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February 2, 2021After more than a year, the Angelus Bell is working again. Thanks to the volunteer job of parishioner Tom Murray and the expertise of electrician Ron Nicholson, we can hear the beautiful sound of the bronze bell that stands 55 feet above our heads.
The Angelus Bell is cast of the highest grade bronze by Petit & Fristen, a Dutch foundry dating back to 1660.
The highly tuned bell rings out the Angelus twice a day. It is 25 inches in diameter and weighs 310 pounds. Cast into the metal of the stationary bell tower is a memorial inscription to Dr. Dewell Gann Jr. whose widow, Agnes Gann, donated the bell and tower. The presentation of this gift to the parish was made on the day of dedication ceremonies, on Sunday, Januarry 22, 1961, by her attourney, Mr. Edward L. Wright.
The complete design of the bell tower was submitted by Joseph Murphy, former Dean of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
The 50-foot lower part of the tower and the final work of assembly and erection on the church grounds was undertaken by Fred Brown Jr. and Robert Oates of the Arkansas Foundry Company, in Litlle Rock. Joe Bulmanski and William Kennedy of Southern Machine Works supplied the 15-foot aluminum cross atop the tall and gracerul pediment, while the body for the crucifix came from Greco Manufacturing Company in Chicago.
You can see more pictures in this photo album.
