Church to re-dedicate, ring historic bell
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
This is an early photograph of Zion Lutheran Church at the southwest corner of Tippecanoe and Canfield roads. The bell in this building rang for the first time in 1915, but it hasn’t rung since 1957 when the church relocated. The historic 487 pound bell was removed from this belfry and is now at the church’s current location where it will ring again Sunday.
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Zion Lutheran Church, 3300 Canfield Road, will re-dedicate and ring its historic church bell at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, just two days short of its 102nd anniversary. Pastor Duane Jesse decided to ring it before the service so the bell could once again “call Christians to worship as it did for all those years.”
The bell was installed at Zion’s first building at the southwest corner of Tippecanoe and Canfield roads in September 1915 and was rung for the first time Sept. 26, 1915. It remained in service until that property was sold and the church moved to its current location in 1957.
Clearly, leadership at that time felt strongly enough about the bell that they wanted to salvage it out of the old church. It must have been quite an effort to get the bell out of the belfry because the bell bowl alone weighs 487 pounds. The bell sat on a platform outside the church until it was put in storage for a large construction project in 1999.
A new platform for the bell was built recently by Ryan Hone Masonry and was designed to look like the bases of the arches that support the church’s front portico. The bell was sent to A Plus Powder Coaters in Columbiana for bead-blasting and powder-coating, and missing parts were sourced from Lower Bells in Loudon, Tenn. The bell was originally manufactured by the C. S. Bell Company of Hillsboro, Ohio.
The bell will be rung for the first time by Sarah Matkoskey because the bell restoration was paid for by her, her family and others in memory of her late husband, Charles. The platform was paid for by memorial funds given by Anna Mae and Roy Wiff Jr. in memory of Roy Wiff and also memorial funds given in memory of John Bokesch.
Pastor Jesse remarked, “Zion Lutheran Church is a significant church in the Valley’s history. We’ve been around for 207 years and that bell called Christians to worship for about 40 years before being retired. It is a dear artifact of Zion’s staying power – and by Zion, I mean all the saints and sinners who have made this great church what it remains to be today and a testimony to God’s faithfulness to us.”
For more information about the bell ringing, contact the church at 330-792-4046.