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Show Bell rings for rJUS Constitution every eye looked skyward as 1 ' nt Grove Councilman Dale I burton pulled the rope which 1 ithe bell in the Old Bell School Yd seconds Thursday as the city led the nation in commemorating I VO S Constitution bicentennial. Following a patriotic program of i ten word and song, the coun-J coun-J ?mh pu"ed the rope, tolling the I for the prescribed 200 seconds, '-Tging a thrill to those assembled ill program. j crowd of over 100 persons at- Sgded the ceremony which was Jerthe direction of the Daughters Jibe Utah Pioneers who care for j Old Bell School, also known as i pioneer Museum. 4 He program was conducted by J rjjie Adams. The Pledge of f igiance and invocation were ten by Afton Atkinson. Musical imbers were presented by students B the American Heritage School rthe direction of Kay Asay. Tbe keynote speaker was , jmetta Johnson who gave f y'orical background to the U. S. jstitution Convention which was 20 200 years ago in Philadelphia. je lold what we as citizens of this feat country can do to preserve our jstitution. Hen Councilman Warburton, who is assisted the DUP with the novation of the building during the several months, rang the bell to acide with the' ringing of bells ess the United States at that very a time. He bell ringing was part of the iells Across America - A Ringing ;:Me" which had been suggested Sia nationwide commemoration of designing of the Constitution which " JlplaceonSept. 17, 1787. Effie noted that the Constitution was the cornerstone of the American Republic. In conjunction with the bell ringing, Roger Roper, chairman of the Pleasant Grove Historical Preservation Committee, presented a plaque to the DUP naming the Old Bell School to the National Register of Historic Places. The school had actually been selected for this honor several years ago, but the plaque had never been presented. Roper said that now that the building has been refurbished and there was a renewed interest in the buildiing, it was appropriate that the plaque be presented to be displayed in the building. He mentioned that education was very important to the pioneers and so schools were one of the first things they had built. The Old Bell School was made with adobe brick and has been stuccoed over. The original part of the building is 120 years old and is still a comfortable and useful building. Effie said it was fitting that the presentation of the plaque be made at the same time as the commemoration com-memoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Eleroy West, a life-time resident of Pleasant Grove, said that the bell was installed 107 years ago and he can remember ringing it himself once when he was a boy. He said that the bell was the first communication system in Pleasant Grove and was used to call children to school, announce the beginning of social activities, and other events. To conclude the patriotic program, the children's chorus sang "God Bless America." . ,-,kf"'Vi(S;'!;'-";f" , n ti i ' 1 f ' a - I " -v VAX- .., - - '- J ,-. rr: fv T" -v -v v .u . - ; VtV f V- ' i fci - I v ! -. "i i ( - ' - ' : r J It . ' . i i,, 1 The bell atop the Old Bell School chimes for 200 seconds during Pleasant Grove's celebration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution 200 years ago. |