Ozaukee County Guide

December 14, 2016 By Gary Achterberg News Graphic Staff MEQUON — With the holidays approaching, many may think they're baking for an army as they gear up to make Christmas cookies. A Mequon woman actually was baking for an army. Debi Schnake, whose son Ryan is serving a one-year tour with the Army National Guard at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, recently went on a mission to bake 123 dozen Christmas cookies, which she then mailed to her son and the 122 other troops serving with him. That's 1,476 Christmas cookies! They included sugar cookies, peanut butter, snicker doodles, oatmeal raisin and almond-flavored Italian pizzelles, which require a special iron to make. "They're really good – and they're going to make my son happy," Schnake said. "Our Christmas is 99-percent all- Italian food." Schnake recruited a kitchen- full of 18 relatives and friends for a day of cookie-baking Dec. 3. Before the big day, Schnake made multiple trips to the store to purchase ingredients that she said weighed about 150 pounds, including 15 dozen eggs. On "C-Day," Schnake was up getting everything ready at 4:30 a.m. Others arrived around 7 a.m. Her industrial-size oven was fired-up at 6 a.m. and was turned off 15 hours later. "It was an assembly line," she said. "I typed out everybody's position. If someone was on hold, they went back to mixing a batter or manning the oven. Everybody knew their place." Once the cookies were cooled, others oversaw packing them just-so. "They had to be separated," she said. "I didn't want them to get to Cuba in tiny pieces." The cookies were packed into 22 U.S. Postal Service boxes. Schnake mailed them Dec. 5. They should arrive just in time for Christmas. Ryan Schnake, a second lieutenant, was deployed with others in the Wisconsin Army National Guard during a send- off ceremony at Mitchell Field in May attended by Gov. Scott Walker. Mom said she's sent care packages every week or so since he left. "About three or four months ago, my son made a comment that there were so many soldiers here who haven't gotten one piece of mail since they've been here – and that just broke my heart," she said. And it sparked an idea. "It was a labor of love," she said. "His aunt and uncle drove all the way in from Detroit; cousins came in from Chicago. People traveled for this because they wanted to be a part of it. It wasn't just about my son. It was about all of them – and this is just a small little thing that we can do." Word about the cookie-baking operation traveled fast on social media. "My son's best friend is in Afghanistan," she said. "He Facebooked us and said, 'Where are my cookies?' I just wanted to cry." Email: gachterberg@conleynet.com 7259 Sleepy Hollow Rd. West Bend, WI 53090 (262) 334-1906 W63 N127 Washington Ave. Cedarburg, WI 53012 (262) 377-1906 252940012 Buy two 7 " subs & a side * , get a 7 " sub FREE! GRAFTON 442 Falls Rd. • Ph 262-375-3939 PORT WASHINGTON 101 E. Grand Ave. • Ph 262-268-9803 *Side items include chips, drink & soup. FREE SUB Valid only at locations listed. Not valid with any other coupon or discount. Max value one free sub. Free sub will be lowest retail value of subs ordered. Not valid with online orders. Sub sizes are approximate. Valid thru 12/31/16. PNS COUSINSSUBS.COM GRAFTON 442 Falls Road Ph 262-375-3939 PORT WASHINGTON 101 E. Grand Ave. Ph 262-268-9803 252883001 Campbell's Auto Sport, Inc. Cars • Trucks • SUV's We Buy Cars & Take Trades! 262.377.6696 1180 Wauwatosa Rd. • Cedarburg www.campbellsautosport.com Sales • Service • Tires Sales • Service • Tires See us for all your car care needs! Operation Cookie Mequon woman ensures troops have Christmas treats

• Cover