The Salvation Army revived its tradition of asking for donations from bar patrons Wednesday night with volunteers ringing the signature bells in front of downtown Turlock night spots.

"A Salvation Army tradition was we'd go into bars to sell our magazine, The War Cry. That ended about 30 years ago and I was talking about how it would be nice to get the bars involved again and came up with the name Bar Bell," said Major Debi Shrum of the Turlock Salvation Army Corps.

Thirty-six volunteers collected donations in front of five bars — Udder Place, Vintage Lounge, Dust Bowl, Jura's and 10 East. A total of $480 was collected on Wednesday night, a traditionally busy bar night right before the Thanksgiving weekend.

Even though the Bar Bell is over, the Salvation Army will have bell ringers at stores around Turlock through the holiday season collecting donations for their programs that help senior citizens, school children and families in need.