More than six decades after receiving help from the Salvation Army, a Chatham man is fulfilling his dream to help with the kettle campaign.

Bob Schram's memories of this Christmas tradition go back to 1945 when, at the age six, he saw his mother put a nickel in a kettle on King Street in downtown Chatham.
Coming from a family of 12, money was pretty scarce, but Schram, 69, said he remembers thinking, "I was amazed when we got home that night, because we got a basket of food for a nickel."

He realized later that his family couldn't afford their own Christmas meal and needed the help.

"What a wonderful gift," he said.

At age 15, Schram worked at O'Rourke's Groceteria. He remembers delivering turkeys to Chatham homes on a cold Dec. 24 day with strict orders not to leave the bird unless he received payment.

He went to a dilapidated home with a turkey. Inside were a mother and her children. When Schram asked for payment, the woman said her husband was still working so she didn't have any money. He agreed to leave the turkey and went to listen to The Salvation Army band playing nearby.

Instead of hearing music, he heard the word of God being delivered by a Salvation Army minister. And Jesus' famous words: "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me" stuck in his mind.

When he went back to the house, the bird was in the oven and there was no money to be found. So Schram headed back to listen to the band, but the minister was still preaching and this time the message was "tis better to give than receive" and "you can't out-give God."

Schram decided to go back to the store and face the music for handing over the turkey without collecting payment. His boss told him to go back and get the money or take the bird.

Schram went back. but never knocked on the door. When he returned to the store, he said his boss asked him if he was sure the woman didn't pay, because the money he turned over showed he had $15 in Christmas tips.

"In my head I'm thinking, 'He's real,''' Schram said of God.

However. when Schram told his mother he wanted to help with the kettle campaign, he got his first exposure to the church politics that once existed.

He recalled his mother told him: "You're too young, it's too cold and you're Catholic."
For years, the desire to help the kettle campaign remained. Finally, last year he called The Salvation Army a few days before Christmas to offer his services, but there were enough volunteers.

Schram was ecstatic when he received a call from kettle coordinator Janice Ward to help this year.

"We can always use volunteers," she said, noting there are 40 shifts to cover a day, until the campaign wraps up on Dec. 24.

Ward said people can give as much time as they want. She noted some people volunteer for a single shift and one person volunteers two shifts a day throughout the campaign.
Volunteering for the kettle campaign has "probably been one of the most blessed experiences I've ever had," said Schram.

He said the first people to come to his kettle were his daughter and granddaughter.
"I got tears in my eyes and I thought, 'The guy upstairs is thinking of me."

Anyone interested in watching a kettle, can call Ward at 519-354-1430 or 519- 365-5163.

by Ellwood Shreve

Reprinted with permission by the Chatham Daily News