Christmas tradition means different things to different people.
For, some it’s an heirloom ornament, passed down from generation to generation and hung with care on the Christmas tree every year. For others, it may be a family dish that makes an annual appearance on the Christmas table.
For Auburn residents and sisters Louanna Rowland and Charlene Delay, it’s service, a yearly commitment to giving back and a chance to show their gratitude during the Christmas season by helping others, as they were once helped.
For more than a decade Rowland, 52, and Delay, 53, have spent the season in front of the Auburn Fred Meyer store as Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign bell ringers. It’s a tradition instilled by their mother, Lana Kauffold, who rang bells for the Salvation Army for 30 years.
“Mom talked us into helping her one year, and it’s been a family thing ever since,” said Delay, who is in her 11th year ringing the bell.
“I”ve rung for 13 years,” Rowland said. “I started doing it right here.”
Every year since starting in November, the day after Thanksgiving, Rowland and Delay don their Christmas gear, pick up their hand bells and get to work, manning the kettle daily until Dec. 24.
Although they are paid minimum wage, $8.55 an hour, for their work, it’s about more than a paycheck for Rowland and Delay.
“The program (Salvation Army) helped my mom out,” Rowland said. “When we were kids, they sent us to camp.”
Delay explained that their mother, a single mom with five kids, relied on the Salvation Army as a safety net.
Through every rough time the family has endured, Rowland said the Salvation Army was there.
“Earlier this year my brother’s house burnt down and they put his family up in a hotel for two weeks,” she said. “My daughter was homeless one year, and they helped her (get an apartment) by paying her first and last month’s rent and deposit. It meant a lot to her.”
And much like the Salvation Army has been there for Rowland and Delay, they’ve also been there for the customers at Fred Meyer.
“There are a lot of people I’ve known for years, I’ve watched their kids grow up,” Rowland said.
“The people who come by are real friendly,” Delay said. “My sister and I will greet them when they come in and tell them to have a good day. Some people give a little bit every day.”
Despite the kindness of their regulars, both Rowland and Delay admit that Christmas is a bittersweet time of year.
This year marks the second that they’ve rung the bells at the store without their mother, who died of heart disease in July of 2009.
“When she passed away, we wanted to keep up the tradition,” Rowland said. “Toward the end, she would ring (sitting) in her electric scooter. We used to decorate her stand with lights.”
Although the duo obviously miss ringing the bells with mom, they say they’ll continue to do it to thank the Salvation Army.
“Mom was a single mother raising five children and they helped us a lot,” Delay said. “We went to the Salvation Army church and camp, and we just stayed with them over the years. It’s a good organization they give 100 percent.”
=====
More about the drive
The Red Kettle Campaign started in San Francisco in 1891 and currently helps more than four-and-a-half million people during the holidays.
The Salvation Army is an evangelical Christian church with an emphasis on charitable work and was founded by William and Catherine Booth in England in 1865.
The organization is active in 121 countries and offers recreation programs for children, drug and alcohol rehabilition and disaster relief.
For more information, visit www.salvationarmyusa.org.
