Bartlett church members rings bells for armistice remembrance

Posted November 13, 2018 10:00 pm

Submitted by Jacqueline Ellsworth and Rev. Susan Tyrrel

Sunday, Nov. 11, marked the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I for our country and its allies.

In 1918, at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, Bartlett's Immanuel Evangelical Church rang out the town's only church bell to announce the end of the fighting.

Bartlett historian Pam Rohleder was hoping to hear the same bell at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, 2018, as part of the all-village and a worldwide bell ringing campaign called "Bells for Peace."

The current minister of the church, the Rev. Susan Tyrrel, informed Rohleder it would not ring - the 609-pound bronze bell, installed by the Ladies Aid in 1893, was inoperable and in need of maintenance.

Not to be "out-rung," church member and Bartlett resident Jacqueline Ellsworth encouraged church members and friends to meet after worship at 11 a.m. to ring a bell in front of the church to participate in the historic event.

Many hand bells honored the event in front of Immanuel United Church of Christ's red doors, on the corner of North and Western, with a collective bell ringing at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month.

For information, visit www.bartlettiucc.org.

On April 6, 2018, the United States World War I Centennial Commission called upon all Americans across the nation to toll bells in remembrance of those who served in World War I on Armistice Day.

The "Bells for Peace" honored the centennial of the armistice and was a great act of patriotism and respect for 4.7 million American who answered the call and prevailed against the forces of tyranny a century ago.

In World War I, 116,516 Americans gave their lives and more than 200,000 were wounded. To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/ww1centennial.

As part of "Bells of Peace," a worldwide event ringing out bells to mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, Bartlett's Immanuel United Church of Christ couldn't use its inoperable 1893 bronze bell, so church members gathered outside to ring handbells. Courtesy of Arthur Tyrrel

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