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DECATUR — The Decatur Police Department won recognition — and a victory in a longtime friendly rivalry — with the arrival of a trophy from the Salvation Army on Tuesday.
Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel accepted the traveling award in honor of the department winning the annual Gurneys, Guns, and Hoses First Responders Bell Ringing competition.
“We’re glad to serve our community and glad to be able to give back,” he said. “And also finally to beat the firefighters, because they have cheated for years and years.”
The trophy has been displayed by the Decatur Fire Department for the past five years. “The firemen used to take trucks out there (to the bell-ringing site) and the big blow-up Sparky the fireman,” said retired officer Greg Spain. “How do you compete with that?”
The Salvation Army Lt. Kenesa Debela, left, and Kyle Karsten, director of development, present Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel with a traveling trophy recognizing the department's victory in the annual Gurneys, Guns, & Hoses bell-ringing competition.
Throughout 2022, the police will be displaying the traveling trophy for collecting the most money during the Salvation Army’s yearly Christmas season weekend event. The trophy began its rotation in 2015.
Volunteers from various local first responder agencies rang bells and collected money for the famous Red Kettles on Dec. 10 and 11 in front of Sam’s Club and the Decatur Walmart store on Prospect Drive and Walmart on Maryland Street.
“I still think the winner is the city of Decatur,” said Kyle Karsten, Salvation Army director of development. “The winner is a collective first responder group that comes together and graciously serves our community, but then graciously rings bells for the Salvation Army.”
The Salvation Army goal was $600,000 towards the 2021 Christmas Kettle Campaign.
A row of the famous red kettles line the front entrance to the Decatur Salvation Army.
The Annual Gala the day before Gurneys, Guns and Hoses, as well as the virtual bell ringing, added to the event’s success. According to Karsten, $13,000 from the event was matched. “So we raised over $25,000 toward our Christmas campaign goal,” he said about the event.
The police department beat the firefighters by just $316.47.
The Guns and Hoses competition began more than 10 years ago between the Decatur Fire Department and Macon County Sheriff’s Office. As the years progressed, the police and county fire departments were added to the event. In 2017, paramedics joined the fun, changing the name of the event to Gurneys, Guns and Hoses. “It shook it up and changed the whole name,” Karsten said.
Organizers rotate the store and door at which first responders are placed. Some spots see more foot traffic than others. “The pharmacy doors at both Walmarts are definitely the top two doors,” Karsten said.
The police department had never received the traveling trophy, although they have given the fire department a challenge each year. Brandel admitted losing to the fire department for several years was heartbreaking.
“I’m pretty sure they like to take money out of our buckets and put it in theirs,” Brandel said. “We haven’t been able to figure out how they’re doing it, but, regardless, this year we were able to stop it and come up the victors.”
1988: The Bob and Nellie Blair residence sparkles at 522 Ridge Ave. on the city's east side.
1988: Preston Nash, a park district worker, helps carry a 25-foot Santa Claus statue to its perch atop the tortoise and wallaby house at Scovill Children's Zoo Wednesday. The Santa will be part of a Christmastime at the Zoo feature scheduled from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. nightly at the zoo Dec. 17-23 and 26-30. The zoo grounds will be lighted by 43,000 Christmas tree lights for the event.
1988: Electricity has done more to brighten Santa's image than anything. All over town, electrified Christmas displays are beginning to light up homes and businesses. Here, a worker puts up Santa's face on the Atlas Travel Building, 239 S. Main St.
1980: Christmas window displays in downtown Decatur include those at Millikin National Bank.
1971: There are a multitude of artificial trees of every type on the Decatur market - and many of them are very realistic.
1991: David Wallace, 32, waves to passing cars from the driveway to his home at 1460 W. Tait Ave. In addition to decorating his home, Wallace decided to deck himself out in strings of Christmas lights and greet passing motorists. He's plugged in to a 100-foot extension cord. Why does he stand out there every night from 6:30 to 9:30 until three days after Christmas? "I do it for the kids and the holiday spirit," said Wallace.
1990: Ken Handley started working on this year's decorations in early November.
1978: The blaze of light coming from northwest of Decatur appears only for a few short weeks every year. Many motorists don't need to think twice about where the light comes from. Each holiday season for the last six years William and Vada Wond of Bearsdale Road on route 1 add more Christmas lights to decorate the outside of their home. This year they put up 8,750 lights, compared to 2,100 in 1972. Wond said each season motorists stop to gawk at the display and snap photographs.
1986: Ralph Martin, 13 North Court Drive, won first place in the religious category.
1986: Darrell Beck's display at 5 Forest Knolls drew much attention.
1986: Bill Williams of 396 Timber Drive won in the non-religious cateogry.
1988: A mixture of Christmas themes can be seen at the home of Mike Camfield, 1757 Moundford Court.
1988: Santa Claus and his reindeer prance across the lawn of Wayne Stivers' home at 1870 Winnetka Ave.
1991: Framed in his garage doorway, Wayne Stivers of Decatur unravels the first string of more than 5,000 Christmas lights that will decorate his house and yard this season. Stivers says the process will take about two weeks. This year's decorations will include a Nativity scene.
1976: Seasme Street, Peanuts and other characters form this children's paradise in a circular area near the Mullins' house.
1990: Decatur resident Harry Johnston was outside during last week's snowfall to add more lights to his Blue Spruce tree.
1990: Christmas decorations, including this star, were taken down Friday from Central Park in Decatur. Landmark Mall worker Larry Kellogg removes a star from atop a waiting area.
1991: Larry Kellogg, a Landmark Mall employee, removes Christmas wreaths from utlity posts Thursday.
1992: Bren Shuster, 26, was going to great heights Monday, braving chill winds on his extension ladder. Shuster was replacing faded bulbs on a cross that hands all year on the family farm, seven miles east of Moweaqua. Shuster said his brother Eric, 18, a punter for Central A&M High School, has handled the lighting chores in recent years but couldn't put in much time this year because of high school football playoffs. Lighting the buildings and trees is a family tradition for the Shusters.
1985: Larry McNamara did his part to advance the holiday spirit Sunday by stringing lights on a blue spruce at the corner of Fenway and Wildwood drives. Sunny skies and a Decatur-area high temperature of 50 degrees made his task easier.
1983: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Decatur and elsewhere throughout Central Illinois. Larry Kellog, an employee of the downtown Landmark Mall, places a tree on a lamppost. Over 125 individual decorations have been placed on posts throughout the downtown area. Alos, lights were recently strung in Central Park and are on each night.
1981: Santa Claus sits at the controls of a new motor grader parked in front of the Caterpillar Tractor Co. plant at 27th St. and Pershing Road. The machine outlined by about 500 tiny lights, has a backdrop of more than 400 lights strung from teh flagpole in the shape of a Christmas tree.
1982: Ralph Stiles appears to be in the way of a precision landing by Santa Claus and his reindeer. But he wasn't in any danger; he actually was just installing Christmas decorations on the roof of his home at 2389 E. Locust St.
Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR
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"Together Decatur" Columnist and Food/Drink Reporter
“Together Decatur” columnist and food and drink reporter for Lee Enterprises Central Illinois.
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The Salvation Army Lt. Kenesa Debela, left, and Kyle Karsten, director of development, present Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel with a traveling trophy recognizing the department's victory in the annual Gurneys, Guns, & Hoses bell-ringing competition.
A row of the famous red kettles line the front entrance to the Decatur Salvation Army.
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