Church bell returns home after 75 years
LEE ZION, EDITOR
Harrison County Times-Reporter
A church bell that was missing for about three-quarters of a century has finally found its way home. It will be rededicated this weekend.
Ruth and Walter Utman tell the story. The church bell at the Modale United Methodist Church was removed when the bell tower came down as the church was enlarged and remodeled.The Utmans are not sure of the exact date, but they know it happened some time before June 4, 1950, because that is when the renovations to the church were completed.
The church was built in 1890, at a cost of $1,400 The people of the congregation built it, Ruth said.
“When they redid the church, they built on to it and raised it up and put a full basement under it,” Walter said. “They started the work in 1948, in March.”
Along the way, the bell tower was taken down. The bell was tossed in a scrap iron pile, and Paul Watkins, who served on the church rebuilding committee, hauled off the pile.
What came next was either happenstance, or a miracle from God. Some time after the scrap iron was hauled off, Watkins found the bell. He saved it.
After that, the bell sat unused. At one point, one of his well covers on his farm broke, and so, to make sure no one fell down the well, he put the bell on top of it, Walter said.
When he retired, his daughter took the bell and moved several places in Iowa, taking the bell with them. But on their third move, the husband said he wasn’t going to move the bell again, Walter said.
Her brother took in the bell. He lived in Gretna, Neb., and that’s where it’s been since 1983.
During a recent celebration, Members of the church were looking at memorabilia, and Walter wondered out loud where the bell had gone. One of the church members happened to overhear, and she put him in touch with the person who had the bell, Ruth said.
Just in time, too, because that person was ready to move to Blair, Neb., and he didn’t want to take the bell with him.
Walter got in touch with him and picked up the bell. He also found a craftsman in Woodbine to restore it.
A small tower has been built around it, and that tower has been installed at the church.
This Sunday will be the first time in more than 75 years that the bell will ring as part of a church service.
But that’s not all. The church found a man who remembers ringing the bell as a boy. Jim Brandriff is now in his 90s, and he will travel to Modale from Eastern Iowa to ring the bell again,
The service will be at 9 a.m. Sunday. Also, as part of the service, the church will feature a “heritage potluck.” Everyone is invited to bring a dish that is part of their own heritage.
The church is at 108 E. Haley St. in Modale. The bell will be rededicated, and the potluck will be held. Everyone is welcome to come share memories of the church from years past as members look to the future.
