Historic 1902 Town Bell Officially Rung In New Home

By Robert Thomas

It is a sound that has not been heard in the community for close to 50 years but on Monday afternoon that all changed as the historic Town of Moose Jaw Bell once again chimed in the Downtown.

Originally belonging to the then Town of Moose Jaw the bell was ordered for $100 on May 16, 1902 and was erected on a derrick near the first Town Hall on the corner of Main Street North and River Street West.

On Monday afternoon the bell was rededicated and hung from a derrick on the outdoor concourse of the Moose Jaw Events Centre with a cost of about $40,000 and gifts in kind to make it a reality.

Historic 1902 Town of Moose Jaw bell now sits on a derrick on the outdoor concourse of the Moose Jaw Events Centre - MJ Independent photo

“It is good to see so many people out today. That means you are both keen and interested as I am to see this bell restored and have it ringing again,” Mayor Clive Tolley told the 25 plus people who attended the ceremony.

Mayor Tolley gave credit to the work by the Heritage Advisory Committee in making the bell restoration and installation in the public concourse outside of the Moose Jaw Events Centre (former Mosaic Place). He also said he would like to see more development in the area.

“I would like to see further development by our Public Arts Committee of more installations and more things outside this facility where we have ample room to draw tourists in and see different things that we can provide,” the Mayor said.

Mayor Clive Tolley addresses those gathered saying he had the honour to speak - MJ Independent photo

Mayor Tolley said having the bell on-site of the Moose Jaw Events Centre was a good start and it had a potential to have more added to the area making it more attractive.

Councillor Crystal Froese said restoring the bell and having it erected on a derrick in the public concourse of the Moose Jaw Events Centre was a very long project starting in 2017.

Councillor Froese recognized all of the people involved over the years as members of the Heritage Advisory Committee in helping make the project a reality.

“This process started one day when I got a text message that somebody wondered where is that bell that use to be outside of the (Moose Jaw) Museum and Art Gallery,” she said, adding the bell was found in storage in the City yards.

“From there this whole process began.”

Councillor Froese spoke about the history of what was the original City Hall bell that was ordered in 1902. It initially hung on a derrick behind the first Town Hall and was later moved to many places in the community.

In 1904 the bell was hung in the bell tower of the former City Hall on the corner of Fairford Street West and 1st Avenue NW.

When the former City Hall was demolished in 1951 the bell moved to a church and from the church to in front of the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery, then to the City yards until it was set for restoration in 2017 and as a result installed in the public

Councillor Crystal Froese addresses those gathered - MJ Independent photo

“In that time it was rung for fire alarms, prohibition, most likely for special occasions,” she said, adding it was “most likely rung” once installed in the first city hall bell tower, for special occasions, celebrations and other important events.

“So maybe they rang it when Council opened for their meetings,” she said.

When the bell was moved to the Museum and Art Gallery location in the 1970’s she said it was painted “a beautiful disco gold…it sat like that for quite a time.”

As part of the restoration Sask Polytech got onboard for the special welding need to repair the cracks in the cast iron bell.

The repaired bell was painted black to reflect its cast iron composition as the cost and work necessary to look after the bell as it would traditionally be - by applying wax - was time and cost prohibitive.w

“I don’t think it has been rung officially since the 1970’s so I am really excited to hear what it sounds like,” Councillor Froese said.

She stated research done on the bell had it at the time being heard seven miles away.

John Bye chair of the Heritage Advisory Committee said it was an honour to be part of the final process to see the bell restored and installed - MJ Independent photo

John Bye, chair of the Heritage Advisory Committee, said the committee is more than advising Council about various structures in the community but the role is more encompassing.

“We are stewards of things that are common to us all called our roots. Those heritage roots can be found in the fossils and the aboriginal artifacts, trails and sacred places in many areas of this city in centuries past. It is all around us in many of the city’s notorious buildings, properties r old places that are either painstakingly restored, meticulously preserved or adapted for use,” Bye said.

“Heritage in its many forms is what grounds everyone to the community we live in. It is only fitting we, the Heritage Advisory Committee, are proud to be part of the process to unveil the original Town Bell to all of Moose Jaw’s residents…a solid piece of our city’s past here to ring in celebration and tradition for many generations to come.”

Reaction After Ringing The Bell

Scott Hellings, the former chair of the Heritage Advisory Committee, said he is highly pleased with the bell being restored and installed in a well travelled public area.

“It’s fantastic. It was a lot of hard work. Certainly Councillor (Crystal) Froese had a lot of leadership and dedication to lead the way but you know myself and other community members were certainly involved. It took a lot of time and dedication. So to be honest when we first started talking about it almost seemed like a pipe dream to get to here,” Hellings said.

“To actually be here today is just fantastic,” he said, adding “unfortunately we lost a lot of heritage over the years so to be able to bring something back and make sure it is preserved for future generations is so important.”

Asked if he thought the public concourse was a better location than earlier suggestions he said “I don’t know if it is about a better location but it is really a good location.”

Hellings said the advisory committee had looked at a lot of locations which took up a lot of time.

“This location made a lot of sense because of the proximity to its original location and just the fact there is a lot of space for it…we needed a place for it where people could see it. having it here makes a lot of sense.”

After ringing a bell, that has been silent for 50 years, Mayor Tolley said “I think it is a sense of pride. I know I saw lots of pictures of Moose Jaw’s original city hall which was on the corner of 1st Avenue (NW) and Fairford (Street) West and I remember seeing pictures of that building and bell tower and this is the actual bell that was in that bell tower.”

“That’s pretty exciting for the community. A community that is building our tourism sector on our history and I think it is just fabulous,” he said.

MJ Independent asked the Mayor what he thought about the location of the bell given that there were other locations considered including the bottom of Main Street and Manitoba Street in the former CPR passenger rail station parking lot.

“I think this is a great location. Since we built this Moose Jaw Events Centre there is this big plaza of concrete out in front of it and there is lots of room for installations and this is the first installation of what I hope will be many installations,” his Worship said.

Mayor Clive Tolley had the honour of being the first person to officially ring the historic 1902 Town Bell - MJ Independent photo

“It’s the first step in creating a display area out in front of our Moose Jaw Events Centre…who knows what we might have. Because we are a tourism city, we are a city base on our history, this is going to be an interesting attraction that many people on their walking tour looking at the murals and old buildings will now come and stop.”

Asked about the location and how the Moose Jaw Events Centre might enhance the accoustics of the bell in the Downtown area Mayor Tolley saw it as a benefit.

“On special occasions it is going to be really neat to ring this bell.”

“It’s really exciting to see. Even though it did take awhile for the process you know it is going to be in that location for another 100 years,” Councillor Froese said after being one of the people having the honour to ring the bell at its official unvieling.

“It is pretty exciting and to hear it ring, it has got a beautiful tone,” she said.

Asked what it was like to ring it Councillor Froese said “my heart was pounding actually. Just because I have been following this thing since 2017…it has been a labour of love. And just a real sense of pride for our city too.”

She made mention of the “expertise that went into welding it. They did a beautiful job.”

Regarding the bell being rung by pulling a rope - instead of an electronic clapper - she said it will be more of an authentic sound.

The reason by going to a rope is due to vandalism with the clapper and rope being removed when the bell is not being rung.

Dignitaries and those who worked to make the bell restoration a reality - MJ Independent photo

“It’s awesome. I picked up a ball that was already rolling. Scott (Hellings) was definitely part of the original planning and everything. To see this thing to be up here in a place that represents community gathering and that type of thing and being able to ring that bell and have it heard city-wide is awesome,” Bye said after ringing the bell.

“It was good and once I think it is broken in a little more and that it will ring loud and clear for sure,” he said.

The derrick holds historic significance and the benches being around it makes it a nice place to hang out and be, Bye said.

Asked about the location he said he saw it as “awesome.”

“Out of all of the ones that were initially looked at and that type of thing I think this one represented what it needed to be.”

At the present time the Heritage Advisory Committee is working on installing a plaque that will give details on the history of the Olde Town Bell.