Did You Know?
• The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 in the United Kingdom as The Christian Mission? It took on its current name in 1878.
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• The red Christmas kettle debuted in the guise of a crab pot in San Francisco, 1891. The depression had thrown many out of work, including hundreds of seamen and longshoremen. The campaign proved so successful that by 1900 it was imitated nationwide.
Click here for more information about the red kettle.
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• The Christmas song "Silver Bells:' first sung by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the movie The Lemon Drop Kid, was inspired by Salvation Army bellringers standing outside department stores every Christmas season .
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• Movie actors Clark Gable, Gary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Mae West, and Joan Crawford have all appeared in movies with Army characters.
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• The phrase "on the wagon" was coined by men and women receiving the services of The Salvation Army. A hay wagon was driven through the streets of New York to encourage alcoholics on board for a ride back to The Salvation Army. Hence, alcoholics in recovery were said to be "on the wagon."
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• Known for it's brass band music, The Salvation Army has approximately 2,500 brass bands worldwide.
The Salvation Army brass band has marched in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade since the 1920s.
Click here to watch the band play in the parade.
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• "Strawberry Fields Forever" is John Lennon's nostalgic reference to a Salvation Army orphanage called Strawberry Field in Woolton, England. Lennon is said to have played with childhood friends in the trees behind the orphanage.
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