Spokane7
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December 10, 2009 in City
Salvation Army bell-ringer gets a spot of gold
Liberty Eagle piece came wrapped in $100 bill
This one-ounce Liberty Eagle gold piece was dropped into Salvation Army volunteer’s Ted Morris’ kettle at the Wandermere Fred Meyer store on Tuesday.
(Full-size photo)
It appears likely Ted Morris will be Spokane’s No. 1 Salvation Army bell-ringer for the third year in a row after somebody dropped a 1-ounce gold piece in his kettle Tuesday.
“The guy gets out of his car and asked me if my name was Ted,” said Morris, a volunteer bell-ringer outside the Wandermere Fred Meyer store. “He put something in the kettle and said, ‘There is something special in there.’ ”
Later that evening, the Salvation Army’s regional kettle coordinator, retired Maj. Tom Petersen, called Morris to tell him what that something special was – a $50 Liberty Eagle gold piece minted in 1998.
And it came wrapped in a $100 bill.
The price of gold Wednesday was about $1,120 an ounce, but Sheila Geraghty, the Salvation Army’s regional business manager, said she would probably wait to see if the value of gold climbs any higher before selling it.
“We do need to cash it out before Dec. 24, when the kettle drive ends,” Geraghty said, adding, “The Salvation Army loves to find those kinds of things in its kettles.”
She attributed the gift to an interview with Morris that appeared in Monday’s Spokesman-Review. Morris said he would recognize the generous donor if he saw him again and was keeping an eye out to thank him.
“I’m on cloud nine,” Morris said of the donation. “Every day is cloud nine out here.”
Rights panel poorly understood 
Fuschia on December 10 at 6:03 a.m.
Oops. I made a mistake. I thought I would contributing to help purchase a one way ticket for our Governor to her bogus trip to Copenhagen.
Actually I was going to need to use it to pay my Avista utility bill, after this recent cold snap spate.
ChefGus/ John Olsen on December 10 at 7:59 a.m.
Mr Morris is a very kind man… and his open countenance and great smile do garner more in the way of donations at his store.. i’ve talked with him, and you have captured the essence of what he is, and the goodness that some folks are capable of…. Ms Sheila at Salvation army is a personal friend and she too embodies all that is good in our failing world. john