Insights | National Bell Festival

The Justice Bell, a Silent Twin

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution declares, in full, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” One line of text to correct 143 years of women being unable to participate in democracy.

A Sound Familiar to Militant Suffragettes: The Holloway Prison Bell

Little remains of HM Prison Holloway. Once the largest women's prison in western Europe, Holloway formed a sprawling penal complex in north London, growing in infamy in the early 20th century for housing incarcerated women who had dared to demand the right to vote: the legendary suffragettes.

National Bell Festival Acquires 1922 Press Photo for Collection

The National Bell Festival is pleased to announce the accession of an original 1922 press photo to our archives. As we work to chronicle, record, and report on our nation’s campanological heritage, the historical photograph will add to our growing body of research materials.

What Happened to the Bell for the President's Gardeners?

As the recorder and custodian of our nation’s campanological heritage, we’re always delighted to come across an intriguing artifact from history that demands further investigation. Well, dear reader, this is one of those occasions and the National Bell Festival could use your sleuthing assistance in bringing closure to a mystery!

Church Bells Which Might Have Become Enemy Shells

By 1915, a year into the global conflict that pitted Allies against Central Powers, the German and Austro-Hungarian forces were on the advance. Casualties mounted heavily in Galicia and Poland, forcing Russia into retreat. Logistical challenges and supply shortages crippled Allied response on the Eastern Front, and World War I ground on in an offensive that required ever more munitions and equipment.

"My Shrine" by Sara Webb Vilas

In the autumn of 1889, before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, a new poem appeared in the third volume of The Home-Maker, an illustrated magazine edited by prolific American author Mary Virginia Terhune under the pen name of Marion Harland. The new piece was written by Sara Webb Vilas, a poet about whom the National Bell Festival could find little biographical detail. Have a tip? Send us a note!

Forging a Hook and Striker for a Sacred Bell

A bell is a most expressive instrument, but left on its own, it’s merely a shapely bit of metal. Two things need to happen for a bell to ring. It needs to be hung, so that it might more freely reverberate with rich and eddying waves of sound, and it needs to be struck, to set the vibrations in motion.

Learn about the Different Parts of a Japanese Bell

Bronze bells dotted across the temples, monasteries, and landscapes of Japan differ greatly in size, weight, and ornamentation, but most maintain consistent elements across a standard shape and profile. Can you identify the parts of a Japanese bell?

What Is the Difference Between a Bonshō and a Hanshō?

Bells have a long heritage of deep integration in Buddhist monastic life. The movements of monks on various occasions are directed by the tinkling, ringing, or gonging of a bell. No verbal cues are needed. Rung not merely to herald the morning and evening or to announce the time for prayer, but also to allow the listener to think on enlightenment, the penetrating and pervasive toll of a bell in a Buddhist temple rolls over the surrounding hills and can be heard at a great distance – an aural manifestation of the spreading dharma or universal truth.

A Run, a Bell, and the Forging of a New Marine

The U.S. Marine Corps is renowned for its rigorous training programs and the unwavering dedication of its recruits. Among the many physically demanding and mentally challenging exercises that new Marine recruits undergo, one event stands out as a symbol of motivation, resilience, and the forging of a warrior spirit: the Marine Corps Motivational Run – the concluding physical fitness session before graduating from recruit training.