Show STORY OF A BELL away back in the city of west troy new york state at the works of tho the bell foundry company in the year 1871 a bell was cast and finis finished tied i having a clear and melodious tone the bell had inscribed upon its surface the above data and the lie following first presbyterian church corinne Corl utah presented by miss mary bronson stratford conn in due time the bell was s to the church for which it had been cast and soon after its arrival it was swung high up in the belfry from froal whence its resonant tones floated out over the bustling city and the surround surround I 1 ing country which at that time wai infested with jackrabbits jack rabbits and coyotes corinne at that time however was one of the busiest places in utah lo 10 caged as it was on the highway 0 Z ft great transcontinental railway and besides that it was the shipping point from whence great freight waon wag oli trains took on an their loads to be CA c 1 ried up into idaho and montana the bell performed its d duty uty nobly and uncomplainingly it called tile the people together often to worship and also rang out the joyous acclaim of the population upon festal occasions it undoubtedly would have continued to fill its mission in that sphere had it not been tor for some evil genius which completely revolutionized its career one day a big wind storm came and the frame fraine church was not sufficiently strong to withstand its ravages so the building went down in a heap ot of ruins bell and all ruthlessly put out ot of commission the bell was stored away for the time being in the mean time brigham city had installed a town clock in the court house tower and for a number of years it tolled the time of day every hour of the twenty four each day its tone was deficient ho however w ever and the upshot ol of it all was the good people ot of corinee loaned their bell to this city to replace tor for the time being the one thil that t came along with the city clock the exchange was effected and the bel that made music tor for the people ot of corinne tor for so many years performed the same service tor for this commini ty ly excepting that its activities were required in another una hue and were brot into ato service more often Every everything thin went well until that eventful day january 4 when utah I 1 was given statehood upon that joyous occasion everybody went wild horns were touted bettis were rung people shouted and danced and pandemonium reigned in a happy way the bell in the belfry of the court house was called upon lor for the most violent service ot of its career and its undoing was the result the vigorous ringing made a crack in its side and spoiled its tone after the bell became cracked the citizens of 0 corinne very naturally asked damages which were promptly paid and the bell became the property properly of brigham city for some time it tolled its doleful notes as each hour of the day came round and its voice was anything but pl pi aal just a heavy thud like some one knocking two heavy iron objects together it was like the individual who lacks sincerity its true ring was gone one day a backof all trades happened P ened along and hearing the strike of the town clock recognized something wrong lie he went up lip and had a look at the bell then made app application lica to the city fathers to let him repair it his plan was to cut out a 1 portion of the metal from the lip ot the bell to a point above the crack claiming that that would restore in part the lost tone ills application was granted and lie went to work his tap tap tapping being audible for several blocks around as he tolled toiled each 1 day in sawing and chisling out the strip of metal about halt half an inch in width and six or seven inches in length when the work was I 1 ed the voice of the bell sounded better but was not completely restored it has been doing service in this condition however until the present time but a change la Is soon to come to it the striking of the hammer every hour has opened up the crack in another direction and spoiled the tone ot of the bell to the extent that it now sounds like someone with a bad cold endeavoring to sing simply nothing to it for the purpose of restoring its usefulness and preserving its identity for it was the only bell in the state that sacrificed ln in the joyous proclamation ca cla that utah had become a state a resolution was adopted in the city council some time ago appointing a comm committe lite to examine the bell and also find out the cost ot of having it recast and the committe has about concluded to have the bell transported back to west troy new york to the foundry where it was first brought into existence and have it made mad e all over again thus in brief Is the history of a bell whose life has been about as eventful as most human beings lives dy by all means preserve its identity that it may long glye give us the sweet melody of its voice in tolling off tile the hours in lifes journey and in proclaim vad gad tidings of great joy |