MORGANTOWN — Sheldon Greenland did something Thursday afternoon he doesn’t normally get to do this time of year.
He actually sat down and enjoyed a quiet moment.
“Pretty rare,” laughed Greenland, a lieutenant in the Morgantown operations of The Salvation Army.
“We’re busy,” he said, “but it’s good work. We’re just understaffed, like everyone else.”
With his wife, Nicole, who also shares the same rank in the outreach organization, the territory overseen by the couple takes in Monongalia, Preston and Marion counties.
Thursday, Greenland had stopped at Hope Café, en route to a furniture pick-up from a benefactor.
On top of that, the couple was going over particulars for their organization’s annual Angel Tree and kettle drive missions, both of which are holiday staples.
It was in-between meals at the café’, and the footfalls of the lieutenant actually echoed on the kitchen floor.
The café, which is run by The Salvation Army, offers free meals from its kitchen that’s part of Hazel’s House of Hope, a social services center now occupying the former Ramada Inn, on Scott Avenue.
All of the above, meanwhile, stems from a large effort by volunteers and benefactors to simply do right by people.
Thanks, Grover
This is also the time of year, when that word, “benefactor,” takes on an equally large cast – attached to the visage of U.S. President Grover Cleveland.
Cleveland, who was known just as much for his physical bulk as his political acumen, was in fact twice-elected to the Oval Office, serving as the nation’s 22nd and 24th president, respectively.
Since 1978, he’s been huge during the Yuletide in the Morgantown area.
That’s how the long the currency bearing his portrait has been randomly showing up in kettles here.
The jingle-drill is always the same: An anonymous call comes into headquarters.
“Hey,” a voice will say. “You might want to check out this particular kettle, at this particular time.”
And lo, there it is, in the form of the now-discontinued $1,000 bill – featuring Cleveland’s (somewhat stern) countenance.
Call it the University City’s version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
“It’s the first thing we heard about when he got here,” Greenland said. He and his wife are both natives of Kingston, Jamaica, where they first entered the ministry of The Salvation Army.
The couple landed in Morgantown in 2018, after earlier postings in Cleveland and Atlanta.
A mystery – that keeps on giving
Meanwhile, the story of that $1,000 bill is the first thing every S.A. arrival to Morgantown hears.
It’s been an intriguing bit of seasonal altruism for more than 40 years, both at the kettle and in the conference room.
Rumors to the identity of the benefactor have been rippling through the community for just as long.
Some say the money is from a human services organization.
Others venture that it may a business kicking in to the support the community.
‘We hope our benefactor is well’
The more persistent of the rumors may also be the most plausible – given that Mr. Cleveland’s currency has been out of circulation since 1946.
Bills plopping in kettles in recent years have been from the 1928 series, leading many longtime residents to wonder if it isn’t a gift from the Great Beyond.
According to many accounts, the offering is believed to be from the estate of Morgantown lawyer Hale J. Posten, who reportedly willed $1,000 a year to The Salvation Army after his death.
While the 2021 offering has yet to land in a kettle, Greenland said he will gratefully accept it on behalf The Salvation Army and the work it does here.
“And we hope our benefactor is well,” he said.
“We hope he’s enjoying the holidays with his family.”
It’s not just about a $1,000 bill, Greenland said. It’s about all the bills, of all denominations, going into the kettle.
It’s about the people who serve the meals at Hope Café, while calling the lieutenant about that living room set just ripe for a good home.
“People here are generous,” he said, simply.
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