Insights

Some bells crack – particularly very old bells that have survived the worst harm that centuries, Civil War, and exposure to the elements may impart. Such is true for the bell at Georgetown Lutheran Church, which the National Bell Festival in collaboration with B.A. Sunderlin Bellfoundry is working to restore. 

The Netherlands Carillon, overlooking the City of Washington from its perch on a knoll beside Arlington National Cemetery, has been quiet of late. Every fifteen minutes, locals and visitors to the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial had been accustomed to hearing familiar melodies and tunes played from on high. But late last year, the bells were removed for restoration. 

Imagine a quiet, sleepy village. A gentle brook trickles near your cottage, a bird cheerfully chirps at your sill, and you’ve relaxed into your morning routine. Suddenly, a bell sounds out from the center of town, stirring you into alertness. You’d want to know what’s happening, right? You’d rush to the village church or town hall to learn what all the commotion is about. Thank goodness for the tocsin.

With Washington-area bell towers shuttered due to the threat from coronavirus, one wonders: what’s a bell ringer to do? Change ringing is a naturally social act. At Washington National Cathedral, for instance, a group of 10 ringers stand nearly shoulder-to-shoulder in a circle to practice their craft and attempt a peal on the thundering bells overhead. Even more ringers might be observing from the wings or waiting to sub-in on the next available rope. 

A hush has fallen on the Washington area’s four change ringing towers as the novel coronavirus continues to disrupt our community. Normally, with less congestion and traffic in our city (as we have during the current stay-at-home order), the toll of a bell would carry easily across D.C. neighborhoods. But not now. Washington National Cathedral, the Old Post Office Tower, Virginia Theological Seminary (Alexandria, VA), and Calvary United Methodist Church (Frederick, MD) have shuttered their towers to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (for our French friends who named this "Beautiful Era") marked the period between the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Bookended as it was between two wars, this was a time made remarkable by optimism, peace, progress, and cultural innovations. Art flourished. People prospered. Society advanced.

We started the National Bell Festival to bring people together, so to help spread the word and tell our story, we wanted to adopt a rally cry – something bold, something brilliant, something to put into just a few words all we envisioned for the organization. A tall order, no? If anyone had mastered this skill, it was the ancient Greeks and Romans. These were the people of molon labe and carpe diem. Big shoes to fill.