Connecting With Zion’s Past

by Dennis Dugger

The tornado last fall briefly silenced Zion’s historical bell.  After being without its services, wasn’t it nice to hear it announce our Sunday services once again?

Our bell was made by Mr. Balthazer Auer for Zion’s first sanctuary built in 1874.  By 1900 the congregation had grown in size and the original church building was inadequate.  The decision to build a new church was made on September 2, 1900 and the work to tear down the old church began immediately.  Zion’s original bell was salvaged from the first church along with some of the windows, the cornerstone, and an anchor cross from the steeple.  The bell was reinstalled in the new church building completed in 1901.

In 1966 a problem with the bell was a topic on the Council’s agenda; this according to Zion’s April newsletter of that year.  It was explained that instead of going “ding-dong” the bell was sometimes going “ding-ding” or “dong-dong”.  Near the end of the meeting the decision was made to move the Council to the bell tower to check out the problem first hand.  Once there, Emmett Purdy Jr. began to instruct each Council member on the proper method for ringing the bell.  This implies that the problem was one of bell ringing technique, not structural or mechanical.  Apparently each Council member took his turn in the bell ringing lesson.

Rev. John F. Schroeder, Zion’s minister in 1966, in a letter explained the reason for the training.  Some of the bell ringers got into the job too vigorously, and sometimes swung the bell “over the top” causing the rope to detach.  Trips through a trap door up to the bell were not easy, so a couple of 2 x 4s were installed to prevent the bell from going over the top.  According to John, when the bell went “ding-ding” or “dong-dong”, it was a sign that the bell ringer did not have his “Wheaties” for breakfast, causing the clapper to hit only one side of the bell.

Near the end of this “training session”, there was a knock on the front door. It was the police!  One Council member was heard to exclaim, “Well it’s our bell, and we thought we could ring it.”  Then everyone had a good laugh and no citation was issued for disturbing the peace.

Our only active member left from the 1966 Council is Avery Smith.  The other members were William Feldhaus, Walter Kunau, Eugene Kenny, Emmett Purdy Jr., William Heilman, J. G. Adelman, and Roy Bratcher.

The “proper” ringing of the bell was also addressed on an old list of rules for the ushers. 

Rule eight was “Ring the bell fourteen times.”  No one has yet explained the significance of this number, if it has one.  (Was that a total of fourteen “dings” and “dongs” or fourteen “ding-dongs”?)  The reason for the rule has possibilities for a good story.  Had someone been lazy or carried away?

Did you know that Zion also has “chimes” that can play from the bell tower?  The tower chimes date back to 1929 when the organ was enlarged and rebuilt.  The chimes were added as a Memorial, but to whom we do not know at this time.  When the chimes were added to the organ, or shortly thereafter, a microphone was mounted just below the chimes in the south organ chamber.  The microphone was connected to an amplifier placed on a shelf on the left side of the organ console.  It was wired to speakers in the tower.  The idea was that the organist could play the chimes before church started, and they could be heard both inside and outside.  However, they stopped working at some point prior to 1961.

When John Schroeder became Zion’s minister in 1961, the amplifier was not being used due to it not working and/or to the fact that Mrs. Lyon worked with the choir right before church and could not also play the chimes at the same time.  Then in 1966, the Council decided to repair them if it could be done for a reasonable price.  The job was engineered by Gary Braswell and assisted by Emmett Purdy Jr.  A new loud speaker was bought and the old amplifier was reconditioned by replacing some tubes and all wiring checked.  The completed project was reported at the Feb. 1967 Council meeting.  So once again the chimes pealed forth!  Mrs. Lyon taped the chimes and fed the tape deck through the amplifier.  When a new PA system was installed later, a way was found to use the new amplifier for the chimes as well as the PA system.  However, someone, usually Rev. Schroeder, had to switch the system between “outdoors” and “indoors”.  The switch was located in the old office.  Who inherited the job in 1988 when Rev. Schroeder left?

Now the chimes are seldom used, though the system still works.  According to Shelby, they make use of a tape system and a new tape is probably needed.  When the organ was rebuilt in 1974 the microphone for the chimes was left in place and new tapes could easily be made.  But when the organ was rebuilt in the 1990’s was the microphone re-installed?  If not making new tapes will be more difficult.

Thanks to Mrs. Dalrymple for lending a copy of Evangelischer Kalender for the year 1921.  It enabled me to learn more about some of Zion’s former pastors.  Also thanks to Marguerite Bell for giving me a copy of one of Ralph Kunze’s Heritage Day presentations.

Zion’s confirmation records have been updated and published as, “The Confirmation Classes of Zion United Church of Christ; 1872 – 2007”.   A handful of copies remain, and are available for $5.00 each with all proceeds going to Zion.  If you are interested in a copy contact Dennis Dugger or the church office.  We’ll reorder if necessary.