Abigail Freeman, 12, spent Sunday afternoon decorating four dozen gluten-free cookies, splashing each circle with a navy glaze, then carefully adding a stroke of lighter blue icing right across the middle.

“You know, the thin blue line thing,” her mother explained to me the next morning as we stood in the community room at the Lincoln County Library.

Pretty apropos, since the “thin blue line thing,” an internationally-recognized symbol of the protection law enforcement provides, was the reason we had gathered for a community service project.

Event organizer Misty McMorris said the recent slayings of police across the nation “broke her heart,” compelling her to search for a way to do something. That led to a cookie drive for local officers, an effort McMorris believed her fellow members of Brookhaven Home Educators would support.

She wasn’t disappointed.

Nineteen families brought in nearly 1,000 cookies — oatmeal, chocolate chip, macadamia nut — enabling the group to fill to the brim containers labeled with “have a treat before you hit the street” for the Brookhaven Police Department, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department and the Highway Patrol’s Troop M station.

“I’m thankful that everyone else saw the need, too,” McMorris added. “My hope is that our law enforcement officers will see that we appreciate them and what they do when they get these cookies. We want to let them know that we’re in support of them in spite of the way the media has twisted things.”

Other participants echoed her sentiments. While helping younger students add red and blue handprints to a banner reading, “for all you have done and all you will do, I know I’m safe because of you,” Amy Anderson, a mother of four, expressed sadness over the recent officer deaths. “Society says they’re disposable,” she shared. “They are not.”

Laura Lofton acknowledged she, too, had been looking for an opportunity like the one presented on Monday. “Our family wanted to show our appreciation for all that law enforcement does for us,” she explained. “We have extended family members who serve, and it causes you to realize the sacrifice they make every day, especially in times like these. Kids need to see that there are two sides to everything.”

Annie Lacy, whose family has experienced the trauma of a home invasion, understands the vital role law enforcement plays. She took four of her children to the event as a teaching tool. “They need to know it’s important to respect your authorities,” she said. “They’ve watched the news and are aware of everything that’s going on.”

Over the din of active students and parents, I asked Lacy’s daughter, Carly, about the batch of special no-bake oatmeal cookies she brought for officers to enjoy. The hardest part of the task?

“Keeping my dad out of them,” the 13-year-old cross country runner joked.

Jina Kitchens’ kids also helped her bake. At their house, it was cake mix cookies. “It’s always good to do for others that do for you,” Kitchens stressed.

There were side benefits to the project as well, as noted by Sonya Calcote. Her daughters were responsible for packaging orange date nut cookies, a recipe Calcote chose because it had traveled well to Iraq. “They learned to zip lock really well,” she smiled, referring to Clara Barton, 9, and Miriam, 6.

Carly Lambert was responsible for bagging her family’s contribution, too. Her mother, Beth, expressed the desire that her 12-year-old understand what officers do. “I want her to know they put their lives on the line for us when they walk out the door in the morning,” she said.

Mom Stacy Burns wanted to help her second-grader, Anna, put faces with the prayers she’d been offering on behalf of police. That’s why being part of the teams who delivered the containers to the stations was important to her. “We didn’t fully comprehend the risks officers face before the recent happenings,” Burns admitted. “It has increased our compassion for them and their families.”

Senior Julianna Felchle agreed. Referring to family friend and state trooper Brian Phillips, she said, “I feel safe knowing he is out there. All this had made us pray for him more.”

With paint on the banners dried and poster-sized cards signed, groups set off for their delivery points. I was part of the team sent to Troop M, where Capt. Chris Williams expressed his thanks and assured us cookies left in the officers’ lounge would indeed be found. I saw photos from the other sites, too, and by the looks of the T-shirts, key chains and peeks into patrol cars offered to students, our group may have received more than we gave. Way more.

But where the thin blue line is involved, that’s really nothing new, is it?

 

Wesson resident Kim Henderson is a freelance writer who writes for The Daily Leader. Contact her at kimhenderson319@gmail.com.