THE BELLS OF ST. JAMES

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March 4, 1928
Page 6

THE CHURCH BELLS

The parish church bells during a period when they were in the process of repair before being transferred to the flesche of the new church, were silent and their sonorous music at dawn, mid-day and evening had been daily missed by the Community. They went again into action on Ash-Wednesday morning, February 22nd, 1928, at 6 a. m. and their hearts rejoiced to peal the glad news that they were from hence forth to be the heralds for the New Church and from their elevated rostrum they will continue to tell the world the message of the Angel.

"The Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" or the Angelus. There are three bells in the flesche, two of them belong to the set of chimes which Father E. A. Casey purchased in 1902 from the McLean Patent Medicine Co. They hung in the tower which overlooked the company office at Fourth and Market streets.

The largest of the bells is 900 pounds and was made by William Kays Co., Kentucky, and has no date on it, the second which hung on the old church tower was made in St. Louis in the eighties by Stuckstede Company and had to be replaced by the same company as the former bell was split. This new bell weighs 400 pounds and the smallest which weighs 300 is the oldest and was made by McNeely Company, Troy, New York in 1864. By an accident the new bell was rung a few taps on its first speech as Lucille Nixon was entering the church to be married and it has been decided to name it for her.


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Bob Corbett corbetre@webster.edu