Salvation Army treating first responders on Donut Day

Havre's Salvation Army will be out visiting first responders Friday in an old tradition, Director Trina Crawford said, taking them donuts on Donut Day.

The Salvation Army website reports that the first-ever National Donut Day was celebrated in 1938 in Chicago, a tribute to the women who brought supplies to the troops in Word War I.

The Salvation Army's Donut Lassies were sent to France in 1917 to establish field bases near the front lines, the site says.

"In makeshift huts, thousands of soldiers would come to stock up on essential goods and grab a sweet treat baked by the Lassies," the site adds.

"Both the presence of these courageous women and the donuts that tasted of home brought a light of hope and happiness to the battlefield - a much-needed morale boost for languishing soldiers," the site says. "In fact, the Donut Lassies are also credited with popularizing the donut in the United States after the troops ... came back from fighting in Europe. And still today, over a hundred years later, The Salvation Army continues to serve on the front lines through a wide range of social services for the most vulnerable individuals and families living in the United States."