The $3,089 check being given by Reid Sipe of Kings Mountain to Sgt. Les Ashby of The Salvation Army represents a year's efforts at repairing clocks. Sipe's annual donation comes in memory of his wife and grandson. Photo courtesy Cassie Herndon Tarpley

Always a tinkerer, long-retired Reid Sipe knows how to fix most any kind of broken clock. He enjoys the intimate interaction with all those tiny, complicated parts and whiles away hour after hour in his backyard workshop.
Ten years ago, he started channeling his skills into fixing a broken heart. He had just lost his 23-year-old grandson, Justin Sipe, to the ravages of cystic fibrosis and healing came slowly.
In his shop filled with ticking clocks, there seems to be a world of order and reason.
So in memory of Justin, he decided to donate whatever customers paid him for their clockwork to The Salvation Army.
Two years after losing his grandson, Sipe's wife, Betty, succumbed to cancer and now his gifts serve a dual purpose.
Many thousands of dollars later, he's still donating and now serves on The Salvation Army's advisory board.
Asked what the work and contributions do for him, Sipe said, "It gives me the satisfaction of helping people who are less fortunate than I have been all my life."
Why did he choose The Salvation Army to receive the money?
"A lot of my family members had been officers in the Salvation Army," he said. "I know that every dollar that goes to the Army is spent very wisely."
"Generosity like Sipe's is why the Army can do what it does," local commander Sgt. Les Ashby said, "helping people in our communities when they're in crisis situations."
Money raised now is not just for Christmas needs, but will help serve needs for rent, utilities, prescriptions and more well into the coming year.
Ashby's dream this holiday season is a big one: "I see 2,000 people who can give $500 each. That's $1,000,000.
Why? "Because the good Lord just woke me up one night and said, 'Ashby, there's people out there waiting to give and maybe they're just waiting for someone to ask.'"
SPECIAL THANKS:
Students in Jackie Centofanti's class at Burns Middle School, for donation of more than a dozen cases of bottled water
WANT TO HELP?
Send checks to The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 1764, Shelby, NC 28151

By Cassie Herndon Tarpley
Special to The Shopper