It’s something that marks the season. When out and about, if you hear that sweet sound of the silver bell ringing, you know it’s Christmas time. And time for the Salvation Army’s bell ringers.

Like others, I walk past many bell ringers during the season. Sometimes I give. Sometimes I don’t.

Being a reporter, and having done a story about Frank, the man who rings the bell each December outside JC Penney’s at the Kitsap Mall, I probably know a bit more about the operation than most.

I know that some bell ringers are volunteers from service clubs like the Silverdale Rotarians, who each take their turn standing with the red kettle. Other bell ringers are actually hired at minimum wage — $9.32 — and are trained employees who are in need of an income themselves. They are the ones who wear red vests and who work the long four- and five-hour shifts. There are about 80 of them this year.

Most volunteers work two-hour shifts. And there’s about 25 of them this year.

Training includes learning about the Salvation Army and what they do, and how their money is spent. Other information given during training includes to greet everyone, not to pressure anyone to give, and not to watch or make comment about the amount anyone gives. In fact, bell ringers aren’t even suppose to touch the money — they allow the giver to put the money in the kettle themselves.

In all, more than 8,000 hours are spent at the red kettles annually at 45 sites throughout the Kitsap County and Belfair. The campaign brings in more than $240,000 — at least that’s the goal.

But I wondered just what it might be like to stand on the other side of the red kettle. So I decided to volunteer for a shift and record what I learned. While nothing’s scientific about my two hours at the kettle, I did learn a few things.

First, ringing a bell isn’t as easy as it looks. You have to figure out if you’re going to hold it upside down and really swing it around, or just hold it waist-level and make tiny movements back and forth. Also, is it better to go back and forth, or circle that bell around?

In my case, I had a very used metal bell that ended up sounding better when held upright at waist level using small back and forth movements.

I found out that, even through the temperature was in the 40s, after a short time, it gets cold. I had my warm coat, hat and mittens and still at about 26 minutes, my toes were getting numb. At one hour and 25 minutes, I was shivering.

Some other observations:

Most shoppers in the morning are buying milk and donuts.

About one in every 10 people actually donates. In my time, 15 people donated.

Donations average $1, but range from a handful of change to $5, on a weekday morning outside Albertson’s on Wheaton Way.

Most people will make eye contact and say “hello” even if they aren’t making a donation. Only three all morning didn’t.

But on that day about a third of the folks coming and going re-routed themselves to another less-convenient door so they didn’t have to walk past me and not give.

Another observation: Albertson’s needs to grease their middle automatic-opening door. The squeak gets real old after awhile.

A few people will tell you a story. Like the middle-aged man who donated a few bucks and told me he supports the Salvation Army because it was there for him when he needed it back in 1992.

“I was in the reserves and we were called to man the streets in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots,” he said. “We had to sleep on cardboard under the overpasses. It went on like that for 20 days. The Salvation Army came in and fed us and gave us tooth brushes and tooth paste and those little bottles of shampoo and soap so we could clean up at a nearby drinking fountain.

“I’ve never forgotten that.”

And then, some people will actually thank you for your work. Several people thanked me for being at the kettle that morning. One even gave me a compliment.

“Oh hell,” he said. “Your smile’s worth a dollar.”

Next time you pass a bell ringer, give them a smile and a dollar.