Historic bell restoration can be required due to age or a calamity.
For nearly two years the Mazomanie United Church of Christ fought triple disaster. As a result, the combination kept the sanctuary closed, congregation home and the bell silent. Those blows came in the form of:
- A steeple fire as a result of a lightning strike which damaged both the church and bell ringing equipment.
- Furnace problems, then frozen pipes, during repairs.
- Meanwhile, the national shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Verdin Company is happy to share that recovery is complete!
Sharon and Dick Royston are lifelong congregants who saw the church burn in August 2019. Among members who witnessed the bell ring for the first time in nearly two years the, Royston’s share these thoughts.
For Dick, “The bell is the greatest thing for me” because “The bell is the heart of the church.”
Sharon celebrates, “We clapped for them, the workers up there.”
Denise Cole, Pastor, seems thrilled!
“At five minutes to worship time, we always ring the bell. And we haven’t been able to do that for two years,” When the church reopened “people were saying ‘No, no pastor, you have to go first. So, I got to be the first one to ring the bell…”
“It’s like, yeah, when we hear that bell ring, we’re home.”
Our part of restoring the voice of this church, certainly done with pleasure, includes:
- Restoration – sandblast and polish- of the historic 400# Vanduzen Buckeye bronze bell cast in 1891
- New bell ringing equipment
A-stands with bearings
Bell wheel
Bell yoke
Rope for manual ringing
Sandblast and paint bell hardware. - Installation
The Verdin Company thanks Mazomanie United Church of Christ for your trust, your appreciation, and the cheers!
Credit to Madison Wisconsin’s WKOW 27 which reports on the church and bell repairs, then the church opening, in these two articles:
Mazomaine church bell is ringing after two years
Mazomanie church welcomes congregation back after fire
