Veteran Salvation Army ringer waits for that elusive gold coin
‘I’ve had kids come up to me and ask, ‘Are you Santa?’ ’
When Concepción Mangual brought his kettle back to the Salvation Army’s East Chicago branch Tuesday evening, he wanted the money people there to make sure to double-check his take.
The bell ringer was quite sure he had an extra-special gift in there and sure enough, he was right: Someone generous dropped a in $100 bill during his shift at the Van Til’s in Hammond’s Hessville section. Overall, his efforts netted him $470 for the day, he said.
Now, it wasn’t the gold coin a mysterious benefactor drops in the kettles around the area, but he was thrilled, nonetheless.
“That’s big for me,” Mangual said Wednesday as shoppers tried to finish their Thanksgiving grocery shopping. “You aren’t going to find more generous people than you do here at this store, though. I’ve been to a lot of stores, and this one by far has the best people. I’ve walked out of here with $500 some nights.”
Mangual started ringing the Salvation Army bell some 20 years ago because he was looking to make some extra money for the holiday, he said. As the years wore on, he got to know more about the organization’s mission and what the kettle money means for it.
“It helps the needy,” he said. Seventy (percent) to 80% of the money used goes for the operations, and they help people pay rent, utilities, food and clothing. They’ll even put you up in a hotel if you’re a victim of a fire,” he said.
At first, ringing the bell was just a job even knowing all that, Mangual said, Then tragedy came knocking at his door and he learned just how vital the organization is to many.
“My apartment caught fire — it had to be sometime in the ’90s,” he said. “It started in the other building, but they weren’t able to get it under control in time, so it spread to mine and burned my apartment. I moved back in with my mom, but I’ll never forget that they helped me.”
Not even a pandemic kept him away from his post, although it definitely kept his people away from the stores, he said. Mangual was “slightly nervous” about being out in the public during the height of COVID-19, but he also wasn’t going to
leave them high and dry. A mask and face shield did a pretty good job of keeping him healthy; sanitary wipes and personal hand sanitizer were the added layer, he said.
There are tricks to being a good bell ringer, too, that he’s picked up from those who rang before him, he said. Growing his beard to Santa-proportions helps for sure.
“I’ve had kids come up to me and ask, ‘Are you Santa?’ and I tell them, ‘I might not be — but I might,’ ” he said, smiling. “Another guy that used to be here told me to pick up a little bag of Tootsie Rolls because kids love candy. It doesn’t even have to be expensive, but who doesn’t love candy?”
Now that the vaccines are more widespread — Mangual himself is vaccinated and is about to get his booster, he said — it seems the people are coming back to the stores, he noticed since the Salvation Army started ringing right after Halloween in select grocery stores to make up for pandemic losses. And that’s what he looks forward to the most.
“I don’t get out this way much because I live in East Chicago, but these are the people I see in November and December and I get a good feeling seeing the people I know,” he said. “But I’m still waiting for my gold coin.”