Senior Couple, 90 & 91, Ring Bells for the Salvation Army

Photo: Richard Tsong-Taatarii , Star Tribune

Jim and Yvonne McDougall, 90 and 91, respectively, at their home in Minnetonka. They have a decadeslong tradition of ringing the Salvation Army bell at Christmas. This year, they greeted shoppers at Edina’s Southdale Mall with their bell, a family heirloom.

For Jim and Yvonne McDougall, ringing bells for the Salvation Army is a simple, fun way to get into the holiday spirit.

The Minnetonka couple, both World War II vets — Jim is 90, and “Von,” as Jim calls Yvonne, will be 92 on Christmas Eve — brave the elements every year. They take turns ringing the bell and warming up over the course of a two-hour shift.

On Dec. 5, they worked an entryway at Edina’s Southdale Center. It was a subzero-degree day, so they planted themselves just inside of the front doors.

“It was the first time we ever had that luxury,” Jim McDougall said. “We enjoy the spirituality of it, but not necessarily the cold weather.”

For the McDougalls, who’ve volunteered as bell ringers every year for a decade, “it’s something that you get attached to — you feel like you’re missing something at Christmastime if you don’t go out and ring the bell,” Jim said.

The couple opens the door for people, wishing everyone a merry Christmas. As people come in to the mall, “we try to relate,” he said.

The volunteer gig also makes for good people-watching.

“Little kids come in, and the looks they give you make it really fun,” Jim said, adding, “If their folks give them some change, they can’t wait to put it into the kettle.”

Some years, the tomato-red kettle fills up faster. Occasionally, the couple has had to empty out the pot so they can replenish it, he said.

For the McDougalls, bell-ringing is a relatively easy way to contribute to a good cause without breaking their budget. They give their time, knowing money is going to “feed people who have no place to go or are homeless,” Jim said.

“I have the utmost respect for the Salvation Army,” Jim said. “I think it’s a real deserving organization as far as putting dollars that we give to work.”

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