There”s a new director at the helm of the Salvation Army in Columbus, and though he”s been on the job less than two weeks, Maj. Paul White is already shaking things up, dusting things off, and making changes he hopes will bring in more profits for the local agency.
But Tuesday morning, his chocolate Labrador Retriever — Abby, named for a character on the television show “NCSI” — had nothing on her mind but sleep.
As White”s wife, Louise, worked on revamping the Salvation Army”s thrift store, Abby snoozed peacefully in an armchair, rousing only for the promise of her favorite snack — vanilla wafers.
Meanwhile, White talked about his plans for the local office.
When did you arrive in Columbus, and where were you before this?
My first day was June 20. I moved here from New Orleans, where I was running the (Salvation) Army”s drug and alcohol rehab program. I was born in Memphis and raised in Corinth.
Drug and alcohol rehab sounds stressful.
Very stressful. You”re helping men with addiction get their lives together and get back to their families and society. When people retire they”re just worn out.
How are you adjusting to the change from New Orleans to Columbus?
New Orleans is a rough town. Double homicides — we had them every day. That will burn you out. You go out to eat at night, and chances are you could get killed. Here, my wife and I can go out at night and everything is good. We”ve been looking for a little quiet town, and this is what we”re falling in love with.
How did you and your wife meet?
I was a lifeguard at Camp Benlea in Covington, La. I met Louise at camp in 1972 when I was 17.
So you both work for the Salvation Army?
Yes. She was going to be a lawyer, and I was going to be a game warden for the state of Alabama in parks and wildlife. That”s what we wanted to do, but the good Lord wanted us to do this.
How did you get involved with the Salvation Army?
I met the (Salvation) Army in Huntsville. An agent came through the housing area. I was 10 or 11. He said, “Do you like doughnuts? Where do you live?” He gave me a dozen and came knocking on our door, inviting us to Sunday school.
So the Salvation Army is a religion? Explain your belief system.
“We believe in God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Founder William Booth was a Methodist minister. … he started out helping the less fortunate — alcoholics, prostitutes, elderly, children.
What hours do you hold church?
Sunday school is 10 a.m. Church is 11 a.m. Then Wednesday nights at 5:30, Monday women”s group meeting at 5 p.m., and Thursday kids” meeting at 5 p.m.
What”s your main mission here?
I”m changing the store to bring it up to paying its way. We need donations bad. We do home pickup Tuesdays through Saturdays. Any good, usable household furniture. We don”t pick up trash or paint. We ought to be picking up 15 donations a day. Yesterday, we had three. Today, we have five. Tomorrow, we have one.
I think the donations will come, we”ve just got to get the word out to the people. We rely on donations. The more donations we have, the more money we can make. The more money we make, the more people we can help. We”re here to help the less fortunate, but we need help.
Is it hard to work with your wife?
Seven days a week! She doesn”t believe in slow. She believes in fast and hard. Both of us go at it fast and hard, but once we get our jobs done, we can be at ease.
What do you do in your spare time?
I”m an outdoors person. If I can”t go fishing, I want to go hunting. If I can”t go hunting, I go walking. Saturday”s my day. We get out in the boat — me, Abby and Linda — and go boat riding, or we go riding in the countryside and find an old dirt road. We went to Aberdeen one day, looking for a place to eat. Wound up at Sonic over there. We just like to get out and forget the place for a couple of hours.
What”s the worst thing you”ve seen while working with the Salvation Army?
The airplane crash of the Delta 191 (which crashed in Texas in 1985, killing 135 people.) I was there the day it happened. Or the bombing in Oklahoma City. That”s two of the hardest. I”ve been to tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, forest fires. When the need is there, we will go.
Why were those two incidents harder than the other disaster scenes?
Death was involved. Others, I didn”t see it. I would see the houses torn up … wood and nails we can replace, but when there”s lives lost, it”s kind of hard to replace. When you smell the death and see the death, that”s the hard part.
How do you cope with working disaster scenes?
I learn to forget it. When I get to a disaster site, I know people were killed, and I feel sorry for those people, but when I see the 80-year-old lady sitting on her doorstep and the top of her house is blown off, that”s when you step in and help, whether it”s a cold bottle of water or two oatmeal cookies. You just smile and you know, keep on going … when I see plane crashes on TV, I think about it, but I just live with it and keep on going.
I imagine you”ve had the chance to witness a lot of kindness amid the devastation as well. What”s the best thing you”ve seen?
When we were in Lufkin in the Midwest flood, we collected $40,000 in money and a tractor trailer load of cleaning supplies. That was the kindness of the people. When people were hurting and needed help, we got the word out, and people came out and leant a helping hand. We built a senior citizen daycare center in Lufkin … we were told we couldn”t raise the money to build that daycare. We raised a little over $1 million in 30 to 60 days. We knew the people of our town, and people supported the Salvation Army, just like we want people here in Columbus to support us.
What changes do you have planned for the thrift store?
Wacky Wednesdays, half price everything starting next month. We”re turning the store upside down, trying to make it easier for shoppers. And it”s the family store. Don”t call it a thrift store. Thrift is nasty and dirty. We”re calling it the family store.
How do you interact with people from so many walks of life? Any secrets?
I”m friendly. Laughter is the game. I”m serious when I need to be, but in my line of work, I believe in laughter and having a good time. The people out in the foyer, I try to be friends with them. I”m not ashamed to shake hands or talk to somebody .. If you need a friend, I”ll be your friend. I want to be just what they are. I want to feel what they feel. I don”t look at the bad; I look at the good.
You said you like to hunt. What do you hunt?
Four-legged animals. I”m looking for a deer lease or someone with private property who will let me hunt. I”ve shot groundhog, squirrels. There will probably be a couple of deer head and a tree with squirrels in here soon. I”ve even hunted wild hogs.
Your office has a lot of fishing memorabilia. Are you a collector?
Some of it was my dad”s. I”ll go by a yard sale and see an antique lure for 50 cents and pick it up. And this isn”t even it. In my attic, I have four totes of fishing lures. I collect telephones, 1950s or older. Civil War newspapers.
Is there anything you won”t collect?
Yeah. I don”t want junk. I”m mainly fishing. Hunting and fishing. I don”t play golf. Never could get anything out of knocking that little white ball around.
So besides donations and shopping at the store, how can people help the Salvation Army?
Christmas is coming up. We need bell ringers. Civic groups, church groups. We have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for the people. September, we”ll start putting it all together.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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