Local Video
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| Memories from an early bell ringer |
By: SUZANNE ROOK, Managing Editor
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Posted: Saturday, November 28, 2009 12:55 am
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I can’t imagine what my parents were thinking taking five children ages four months to 5 1/2 years to New York’s Rockefeller Center at Christmas time.
It was late 1966 and Judy and Zeke must have decided we needed to get into the holiday spirit. So they packed us all into the station wagon and headed up the turnpike for the Big Apple. With my then youngest brother, Jim, tucked snugly in his stroller, and four others tagging alongside, my mother must have stopped — maybe to tie a shoe or wipe a nose.
But as usual, I was paying attention to something else, completely unaware of the dangers of a big city, and kept on walking. With a crowd of adults all around me, I had no idea I was straying. Reaching up for the hand of a man I thought was my father, I heard an unfamiliar voice saying: “Little girl, I’m not your daddy.”
Confused, I kept moving, even crossing the street with the crowd. There, on the corner, as I stood wondering where to go next, a smiling Salvation Army volunteer, realizing I was lost, asked me if I’d like to help her and her partner ring the bell.
I remember that bell, which felt huge in a kindergartner’s hands, swinging it back and forth to create attention as I waited, unaware of my parents’ rising panic.
And while I’m pretty sure the Salvation Army isn’t seeking wayward 5-year-olds, they are looking for another 20 local volunteers to ring the bell and collect donations for the organization outside grocery stores and retail shops this season. Bell ringing began this week and runs up until Christmas.
Called the Kettle Campaign, proceeds support Rice County’s neediest.
Programs, which run year-round, include dinners and holiday meats, summer camp, back-to-school shopping for area children with local law enforcement representatives, support of area elderly, food and gas vouchers, disaster relief and partnerships with area nonprofits.
The work is easy, especially with a partner, says Northfield volunteer coordinator Becky Judge, noting that volunteers should dress for the weather.
“The good cheer keeps you warm,” she said, laughing.
The two-hour shifts — mostly Fridays and Saturday — can be filled by anyone high school age and above unless accompanied by a parent. And, said Judge, the time counts as volunteer hours for the high school’s National Honor Society.
So what happened to that underage bell ringer?
I recall that it wasn’t long before a police officer, looking for a missing child and recognizing the youth of the volunteer bell ringer, pulled up. According to my mom, it was eternity.
Like millions of others who have been lost and in need, the Salvation Army was there for me when I had nowhere else to turn.
To this day I can’t walk by a red kettle without pushing a couple of bills inside. Each time I’m taken back to that dim December day in the city and the kindness of strangers. It almost always takes my breath away.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Judge at bellringers@charter.net or 645-9628.
—Reach Suzanne Rook at srook@northfieldnews.com or at 507-645-1113. |
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