This Christmas season, as he has done for the past 20 years, Al Heil will be ringing a Salvation Army red kettle bell, this year in front of Wal–Mart® in Owatonna, Minn. The vibrant 80–year–old says he always takes the late shift because in the frigid Minnesota winters, “It separates the men from the boys.”
How can he stand the cold? He replies, “It’s not bad. I wrap up in scarves, put warmers in my mittens and wear thermal bib overalls.” He adds, “The colder it gets, the more people give. I think they feel sorry for me!”
Al is considered an institution by the Steele County Salvation Army, not only for his bell ringing but also for his service as the treasurer. Actually, he’s served in various positions for more than 40 years. When he’s not volunteering for The Salvation Army, he’s fixing the neighbors’ shutters or playing cards with the “old folks” at the nursing home. He’s driven to give back.
“I’ve been blessed,” Al says. He’s referring to his lifetime walk with the Lord, but he’s also remembering the Salvation Army’s direct intervention at one of the darkest times of his life.
It was the winter of 1935, and Al’s family was suffering terribly during the Great Depression. His father, a tractor mechanic, worked 60 hours a week for as little as $30.
“We had nothing,” Al says. “No car, nothing. We ate lard sandwiches—just a piece of bread and lard.” To heat the house, Al and two of his brothers picked up coal along the railroad tracks. “We picked up rail spikes and sold them to buy a loaf of bread,” Al says.
That December, the
strain increased considerably when severe illness struck the family.
“Then, people got the diseases that aren’t around anymore,” Al says. “We had to just go through them.” Al and his four brothers all became sick at the same time. They struggled with both chicken pox and whooping cough. The two youngest boys were hit hardest. Al remembers helping the doctor and his parents wrap his 6–month–old brother in towels soaked in hot water. The treatment failed, and the baby died on the kitchen table as the family watched helplessly.
The family put the little boy in the ground three days before Christmas.
“That time was terrible, devastating,” Al says, shaking his head. “We had no presents.” Then a gentle smile crosses his face as he says, “I’ll never forget that Christmas Eve. I was standing by my mother when there was a knock on the door. It was The Salvation Army. They had food, lots of food, and a toy for each of us boys. From that day on I have never forgotten what The Salvation Army did for us.”
His response today is dictated by his favorite Bible verse: “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
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