1865–1950
Evangeline Cory Booth was the Commander of the Salvation Army in the United States from 1904 to 1934, and later served as the fourth General of the international Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was the daughter of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, and Catherine Booth.
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Evangeline Booth made the fateful decision to send Salvation Army workers to France to support American troops. She organized the first contingent of volunteers — including Margaret Sheldon and Helen Purviance — who shipped out in August and September 1917.
Booth’s vision for the Salvation Army’s war work was distinctive: rather than operating large institutional canteens far behind the lines (as the YMCA and Red Cross often did), Salvation Army workers would serve as close to the front as possible, in small “huts” where soldiers could find hot food, a warm fire, letter-writing materials, and spiritual comfort. This intimate, dangerous, front-line approach earned the Salvation Army enormous respect among American soldiers.
The success of the wartime donut — born of improvisation at the front — became a powerful symbol. Evangeline Booth skillfully publicized the work of her “lassies” (as the Salvation Army women were known), and the resulting wave of public goodwill helped the Salvation Army become one of the most trusted charitable organizations in America, a reputation it maintains to this day.
Margaret Sheldon refers to Evangeline Booth in her diary with great respect, noting visits and communications from the Commander. Booth visited the front in France and maintained close contact with her workers throughout the war.
Diary of a World War I Donut Girl 