The
kettle's career as a fundraiser began in 1891 when a Salvation
Army officer, Captain Joseph McFee, resolved to provide a free
Christmas
dinner to the poor of San Francisco. From his days as a sailor
in Liverpool, England, the captain remembered a large pot displayed
on the Stage Landing, called "Simpson's Pot." Passersby tossed
charitable donations into the pot. Captain McFee received permission
from city authorities to place a crab pot and tripod at the
Oakland ferry landing at the foot of San Francisco's Market
Place. The kettle - and McFee's request to "Keep the Pot Boiling!"
- drew a lot of attention from ferry passengers. So began a
tradition that spread throughout the North America and then
the world. Kettles are now used around the world. Public contributions
to the kettles enable The Salvation Army to bring the spirit
of Christmas to the aged and lonely, ill, poor and disadvantaged,
inmates of jail and other institutions -- people otherwise often
forgotten.
The
kettle's career as a fundraiser began in 1891 when a Salvation
Army officer, Captain Joseph McFee, resolved to provide a free
Christmas
dinner to the poor of San Francisco. From his days as a sailor
in Liverpool, England, the captain remembered a large pot displayed
on the Stage Landing, called "Simpson's Pot." Passersby tossed
charitable donations into the pot. Captain McFee received permission
from city authorities to place a crab pot and tripod at the
Oakland ferry landing at the foot of San Francisco's Market
Place. The kettle - and McFee's request to "Keep the Pot Boiling!"
- drew a lot of attention from ferry passengers. So began a
tradition that spread throughout the North America and then
the world. Kettles are now used around the world. Public contributions
to the kettles enable The Salvation Army to bring the spirit
of Christmas to the aged and lonely, ill, poor and disadvantaged,
inmates of jail and other institutions -- people otherwise often
forgotten.