Chiming in for the return of the Alfred University Carillon

Dec 03, 2023

I was sitting in my car parked on Main Street a week or two ago, reading a book while waiting for a friend. It was one of those super hot days we had at the end of May. The sky was a bright blue, and all the windows were down and the moon roof open, letting in a very light breeze. On that breeze came the sound of chimes. Not the tinkle of wind chimes, but the mellow voice of church chimes. I thought how nice it was to hear church chimes heralding the hour.

Almost five decades ago when I attended Alfred University, I thought the neatest thing on campus, besides the ivy-covered brick buildings and the towering oak trees, was the sound of the Davis Memorial Carillon. I had a class that started at noon, and in the fall before it turned cool the windows of Seidlin Hall would be open and we would hear the bells before Dr. Ohara started class. We’d hear the carillon at other times throughout the day and on special occasions. To me, an unsophisticated kid from Wellsville, it was a sound I expected to hear on a college campus the like of Alfred University – red bricks, ivy, and bells.

As a little kid I loved the church bells when they would call us to mass on a Sunday morning.

There is just something about bells and chimes that I like, from the high tinkling soprano bells to the low bass bells, they strike a special note in my soul. I even have wind chimes around my house and love it when there is a breeze and I can hear them.

Years ago, when I was building a fenced pen for my Rhodesian Ridgebacks, a friend and I retrieved inch wide, 12-foot lengths of pipe from an old oil lease. We collected much more than needed and I had several lengths leftover. I’ve stored them over the years. In the last few years as I have tried to think of something that I might sell or offer at a craft show or farmer's market, I’ve thought of cutting the pipe into windchimes. There is actually a website that tells you how to cut pipe to the right length to produce the sound or tone you want. I’ve yet to try it, but I may.

More Kathryn Ross:Allegany County could benefit from welcoming immigrants

But it wasn't church chimes I was hearing while parked on Main Street in front of the old Municipal Building. It was the clock. The community pedestal clock. I learned that the clock's chimes were back and working. Well, that isn't exactly true. The original chimes are in the Nathaniel Dike Museum. The chimes singing at noon and on the hour from the clock are an electronic recording, a very good recording.

However, because they are a recording, according to Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce leader Bruce Thomas, who is in charge of them, the chimes can be programed to play other kinds of music. For example, they can play patriotic music on the Fourth of July. Or they could play, say, the school alma mater on graduation night if there were a recording of it. They can even play Elvis's music if he shows up for Music on the Lawn this summer. They can be programed to play Christmas music too.

More:Head-on collision kills one, seriously injures another in Wellsville

The work on the clock, although it has taken quite some time to get it repaired, is not yet done, although it has been painted. Glass still has to be installed on the four clock faces and the installation of the additional pavers has to be done, but it is coming along. Thomas said the work will be ongoing this summer when the Department of Public Works can schedule it. For right now, it is just fun to listen to the chimes.

Not so much for the Alfred Carillon. From what I learned last winter there is a lot of work to be done on the tower itself. It is apparently unsafe, so the carillon can't be played until the tower is repaired or replaced. It is my fervent hope that funds are being earmarked for the repair of the carillon because to this alumna, it is more than a landmark and predates both the statue of King Alfred and the giant FIAT LUX sign.

When played, the bells are a joy to not only the ears of those on campus but to everyone living or passing through Alfred that hears them.

— Kathryn Ross writes a weekly column.