If you have driven down 8th Street in Manitowoc over the past month, you likely have seen a very exited man ringing a bell next to a red shack at the corner of South 8th and Franklin Street.
For the few people who do not know who that is, he is known as Mr. Manitowoc, Tom Drill.
We spoke with Drill earlier this week and asked him when he started spending his time ringing bells for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. He joked, “I think since the last year of the Civil War. It has been a long, long time.”
Drill went on to explain how he used to set up shop across the street from where he is now until the Manitowoc Public Library was constructed. He said he misses the sunshine that used to grace him over there, but said, “I realize that sunshine is not just what you feel physically, but emotionally. People are so kind, so generous. If a child comes over here and doesn’t quite know what we are doing, I tell him that there are kids who don’t have a second pair of shoes, and don’t always have clean or warm jammies. They may have pork and beans instead of turkey because the parents just can’t swing it.”
We recently reported that the Manitowoc County Salvation Army is a bit behind where they were last year at this time, but are still doing rather well. Drill said that news makes him very happy. He said that people may be donating more because, “I think people are staying at home more, they aren’t investing in vacations or flat-screen TVs, so they are giving to charity. Whatever it is, it is quite a good year for the Salvation Army, and that makes me happy.”
While we were speaking with Drill, a man in a semi-truck stopped to donate a generous sum of cash, and a woman exited Manitowoc Coffee, and donated to the campaign, while also giving Drill a fresh hot cup of coffee. The pure unfiltered love the Manitowoc community has for Mr. Manitowoc was on full display that day, and his love for the community is on display every time you hear him speak.
