If it’s Christmas time then the bells are ringing for the Clarks.

For 18 years, James and Linda Clark have volunteered as bell ringers for the Salvation Army. They have greeted shoppers here in Turlock with warm smiles and heartfelt good wishes. This season has served as their farewell as the couple is planning to move to Oklahoma soon.

“I smile to everyone and there’s very few that I miss saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to,” said Linda Clark, 78, at her usual post inside Raley’s on Geer Road. “I have made so many friends over the years doing this.”

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” said James Clark, 82, who had his final day of bell ringing on Friday outside Village Fresh. “Today I got the chance to go around and say good-bye to all my friends at the store.”

The couple, who have been married for 59 years, first took up their work for the Salvation Army in the early 2000s but had to take time off after their very first season when Linda got a cancer diagnosis. Once she was in remission they went right back to it and haven’t stopped.

“They have been bell ringing for us every year for quite some time now and community members expect to see them every year,” said Beverly Spielman, the office manager and corps secretary for the Turlock Salvation Army. “Some people change their shopping habits just so they can go to Village Fresh and see James or Raley’s and talk to Linda. And they are the reason why so many people would stop and put money in the kettles. Because people just really love the two of them and their kindness. They have made a big difference for us.”

Both said they have witnessed first-hand the benefits the Salvation Army can bring into peoples’ lives, especially during times of need. James said he saw it while serving in the Army and stationed in a Kansas town struck by a tornado.

“The Salvation Army came right in and started helping whoever needed it,” he said.

For Linda, the memory was closer to home.

“As a young mother I went to the Salvation Army hoping to get one of their food baskets,” she recalled. “They did that and so much more, including toys. It was such a needed blessing.”

The couple, who reside in Livingston, are planning on relocating to Oklahoma to be near family and just enjoy “a simpler way of life,” Linda said. Their son, James Clark Jr., who also has been ringing bells for the Salvation Army for several years, is relocating to Arkansas.

Even though they’ll be moving away, Linda doesn’t expect that it will signal the end of their good works. She said they enjoy it far too much to retire from it completely. And their favorite part? Well, that is something they both agree on.

“It’s all the people we’ve got to meet over the years,” Linda said. “They are what we have enjoyed the most and what kept us coming back year after year.”