Sheriff's deputy replaces girl's damaged birthday cupcakes after crash
NEW LONDON, Wis. (WLUK) -- It was a scary ride to school for a New London girl Monday.
Journey Huey, 8, was in a rollover crash with her grandmother, but an Outagamie County sheriff's deputy turned that scary situation into an unforgettable surprise.
“My grandma said, ‘It’s a birthday you’ll never forget!’” said Journey Huey.
It was quite a journey to Sugar Bush Elementary School for the birthday girl Monday morning. Journey Huey and her grandmother Hali Huey spent the night before baking birthday cupcakes for Journey’s class.
And the 8-year-old took her time to make sure they were just right.
“My grandma helped me, but I mostly did most of the work,” the Sugar Bush birthday girl explained. “There were 16 of them, and I made some flowers on them and stuff, with M&Ms and some sprinkles, and some frosting.”
What happened on their way to deliver those cupcakes would make for a birthday the pair may never forget.
“We were going down the highway and taking Jojo to school with her cupcakes for her birthday, and the next thing you know, we weren’t going down the road, we were going across the road,” Hali Huey said.
“We were just driving normal, because we didn’t see anything, so then we just flipped over!” Journey Huey recalled.
While Journey and her grandmother made it out safely and are doing well, the same can’t be said for the 8-year-old’s birthday cupcakes.
Enter Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Sue Bolwerk. She helped Journey and her grandma at the scene, and escorted them to school.
Bolwerk would later go beyond the call of duty.
“I thought, you know, she needs cupcakes on her birthday, so I ran down to FestivaI (Foods), don’t know, I think I grabbed about 30 of them -- I wanted to make sure they had enough, and then brought them to the classroom,” Bolwerk said.
Her selflessness moved many people at the elementary school, including Journey’s grandmother.
“There she was with all these cupcakes, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! How wonderful!’ and that’s when I start crying...she got me!” Hali Huey said.
The special delivery helped make Journey Huey’s eighth birthday a memorable one.
“She brought me some cupcakes, and I was really surprised,” she said.
Bolwerk, who initially didn’t want any recognition, said she’s just glad she could make Journey happy on her birthday.
“There’s lots of good people out there, and we need to recognize them,” Hali Huey said.
And the lesson for the birthday girl: “We can’t replace people, but we can replace other things.”
Sugar Bush Elementary is happy to report that not one of Deputy Bolwerk's birthday cupcakes went to waste.
