More asking Salvation Army for help

There's a new urgency to the familiar chimes from Salvation Army bell ringers outside various stores in town. More people are asking for help this year than ever before.

So far, the organization has had 1,008 applications for Christmas food baskets, up by 158 over last year. And volunteers always pack at least 100 extra baskets for needy people who didn't fill out an application.

"This year we're going to have to pack 1,150, which will be more than we've ever done," Maj. Robert Gauthier said. That's a lot of turkeys, he said.

Salvation Army employees worried that holiday donations would drop off after people had given so generously in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

"When season first started, we were down a bit and I was a little concerned," Gauthier said. At first it seemed there wouldn't be enough turkeys donated even for the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the needy.

"Then people seemed to just dig in," he said.

This year, the overall Tree of Lights goal is $210,000, which will include money from the kettles, mail appeals and unsolicited donations.

Salvation Army soldier Frances Patterson says she is up to the challenge. After ringing a bell seven hours a day at least five days a week, one might long for a little peace and quiet.

Not her.

"I love it," she said. That may be why she's been vigorously ringing bells every holiday season for more than two decades.

Over her time as the longest serving bell ringer in Cape Girardeau, Patterson picked up a few survival tricks: Like bringing a rug to stand on to ease the strain on her legs and back. She also learned how to shift hands regularly without breaking rhythm in her ringing.

She's rung her bell outside nearly every store in town since she moved here in 1979 from her hometown of DuQuoin, Ill., after the death of her husband.

At 72, Patterson no longer stands out in the cold to ring her small hand bell, taking a seated position inside the doors at Hobby Lobby.

Her seniority has earned her another small perk: A kettle stand decorated with garland and lights, courtesy of her friend Arnold Kistner, who works at Hobby Lobby.

"She's a good person," Kistner said. He met her years ago when she had a post outside Kmart.

Patterson is one of a few people paid by the Salvation Army to ring bells. Others are volunteers.

Thursday, painter Bill Bayer presented Patterson with an oil painting of a snow scene. He did the painting while teaching a class at Hobby Lobby.

"It's still wet," a delighted Patterson said.

She's going to have to find room on her crowded walls for the painting, she said. Her collection of more than 300 bells takes up quite a bit of room.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160