Town sends cookies to soldiers

EDINBURGH, Ind. -- What began as one woman's simple way to support soldiers departing for a possible war in Iraq has grown into a community-wide "Cookies for Combat" campaign.\nOver the past month, Edinburgh residents have baked about 4,000 cookies that Kim Smith has delivered to troops training at central Indiana's Camp Atterbury.\n"It really means a lot to the guys," said Sgt. Cecelia Ellis, a spokeswoman for the state-owned National Guard base. "It's just a cookie, but it's a nice a touch of home."\nSmith said one soldier's eyes brightened after he learned she had come to the base bearing cookies.\nThe man had been sitting alone, watching a televised basketball game at one of the base's clubs. Smith learned of the man's shock over being deployed, and his worries about how his mother would cope with him gone. The cookies lifted his spirits.\n"He lit up like a Christmas tree," Smith told The Republic of Columbus. "I hugged him. And he was so happy about the cookies. I just remember the fear in his eyes. Just having some homemade cookies and a hug makes a difference."\nThe campaign began after Smith spoke with soldiers who were getting dental care from her husband, Mark Smith. In January, officials at the base about 25 miles south of Indianapolis sought help from the Edinburgh dentist and others in the area who could work on soldiers' teeth.\nWhile soldiers were treated in Smith's clinic, his wife spoke to them about their families and backgrounds.\n"They were all so good and so nice," Kim Smith said. "A lot of them joined the National Guard to get an education. They were devastated and afraid to learn they would have to go to the Middle East."\nA follow-up call from the base a few weeks later led her to ask about the soldiers she had met. When she learned they were leaving the next day, she asked whether she could bake cookies.\n"I thought there might be 20, 30 or 40 soldiers, but she said 250," Smith said. "Times that by four and it's a minimum of 1,000."\nSmith called on friends and people from her church to help bake.\nIn three hours, Smith had more than 1,000 cookies that she dropped off.\nWhen the base calls, Smith contacts a brigade of bakers, and the process begins: ovens heat up, batter starts swirling, batches begin multiplying.\nVolunteers will keep baking as long as troops are serving.\n"It's a great ministry for our community to do," Smith said. "It's a comfort food, and that's what we're trying to do: provide comfort while they're here in Edinburgh"