Christine Whelan FEO, July 6, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 23

The pews were filled with a sad congregation at the People’s Memorial United Church in central Ridgeway on Sunday, June 25. Sad, but thankful they could make it to the last service of the building’s 151 years.

Yes both pastors, Pastor Isaac Flagg and Pastor Rob Collier, attended, one saying he would really miss the congregation but not the building. It’s old and plagued with problems consistent with a building that has aged, with leaks and upkeep far beyond the budget of a small congregation.

A video clip captured one of the last songs sung, “How Great Thou Art”, a church favourite.

The building was turned over to the United Church of Canada after the service.

And then, the bell rang.

A Final Request

“When I first heard of the closing of Ridgeway’s People’s Memorial United Church, I thought, as a local historian, what can I do? Then a bell went off in my head (pun intended).” Rick Doan shared his experience of ringing the bell for the last service.

He approached Sharon Dell, a member of the church, and asked her if he could ring the church bell at the end of the last service 151 times, one for each year the church survived. “She went to her people and they agreed it would be nice.”

Rick thought it should be recorded and approached videographer Joe Burd of  905 Productions. “He really liked the idea so much so he said he would do it for the church and community free of charge.” Joe came with a team, photographer Blake Farnan and James Hannaway.

Rick also needed a team as the logistics and timing had to be right on. Sharon Dell, her daughter Kathy and grandson Ylan volunteered.

He worked out the logistics a few weeks before they ran tests a week prior to see if Joe would be able to capture the bell’s ring. They also tested to see how long the bell should ring between strikes. It worked out to every five seconds, calculating a total of 12.58 minutes.

Joe brought a hand counter that James used and Ylan set up two cell phones. One had a counter on it and the second had a timer on it.

The Bell

Rick reflected in a June 2 Facebook post, “While growing up in Ridgeway, Sunday mornings, I would hear the bells ring for different churches in town but always noted the United Church’s, on the corner of Ridge and Dominion, sounded much different and better than all the others.”

He didn’t find out why that bell sounded better until eight years ago when he wrote a series for his Ridgeway, Ontario History Facebook Page on the school and church bells of Ridgeway and Stevensville, gaining the opportunity to climb into their towers and have a look at them.

He discovered that, unlike the other bells, this bell was bronze and stationary. When the rope was pulled, unlike the others, the bell didn’t swing, but the clapper was pulled to its side to make its wonderful chime.

Rick shared in a post, “In 1972, the late high school principal and historian, Bob Disher, wrote a booklet on the 100 years of the church and in it, he provided a photo of the church people hoisting up the new bell in 1924. The previous bell had cracked. The new bell was bought by their church group which raised $500 ($8770 in today’s money).

“You could, back then, buy a standard cast iron bell that was 40 Inches and weighed 1,275 pounds for just $102.50,”  but this bronze one was ordered from Croydon, England. It took a long time to arrive but this company ‘tuned their bells’. In fact, “This bell was tuned the same as the tenor bell in the Metropolitan Church in Toronto.”

So, when the clapper struck the side of this bell, unlike the sounds of the other local cast iron bells in town, it rang out a sweet note and continued to ring longer with a reverberating musical sound.

Doan shared, “This church, at one time had all the doctors, lawyers, and business people of the time as its congregation. As time moved along, like many other churches and fraternal organizations, it was down to only a few, unfortunately, not enough to support it.”

And so, the bell rang 151 times in 12.58 minutes.

The town listened with reminiscing memories dancing through their minds for those minutes. Some listened and shared. Some listened in silence.

Burd will make a video of the last rings, along with some interviews at the end. Watch for it posted on Doan’s Ridgeway, Ontario History Facebook Page. 

Photos provided by Rick Doan