When the holiday season is over, Ward Gremler, a member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, will have completed 42 hours of Salvation Army bell ringing for this year. Since he retired four years ago, he has averaged 40 hours each year. It’s a labor of compassion for Gremler, who feels fortunate to never have experienced the need felt by recipients of the bell-ringing donations.
Gremler had just completed treatments for a second bout with cancer a short time before bell-ringing season began this year. It didn’t stop him from volunteering.
“I do it for my church (Our Saviour’s),” he explained. “I step up because many others can’t.”
Asked if he didn’t get cold during one of his four-hour shifts, Gremler replied that he is an experienced ice fisherman; he knows how to dress for the weather. Whether he’s caught any record-setting fish or not, he certainly has set a record for ringing the Salvation Army bells in Merrill.