The Church Bell

Take notice of our ninety nine year old bell! While it sat on the porch for three years we decided that it needed a permanent setting. We removed the holly bush, poured concrete, built a triangular resting structure, spiffed the bell and placed it.

This bell hung in the steeple of our old church located on the north side of Main Street, Valley View, across from the Ford dealership lot.

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We recently had contact with The Verdin Company, and they provided the following history of our church bell.

“Your church has been a customer of ours since 1979 when we electrified your bell that was in the tower and has since been removed. That purchase was made under Pastor Grube in 1979. The bell was cast April 19, 1924, by the EW VanDuzen (Buckeye) Bell Foundry here in Cincinnati. They were a partner company we worked with located near the riverfront where our current stadiums sit and when they closed in 1955, The Verdin Company was able to purchase many of the record books that still survived. I found your bell in the VanDuzen books. The bell weighs 900 lbs (1000 with the equipment on it) and is 37 inches in diameter. It was purchased by Revend Allen R. Appel for the monstrous total of $445; today it would be somewhere in the $15-20,000 range.”

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