Those people ringing the bell next to the red kettles gather more than donations for the Salvation Army. They often collect very personal stories.

The Salvation Army has two campaigns during the holidays: the red kettles and Angel Trees, where people are invited to pick an angel bearing the description of a child and to shop for that child's gift.

Maj. Leticia Saunders of the Salvation Army was at the Angel Tree at Kahala Mall when a college-age girl came up to pick out angels.

"She was VERY particular about the age and genders of her angels," Saunders recalled in an e-mail. The girl's boyfriend asked why she was taking so long. "She answered back that when she was this age ... HER name was on that tree, along with her brothers'. She explained to him that they thought they weren't going to get Christmas, and were prepared to deal with it, but The Salvation Army surprised them, and they had Christmas after all."

Maj. Randy Mulch of the Kane'ohe Salvation Army Corps was at the Windward Mall Angel Tree when he met a woman who was losing her hair as a result of chemotherapy.

"She told me that it was important for her to give this year because her mother had taught her when she was young that we should not wallow in self-pity but help those less fortunate than ourselves," Mulch said.

Lt. Joy Groenleer had a memorable kettle experience on Guam. At the end of the shift, the team counted all the money and sifted through the rest of the detritus that ends up falling in there: candy wrappers, lint, receipts and so forth. But then, whoa! A tooth!

"Immediately, we threw it in the trash and carried on with our business," Groenleer said in an e-mail. "The next day, the corps officer received a call from a woman who asked if we found a dog tooth in one of the kettles ... she had accidentally put it in the kettle along with her coins. Her dog had recently passed away and she kept the tooth as a memento of her beloved pet."

They had to search through six bags of trash, but the tooth was eventually found and returned.

Salvation Army Hawaii Divisional Commander Maj. David Hudson says there are hundred of stories like these every year. He shares some of his own experiences on his blog www.davehudson.blogspot.com

"Last year I saw a very young child asking their dad if they could put money into the kettle rather than riding the mechanical horse," he wrote. "That was touching."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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