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News stories from Viking Fusion and the Department of Communication at Berry College.
Built in 1915, the College Chapel has stood as a landmark on Berry College's campus for more than a century. Now, a sound that has been quiet for years has returned to campus. The chapel's Carolyn Bells had not been used for about six years. After the steeple underwent restoration this past summer, junior, Alex Guerra, looked into how to bring the bells back. Guerra speaks on this idea.
Alex Guerra:I found out that there was system and not something that's not just this physical bell. It's an electric system. And I was curious about that. And I found out nobody knew how to use it. Nobody did use it, but it wasn't installed and was ready to go.
Alex Guerra:So I took the initiative and was like, hey. I would like to see if this thing would still work.
Ella Foster:Because the chapel is frequently used for campus events and services, closing it for renovations was a challenge. Barry College chaplain, Jonathan Huggins, describes the process of restoring the steeple.
Jonathan Huggins:So they just had to wait for the right time, because you may have seen it, it's an expensive project because they have to scaffold all the way up around the steeple to get up there. So just even setting setting up to do the work is probably an expensive project. And then it's it's woodwork that's over a 100 years old, you know, so they have to restore that. That's a slow process that requires expertise.
Ella Foster:Guerra was able to program the existing system to ring automatically at noon and play a hymn at 5PM each weekday. Guerra shares what the bells mean for the Berry community.
Alex Guerra:It's fun to have the bells ringing again. I mean, it's been forever. Nobody nobody was hearing the bells before. And then all of a sudden, like, the chapel is singing, and I think that's really cool.
Ella Foster:With Viking Fusion News, I'm Ella Foster.