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Talks, presentations and local historical bell projects.

This is an outline for setting up an historical presentation on bells for a town, area or county.  Suggestions for improvement are welcome.

What might be included - bells, tower clocks, fire gongs, artifacts of particular significance or rarity at any of these locations, pictures, copies of original documents.  You might find bells in churches, public buildings, on outside display, in a cemetery, on a farm, at someone's home.  The bells might be brass, steel, train, boat or tubular (other than those inside a church hooked up to an organ).

One rarity I ran into is a portable Chaplains Pump Organ in working condition.  An historical society might put this and other portable items on a parade float.  These are excellent for a group to use at a nursing home.

The bell data should include   1. physical location,  2. contact person or institution,    3. maker,  4. year,  5. diameter,  6. approx weight (can be gotten from chart),  7. tone (can be gotten from chart or pitch-pipe)  8. inscription on bell,  9. how mounted,  10.  inscriptions on mounting (maximum weight of bell is often inscribed on A-frame mounting),  11. other.

You should have a statement of your project ready for the people you will call or see.

Pictures can get tricky and downright dangerous.  A student or ordinary person working on this as a project should NEVER climb a tower.  Usually maintenance people or the person in charge will be happy to oblige you.  Remember, it is not every day that somebody shows up on their doorstep and wants to know something about their bell.  A picture of the Church or building might also be good to solidly identify where the bell was when you did your project.

Copies of original documents, copies of newspaper articles, pictures of the bell(s) being installed, information from the internet round out the project.

When you have accumulated all of this, put it in scrapbook or appropriate form, make a copy for yourself and give the original to your local historical society.  Congratulations!  No matter how young or old you are, you have made a lasting contribution to your community.

This and other projects could be worked on by young people during the summer.  How about other projects such as trolley cars, their routes, strikes, etc.  Will gladly list good ideas here.  This kind of project makes people appreciate what came before them.