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Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.  St. Mark's Anglican,  WT-09-1877

It was around 2pm, nobody there, but a scaffolding in front of the parish building right in front of another bell, WT-1913.  Scrambled up an took a picture.
Thinking correctly that the chimer might be a local, I bought some postcards and asked the merchant if I could find Jim Smith, the chimer.  The merchant was only too happy to tell me that Jim lived down the next street and a trailer was parked in front of his house.

Jim was overjoyed to see me and off we went to St. Mark's.  Jim is not and never was a musician and proceeded to show me how he manages to ring the chimes.
1st. - he rings by the numbers, having written every tune down as he has heard it, not as written.
2nd. - he gets the timing for longer notes by sliding his hand up and down the lever he has just pushed
3rd. - he also maintains the local tower clock without formal knowlege.
4th. - he apparently is the person in town who will figure anything out.



The Church and the bell on the Parish House.

[Photo missing] 


[Left]  Many Churches have plaques commemorating the chime and benefactors.
[Right]  Jim at the 1877 chimestand.  Older chimestands had the music behind the vertical rods.  Jim replaced old broken rods with the lighter hand made rods.
[Photo corrupted]  [Photo missing] 
Meneely & Co is on the top line of the one bell.
How could two ropes be attached to one clapper? One pulls the clapper into the bell
while the other, attached to a spring, pulls the clapper back off the bell.
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Last modified by Carl Zimmerman:  13-Feb-2014
Last modified by Joe Connors:  11/20/12