Cops and Doughnuts

I love heart-warming stories, stories of community spirit and hope. This is just such a story.

A small town bakery was going out of business. If you know anything about Michigan's economy this is not an unusual story. The downtown areas of some of our little towns are starting to look like ghost towns. Empty store fronts are the norm. One little town near us, Clare, is no exception.

There is something else about small towns that needs to be told, and that's community spirit. Clare has spirit. The police department didn't want one more business to close, and grouped together to change that. The entire 9-man police force went together and bought the bakery. Yes, bought it. And renamed it "Cops and Doughnuts."

Why "Cops and Doughnuts?" It's a cliche, don't you think? An old pairing: the tired and hungry policeman walking his beat, looking for a place for a cup of coffee at an hour of the day when most businesses are closed. For some reason doughnuts and policemen are thought of as a dynamic duo. When I typed a search for this information I found blogs still asking the question, and people still trying to answer it.

And now... for the Rest of the Story (thank you Paul Harvey:)). Not only did the members of the Clare police department buy the bakery, but news of the community spirit spread. This small town bakery and it's big hearted owners have been featured on Good Morning America, and other news programs. People come from all over; word has gotten out. There has even been an offer to franchise! These men in blue, however, had no idea this was going to happen - this notoriety was not a goal. They are so open and honest about their good intentions, and lack of business expertise. They just wanted to help grow Clare a little bit - preserving an historic business.

So, this story comes wrapped for Black & White Wednesday...a story of an old town and historic business and some citizens who wanted to preserve it. Another example of what America stands for - good old-fashioned native ingenuity.