IF WALLS COULD TALK: The Invention of the Doughnut Hole

by Katie Ouilette

WHOOPS, walls, I’m not sure if you can talk about this or not, since it is invisible, sort-of. Yes, I just had breakfast and I ate the hole of Mrs. Dunster’s doughnut!

This is for you, faithful readers and WALLS, because I found information about the doughnut hole in my files. Georg Smith wrote it long ago in his column and, just like you, WALLS and faithful readers, he and I have been enlightened. You see, the hole-in-the-doughnut was invented.

Yup, it was invented by a 16-year-old young man by the name of Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory. O.K., WALLS, I can hear you laughing now! Invented? Well, according to the article, that doughy fried doughnuts were so dense and filling that the folks at work were slowed. But that isn’t the end of the story, faithful readers. You see, six men who had the absolutely delicious morsels, fell overboard, and being lethargic, they sank and drowned. And here’s one for you who like “new names for old favorites,” the doughnuts were called “greasy sinkers.” That is when Gregory got the idea to cut out the center of his ‘sinkers’ to make them lighter. Now, the town of Rockport, Massachusetts, has honored Gregory with a plaque at the place of his birth.

Now, WALLS, since you are on the subject of frying, do you remember my telling faithful readers in The Town Line last week that Attorney Robert Washburn is chairman of Governor Abner Coburn Day on March 22, and that ALL are invited to celebrate Maine’s governor who gave so much to so many? Well, Washburn is a very famous name in Maine history. The Washburn brothers, of Maine history, grew up in poverty but attained remarkable achievements. WALLS will tell you more about them in another column, faithful readers, as another time, you will hear about the name Washburn, as the brothers were once the owners of what you women know well…General Mills!

So, faithful readers, WALLS can be seen on The Town Line’s website, townline.org. Oh, and another ‘find’ while searching. “Happiness is like Jam…You can’t spread even a little without getting some on yourself!”