/GiantEagle/status/738382672096067584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Duck Donuts
https://twitter.com/DuckDonuts/status/736239756187701248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Lamar’s Donuts
http://www.lamars.com/salvationarmy/
Oh, and whether by coincidence or design, the American Heart Association and Red Cross have designated the first week in June as “CPR Awareness Week”.
15 Responses to “Friday Fun: Celebrate a “Holey” Holiday – w/ FREEBIES”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/3989870
I looked at your top picture and felt like a square peg in a round hole. However, wheat free (specifically gluten free, but no gluten = no wheat) doughnuts are made, the best , in my opinion, by a company called Kinnickinnick They can be glazed (sorry, cops) or dipped and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. They may be deep fried, but my impression from taste and texture is that thay are baked. Despite the name, they are not psychedelic or medicinal – just the tastiest doughnuts that can be made without wheat. I think I should have one for breakfast 🙂
Thanks for the info on "Donuts". Never knew that the " the first Friday in June … and EVERY first Friday in June since 1938 –has been designated as “National Doughnut (or Donut) Day”!"
I am surprised that C2 did not designate National Doughnut Day as a Thank You Note Love Card. I'm not much of a doughnut eating person but do know about them. There is a doughnut shop in town and it does a thriving business. Best time to get one or more donuts is in the early AM when they are fresh and piping hot from the ovens. Oh well…
Thanks to Nameless for the history and background info.
.
My grand-daughter reminded me this morning, that it was Doughnut Day, so off we went to the local donut store.
Enjoyed reading the history of how donuts came to be so popular too.
Thank you, Nameless for this interesting story, and Joanne for posting.
Fortunately, grandkids know! LOL!
Great story, Nameless!
Although I'm not a too great a fan of these overly sweet and deep fried Berliners with a hole in them, I did make the mistake to go to the gallery of USA Today. The calories were dripping off the page, the pictures alone nearly gave me a heart attack. Donuts and Fried Chicken, you've got to be kidding! And that wasn't even the worse combination. But you made it all good with your mention of CPR awareness week, Nameless. Having that coincide with Donut Day can't be a coincidence 😉 Thanks again.
Dang! I judt ate lunch and now I'm craving donuts!!
Yummy!!
OOPS!
Rather than my usual "Resource" list of links at the end, I decided to embed them as hyperlinks.
… BUT I forgot to include the one for Cops & Doughnuts w/ their "Don't Glaze Me, Bro" T-shirts – so here it is:
https://copsdoughnuts.com/
Well, I still learn something new, every day! I did not know about the holiday, nor about the Berliner connection, but: "A Berliner Pfannkuchen (Berliner for short) is a traditional German pastry similar to a doughnut," according to Wikipedia. So, whatever else I have learned, or will learn, today, this is cool, too!
At the same time, I share Lona's apparent distate for such sweet, even goopy, stuff. If I had, or, needed a cardiologist I expect he/she would be asking what kind of flowers I might want at my funeral, were I to get on the donut line.
Tachnically, "Ich bin Berliner" means "I am a citizen of Berlin" whereas "Ich bin ein Berliner" means "I am a jelly doughnut (or something similar)." But I also have it on good authority that Kennedy's usage was already in use among many native speakers of German at the time and was perfectly understandable. Many languages have near misses that are similar. I understand in French if you want to communicate that you are hungry you should use the construction "j'ai" (technically "I have") because if you say "je suis" ("I am"), it means "I am a woman." In my case that would be true but not news.
JD, you are correct — "J'ai faim" translates as "I have hunger" literally as "faim" means hunger, but we say "I am hungry". "Je suis faim" does not even translate.
Yeah, I left that part out becase of the spelling. It's clear on paper, but "je suis faim" would sound virtually identical to "je suis femme," which does translate – just not to hungry!
They are close in pronunciation, but there still is a difference. "faim" almost has a silent 'm' while in "femme", the 'm' is definitely sounded. Nuances.
Thanks, Nameless, I did not know there was a Donut day. Now I will have to inform my brother in law who is a donut addict. Great credit goes to the Salvation Army for their help in the wars, too. They still do great work.d
Ah, sweet recollections! I like the idea of savoury doughnuts, although I balk at bacon and egg ones (hate bacon). Looking at some of the doughnuts in the USA Today article, they remind me more of bagels, and bagels are definitely not doughnuts.
Good piece Nameless with lots of historical information about doughnuts.