There was a time when every, or at least most, self-respecting churches wanted a bell. Not an array of public address speakers in a belfry that amplify a CD-sourced church bell. But a real, honest-to-God tocsin of cast bronze to call congregants to worship, mark special occasions and raise an alarm. Naturally, Dunveganites of the 19thcentury were no exception.
The builders of the stone church obviously had plans to install a bell because, when the building was officially opened in 1880, it had a bell tower. But the journey from vision to fruition was a circuitous one. The Rev. Donald N. MacMillan. Ph.D. tells the story of how Dunvegan’s kirk acquired its bell in his 1940 Historical Sketch of Kenyon Presbyterian Church, Dunvegan. However, as you may not have easy access to this tome, I’ll précis Dunvegan’s Great Bells of Fire Debate for you.
I think it’s a testament to the settlers’ love of their church that, just three years after raising the money for a significant stone structure to replace the original log house of worship, they were able to purchase a bell from the Baltimore Bell Foundry in 1883. MacMillian tells us that Malcom Dewar and his nephew Duncan Dewar volunteered to pick up the shiny new bell from Lancaster. That’s Lancaster, Ontario, not Pennsylvania. The round trip took a day and a half by horse and wagon. However, getting the bell to Dunvegan was just the beginning of this saga, for its arrival sparked a controversy that dragged on well into the next year.
At issue was one of the inscriptions on the bell. No one seemed to object to the one that read, “Baltimore Bell Foundry, J. Regester and Sons, Baltimore, Md., 1883.” The problem was the bilingual one (Gaelic and English) on the opposite side: “Naomhachd D’on Tighearn, Holiness unto the Lord.” The inscription was based on a passage from the Book of Zechariahin the Hebrew bible… “In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, holiness unto the Lord.” Given its source, I suspect that Dunvegan did not order the bell with this obscure inscription. My guess is that the foundry had searched high and low for biblical “bell” reference and saw it as a value-add for its ecclesiastical customers.
The problem was that, in Dunvegan, one vocal faction strongly objected to it being on the bell. They believed inscriptions on church bells were “unpresbyterian and of Romish origin,” and insisted it be erased before the bell was raised into place. The debate continued for a year, during which time, the bell rested on slits in the churchyard. As 1884 drew to a close, an appeal to the Presbytery of Glengarry put an end to the discord and the bell was at long last installed in the belfry and rung for the first time.
What got me started down this road was a paper Annabelle Hartrick had lent me entitled Because People Came. The Cerlox-bound document was a history of Glengarry compiled in 1974 (and revised and reprinted in 1976) by: Connie Howes, Scott Campbell, Sandra Kennedy, Helen MacDonald and Wendy MacSweyn. After reading their account of the Dunvegan bell debate, it occurred to me that I had not heard the church bell for many years. I wondered why it had been silenced… and when the last time was that it had been tolled. So I started digging and it wasn’t long before one of my not-from-away friends came up with the answer. According to her sources, the last time the bell from Baltimore was heard was on Oct. 23, 2004. Apparently the bellrope slid off the pulley. In the course of fixing this problem, it was discovered that the bell tower wasn’t in the best of shape and probably wasn’t up to the rigours of supporting a swinging 1,500 pound lump of bronze. As a result, the bell did not toll on Remembrance Day 2004, a time when all churches traditionally ring their bells. Nor has it rung since.
If someone were looking for a historical preservation project to sink his or her teeth into, I would propose that giving voice once more to Dunvegan’s church bell might be an excellent candidate.
Have a seat?
While we’re in a historical headspace, let’s take a moment to revisit the ongoing search for Dunvegan Orange Lodge captain’s chairs. As you may recall, when the L.O.L. No. 1158disbanded, the captain’s chairs from the Lodge’s meeting room were offered to members as a memento. In my March 6thcolumn, I talked about the chair the late Duncan Archie MacLeod, a member of the Lodge, left to his daughter Chris (nee MacLeod) McEwen. I also invited readers who had one of the chairsto contact me. And, so far, two individuals have done so.
The first was JanetMacCrimmon of Dunvegan East who has one of the chairs and cherishes it. Her late husband’s grandfather, Malcolm MacCrimmon, originally owned the time-polished seat. “Harold and his siblings always referred to it as Grandpa’s chair,” wrote Janet. “The chair has nine spindles though, not ten. It is so comfortable and seems to cradle your body, regardless of age, weight and size.”
Carrol McLeod of Fiskes Corners Road is also a member of this exclusive club. I gather she’s had the chair for some time; she remembers buying it an auction or a one-night sale at the Lodge. “My father was a member of another local Orange Lodge, so he may have told me about the sale,” wrote Carrol. “I really don’t remember… Just happy to have the chair at the kitchen table.”
I finally got around to posting the photo Chris and Ken McEwen sent me of their chair. And I’ve included the photo I received from Carrol McLeod. You’ll find both images at the bottom of the March 6thentry on my blog (www.dunvegan-times.ca).
Cause & effect?
I’m told that, despite technical difficulties that necessitated swapping out The King’s Speechfor Chocolat, the turnout for Friday’s movie at the DRA hall was very satisfying. Does anyone else smell a rat here? The one time that I couldn’t make it to the DRA’s movie event, and the largest audience ever shows up. No doubt Laurie Maus and Bob Garner, the event’s organizers, hope this trend continues. It’s just as much work to put on a movie for fifteen as it is for five, but it’s a whole lot more gratifying.
In April, “Saturday Night at the Movies” returns to its regularly scheduled time slot… the fourth Saturday of the month. Bob and Laurie acknowledge that this is in the middle of the Easter Weekend, but they suggest you bring any visitors you have kicking around.I’ll have more details for you, as we get closer. However, I can tell you that the main feature will be Only the Brave.
A sweet start to spring
It’s a few weeks down the pike, but I also wanted to give you a heads up about the DRA’s annual Crokinole & Maple Taffy-on-Snow Party on Friday, April 5th. Here too, I’ll save the details for next week’s column. Nevertheless, you might want to make a note in your iPhone or on your wall calendar. And if I were you, I’d turn it into a night out for the entire family by showing up at 6:00 PM for the ‘Toonie’ per Slice pizza supper that has prefaced the crowd-pleasing event for many years now.
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