The bells will ring for 24 hours

Danny Thomas II is a relatively quiet person by nature.

Thomas, an Independence resident, says he’s been quiet his entire life, but there are certain situations that bring out the talker in him.

Ringing a bell with a red kettle in front of him, for instance.

For six years, Thomas has worked as a paid employee ringing bells for The Salvation Army in November and December. Unless other employees offer their time, Thomas says he usually works 10-hour shifts, ringing a bell in front of retail storefronts like Wal-Mart in hopes that passersby will give up their pocket change for those in need.

He’s a soft-spoken man who wears a large black cowboy hat regularly. In May 2000, Thomas sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident that affected his walking and his speech. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, and his right side is paralyzed. Now on medical disability, he makes every effort to stand between 35 to 45 minutes each hour of his shift, wobbling side to side to maintain his balance.

Along with volunteers and paid employees across both sides of the metropolitan area, Thomas participated in the first-ever, 24-hour bell-ringing marathon from Friday through noon today at two dozen Wal-Mart locations. 

Thomas says The Salvation Army has helped him out several times during the Christmas season, and he has also visited the nonprofit organization’s food pantry on occasion. His shift on Friday lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thomas wore long underwear, jeans, overalls, a sweater, a jacket and a scarf to bear the cold weather – and of course, the signature red Salvation Army apron.

“People tell me I’m crazy ‘cause it’s cold weather, but for me, it’s the people. I tell almost everybody ‘Hi’ or ‘Bye’ when they come out of the doors,” Thomas says. “I don’t know how cold it is out here because it feels like it’s 85 degrees to me.”

At the Blue Springs’ Wal-Mart retail entrance, Thomas received his largest donation on Wednesday – a $100 bill.

“I don’t have much since I just gave my boyfriend money for presents,” a young woman tells Thomas Friday afternoon as she leaves the Blue Springs Wal-Mart.

“Every little bit helps, honey,” Thomas says.

“I’ll give you every coin I have except two pennies,” she replied jokingly. She ended up giving Thomas the final two cents anyway.

“Merry Christmas, ma’am,” Thomas says as the woman walked away.

Volunteers took over the 6 to 8 p.m. shift in Blue Springs Friday. Kaitlyn Hadfield, a Blue Springs High School junior, volunteered as a member of the Woods Chapel Bible Fellowship in her second year with The Salvation Army bell ringers.

She sang Christmas carols with Mark Rodenberg, a Blue Springs South High School sophomore and first-time bell ringer, and Myral Watson, youth leader with Woods Chapel Bible Fellowship.

“People can be really nice – just normal people you wouldn’t think twice about saying ‘Hi’ to them or anything,” Hadfield says. “We’ve had really nice people come up to us in the past and say that we made their day by singing and stuff.” 

About 45 minutes into their two-hour shift, Hadfield shrugged off the lower 30s temperatures.

“There’s people that don’t have homes, and they live in this all the time,” she says. “So, it’s the least I could do in doing my part to help out.”