#1 Important information to tell the next Camp Director: Do not stand under the bell when you ring it if snow has accumulated on top of it.
I’ve done this twice. The sound of the bell was accompanied by the sound of my squealing as snow fell on my head and down the back of my neck. Also, if it is very cold, the bell does not really ring; it just sort of makes a muffled dinging noise. And the Chapel bell is rather useless as an ingathering tool, unless people are standing on the Chapel lawn. Poor thing...it just hangs there looking important...but it isn’t...it is not the alpha bell.
#2 Important bell-ringing information to tell the next Camp Director: Before ringing the bell in the Spring make sure there is not a bird nest inside the bell.
This happened one spring when we discovered that an industrious robin had somehow built a precarious nest; she probably thought it was an incredible real estate find; you know...location, location, location. So, nature lovers that we are, we waited until the babies fledged before we cleaned the nest out. Fortunately it was before camp started so we weren’t forced to evict.
#3 Important bell-ringing information to tell the next Camp Director: If you allow little children to ring the bell remember to tell them to let go of the chain...small children may experience some air.
This happened to a summer staff person. He allowed a mini camper to ring the bell and the child didn’t let go of the chain and was lifted off their feet, swinging gently out over the porch! The staffer quickly caught and lifted the child to safety! The child thought it was really cool. The staffer did not.
#4 Important bell-ringing information to tell the next Camp Director: The proper bell-ringing sound is ding/ding. Therefore grasp the chain high enough so that it causes the bell to swing strongly enough, so that the clapper strikes both sides of the bell with one pull. Otherwise you get a weak little ding....ding...ding. Bell-ringing novices get that sound and you, sir or madam, need to be a bell-ringing expert.
There is indeed a technique to bell ringing. And those of us who have been around awhile can instantly tell if someone new is attempting the ringing. "Bell ringing incompetence" says Danae. The goal is to get that sound to resonate all over the camp so that people know it is time to move to the next activity. Six to eight pulls are all that is needed; less than that is not enough and more than that is annoying and it starts to create stress in the staff who begin to wonder if there is an emergency (a three minute ringing is an emergency signal).
#5 Important bell-ringing information to tell the next Camp Director: Respect the bell.
During the summer of 2007 a gentleman stopped at the camp. He told me that he was the one who had donated the bell to Luz! This was exciting to me because no one I had talked to really knew from where the bell came. Wilmer Brubaker from Bishop, CA (formerly of Smithville) told me the following story (which I’ve condensed).
The old Georgetown School, on the corner of Egypt and Fox Lake Rds, burned to the ground (sometime in the early 50’s). Wilmer, who lived next to the school, took the bell and kept it in his garage. One day Floyd Byler stopped by and mentioned that he was looking for items for the new Mennonite camp which was being built on Kidron Rd. Floyd new that Wilmer had the school bell and thought it would be a great item to donate to the camp. So that is what Wilmer did!
The bell has the date 1886 stamped on the yoke. That makes it 125 years old! Fifty-eight of those years it has resounded right here at Camp Luz. The bell really is one of the major sounds of camp—it moves people. And not just physically. There is an association that happens with that sound; bell=camp=relationships.
Respect the bell. It’s ringing is powerful. Especially when it invites people to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; the most important relationship of all.
