Show mere it remained serving as a omner beu on the farm its history remaining unknown until josephs recall from exile then it was lost sight of and for years forgotten until one day bome curiosity seekers rummaging about in one of the subterranean passages that honeycombed the place came from all sections to visit the so called catacombs cata combs and see the historic bell at that time the camden and Amboy railroad had justi beau built and the old bell was sold to the company who placed it in their depot at bordentown Borden town to tell the arrival and departure of trains it bung there for years but finally through some channel or other it fell into the hands of the paterson and hudson eiver railroad company and was destined to another period of obscurity at thai tuna the company operated ita road by horses and the bell was hung in the jersey city station at the juergen hill to answer the same purpose that it did at bor den town when the great railroad revolution took place and steam cars were substituted for the old horse cars the bell was brought to this city in those days the terminus of the road was where st johns church now stands two trains were run each way daily A small branch manipulated by borso power however ran from the main depot on market street at its conjunction with main street here the was hung on a post and its duty was to ring for half an hour before the departure of ach train passengers could board the horse cars without extra expense and ride to the main depot whence they could take the train for new york As time went on however improvements developed in the railway service the market street it was then congress street branch was abandoned and the old post on which the bell hung rotted and fell down but paterson was also beginning to make great strides forward then the only educational facilities were private institutions and subscription schools the public spirited townsmen finally concluded to erect a public school and selected the site here a building was constructed and theod bell was placed in its tower in years gone by some of our older citizens remember the peals of that bell then the pupils grew in numbers and the old school grew too small another and more improved building now known as school no 1 was erected and the ancient bell whose mellow peals echoing from tho walls of the dizzy alps seven centuries ago called the humble peasant to worship now startles the youths of Pater sont from their morning beds napoleons voice may have made the whole worlds tremble but the voice of the little swiss bell rings further chaa hia paterson N J call acason lor gratitude 1 I even once read a grateful defence of captain kidd the pirate but you dont know the circum stance was written no he boarded a vessel where everybody was he gave the usual order tour money or your life everybody felt so thankful atthe at the prospect of being put ou of their misery that they one and au money he accordingly anem and the captain who was spared was be spared their complaints that when he got on shore he wrote the article st paul globe L |