Arthur Fields, 1919, Edison Blue Amberol.
As a doughnut town, Chicago doesn’t rank very high, but we do have a solid tradition reaching back to 1938: Doughnut Day.
National Doughnut Day, always the first Friday in June, was created back in 1938 by the Chicago post of the Salvation Army as a fundraiser in honor of the “Doughnut Lassies” of World War I, who cut out doughnuts with baking powder cans and fried them soldiers’ helmets. (See the recipe.) This year, with staggering unemployment figures and so many hungry people to feed, the Salvation Army will have Doughnut Day taggers out collecting donations both today and tomorrow.
Today, catch them from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, as they celebrate with celebrity friends, music and more. We don’t know whether they’ll play the “Doughnut Girl” theme song, but you can hear vaudeville star Arthur Fields sing it on a 1919 Edison cylinder in the link under the photo.
Tomorrow, they’ll be collecting donations throughout the city, or you can click the image at right to donate online. The Salvation Army says they can feed a family of four for a month on $132.
Meanwhile, if you’re only here for the doughnuts, two national chains will be giving away ringed confections all day today. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts offers one free doughnut per person to anyone who visits, while participating Dunkin’ Donuts provide a free doughnut with a beverage purchase.
