Where is the Bell Ringer?

Outside a popular supermarket in the Midwest, a kettle worker for the Salvation Army is gone.  On the stand, a red kettle is locked in place.  The worker’s red apron is draped over the stand’s frame.  Not to worry.  The kettle is in a secure location; the worker is on a break. Or, perhaps, another volunteer is on their way. 

At Gemco, after hours of effort, and not a single donation had been put in the kettle, a bell ringer planted the stand in the middle of a main sidewalk entrance.

No one really knows what is inside a Salvation Army kettle until it's opened after the day's collections are tallied.  In 2007, for example, a South African gold coin was dropped into a Sioux Falls, South Dakota kettle.

The gold coin was worth $800 at the time. The Krugerrand donor remained anonymous, Keloland television reported in 2007 (since removed).  And the Sioux Falls Argus Leader also reported on the coin December 22, 2007 (the listing is found at CoinNews.net).

When gold coins are in the kettle it is always news.  A brief search on LexisNexis (a search engine for legal briefs, news articles and business information), over 90 articles about gold coins in kettles instantly were made available. 

In Chicago, for example, the Chicago Daily Herald reported gold coins have all but become a tradition there. In a story by Mick Zawislak, published December 5, 2012, a one-ounce Double Eagle gold coin worth about $1,730 was wrapped in a 1000 Yen bill worth about $12 when it was retrieved Nov. 30 from a kettle.

“This pattern of anonymous donations of gold and silver pieces, or large sums of cash dropped in Salvation Army kettles across the Chicago area, has become a punctual practice for more than 25 years,” Zawislak said.

And the tradition continues.

The worker, who rang the bell at the old Gemco Store in Chico, California, lugged his kettle wherever he went.  But it remained empty as bargain shoppers, most of whom were heading to the closing chain for one reason only, ignored the Salvation Army kettle and the individual standing in the cold outside the near-empty store.

Some kettle workers in Chico, California, were paid when the Gemco store closed in 1986.  Volunteers alone could not meet the need of the organization that year.  This happened in Portland, Maine too.

The worker at Gemco, who was allowed to help open, and count, the day’s receipts, reported pride when his kettle literally “popped” open when unlocked.

In an article published in the Portland Press Herald, December 24, 2002, C. Kalimah Redd, a staff writer, reported paid workers were hired to help meet the need:

“‘The need for (Salvation Army) services has grown steadily over the years,” Maj. Frank Klemanski, chief financial officer for the Salvation Army in northern New England said, “‘and the organization can no longer sustain its effort with volunteers.  For those who are paid, this is supporting their families -- and all the people the Salvation Army helps.’”

In Chico, California, for example, near the area recently devastated by the “Camp Fire, the Salvation Army gave out 400 food baskets the year Gemco closed.  This in a town of only 20,000 or so at the time.

The worker at Gemco who helped count the day’s receipts reported pride when his kettle literally “popped” open when unlocked.  He'd reportedly worked very hard, but many kettles were filled to overflowing that season.  The money helped feed the hungry, and paid for Salvation Army services throughout the year.


At Gemco, when after hours of bell ringing, and no donations, the Salvation Army Bell Ringer had ultimately planted his stand in the middle of the main sidewalk leading to the store.  At the Gemco store, this activity had been allowed because of its closing.  But most kettles are located where store managers want them placed.  As reported in the video above, Salvation Army kettles should not be moved from their designated location.

Joseph McFee, a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco in 1891, saw so many hungry people in the crowded city he wanted to help.  He grabbed an empty kettle and started the first Red Kettle Campaign.  The money helped the destitute and poverty-stricken with Christmas dinners and other services.

This years' campaign still has too many empty kettles, during a time of year the Salvation Army depends heavily on donations.  Please help; volunteer if you are able, and remember, the person replacing you may need help too.