BELL RINGER EXUDES WARMTH OUTSIDE LANCASTER POST OFFICE : RETIREE HAS A SMILE, OPENS DOORS FOR HARRIED CUSTOMERS.Byline: Karen Thacker Special to the Daily News As a 14-year-old in 1944 in Milwaukee, Al Ward got his first job as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army Salvation Army, Protestant denomination and international nonsectarian Christian organization for evangelical and philanthropic work. Organization and Beliefs The Salvation Army has established branches in 100 countries throughout the world. , standing outside a post office ringing a bell to encourage passers-by to drop change in a black kettle Black Kettle, d. 1868, chief of the southern Cheyenne in Colorado. His attempt to make peace (1864) with the white men ended in the massacre of about half his people at Sand Creek. . For three Christmases, he helped collect money for people in need, then went into the grocery store business for 45 years. Upon retiring four years ago, he moved to Lancaster and began ringing bells for the Salvation Army again. This year the 66-year-old Ward is outside the main Lancaster post office at 10th Street West and Avenue J-2. Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Salvation Army Capt. Ken Hood says Ward is one of the best bell ringers there is. ``He holds doors, he's smiling, he's there rain and shine - he's wonderful,'' Hood said. Even though the post office typically isn't one of the best locations for bell ringers, Hood said, Ward makes it one of the highest collection sites in town. For Ward, it's the company that makes his job worthwhile. ``I get to talk to people and I get to open and shut the doors,'' he said. ``People especially nowadays like being greeted - people have a lot of things to think about. . . . They enjoy having someone smile at them.'' The job is also a great opportunity to be active for a good cause, he said. As a boy, Ward learned to play the baritone baritone or barytone (both: băr`ĭtōn), male voice, in a lighter and higher range than a bass but lower than a tenor. through the Salvation Army, and went on to play the brass instrument brass instrument Musical wind instrument, usually made of brass or other metal, in which the vibration of the player's lips against a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece causes the initial vibration of an air column. in high school and college bands. He was also in a Boy Scout troop sponsored by the Salvation Army, and earned the Eagle Scout Ea·gle Scout n. One who has achieved the highest rank in the Boy Scouts. Noun 1. Eagle Scout - a Boy Scout who has earned many merit badges Boy Scout - a boy who is a member of the Boy Scouts award, scouting's highest rank. The Salvation Army has bell ringers stationed at 25 spots around the Antelope Valley. Local collections took a dive with the economy about five years ago. From $68,000 in 1990, collections plummeted to $40,000 in 1991, and have slowly crept back to about $56,000 last year. Bell ringers are paid $4.75 an hour. While using volunteers could cut costs, paying the workers is not so bad, either, Hood said. Many people need extra income around the holidays, and many teen-agers gain their first work experience as ringers, he said. For workers like Ward, however, the extra money is nice, but the chance to get out of house and be around people makes it all worthwhile. Because of worsening wors·en tr. & intr.v. wors·ened, wors·en·ing, wors·ens To make or become worse. Noun 1. worsening - process of changing to an inferior state decline in quality, deterioration, declension epilepsy epilepsy, a chronic disorder of cerebral function characterized by periodic convulsive seizures. There are many conditions that have epileptic seizures. Sudden discharge of excess electrical activity, which can be either generalized (involving many areas of cells in , Ward no longer drives. So his wife, Phyllis, chauffeurs him to this post office spot, where he will work every weekday until Christmas from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Being there rain or shine is not so hard, Ward said. Milwaukee in December was a lot worse. ``There I was, right down at the main post office and that was about two blocks from the lake,'' Ward said, ``and that was cold.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color -- AV only) Al Ward greets customers at the Lancaster post office as a Salvation Army bell ringer. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
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