St. Mark's Chimes

St. Mark's Chimes

     On July 4, 1876 the original bell of St. Mark's church was cracked during the celebration of the centennial of American independence. Instead of simply replacing the cracked bell with a new one, the parish embarked on a plan to install a chime of nine bells. The new chime was to be tuned to the key of E-flat. The cracked bell was melted down and part of the metal was cast into the shape of a cross. This was given as a memorial to Lewis Weiss, the first organist of St. Mark's church. The remaining metal was cast into hundreds of small bells. These were sold to help finance the new chime.

     The firm of Jones & Co. of Troy, New York was commissioned to cast the bells for the chime. Mr. Octavous Jones supervised the installation of the bells in October of 1876. This was no mean feat. The bells first had to be raised from the street level to the courtyard of the church, a distance of roughly thirty-five feet. Then they were raised nearly one hundred feet to the belfry of the tower. According to a newspaper account the installation of the bells and the ringing apparatus took about one week.

     Bells 2 through 9 were suspended from a heavy oak frame in the form of a square, with two bells on each side of the square. The largest, or tenor, bell was mounted above in a free-swinging framework, This allowed the large bell to be rung either by swinging or by means of the chime clavier. The chime clavier was installed in a room one in the tower one story below the belfry. It can be seen today by anyone adventurous enough to climb the circular staircase to that level of the tower.

     The chime first rang on Sunday, October 27, 1876, that day being the nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. The Rev. Marcus Alden Tolman officiated at the service of dedication assisted by the Revs. Samuel Marks and Charles E. Betticher. As each bell was named, it was rung for the first time. The bells were dedicated as follows:

No. 1 -	2,498 pounds -	"Presented by Asa Packer"
No. 2 -	1,613 pounds -	"Presented by Charles O. Skeer"
No. 3 -	1,451 pounds -	"Presented by G. B. Linderman"
No. 4 -	1,063 pounds -	"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. In memory of William Heysham Sayre,one of the founders, and for twenty years a warden of St. Mark's Parish; and also of his wife, Elizabeth Kent Sayre; and of their children and children's children who sleep in Christ. A tribute of affection from Robert H. Sayre, A.D. 1876.
No. 5 -	827 pounds -	"Presented by James I. Blakslee"
No. 6 -	626 pounds -	"Holy Innocents Bell. Presented by the Sunday School in memory of the children of the Parish whom Jesus has called to his arms: ' They are without fault before the throne of God'."
No. 7 -	610 pounds -	"In memoriam. R.W. Packer, one of the original Vestrymen of St. Mark's Church."
No. 8 -	549 pounds -	"Presented by the Congregation to replace the first bell used in this Parish, given by Rudolphus Kent"
No. 9 -	414 pounds -	"Presented by A. W. Butler and Family. A.D. 1876"

     Tunes could be played on the bells from the chime clavier located in the third story of the tower. The chime clavier consisted of a set of nine levers to which were attached ropes. The ropes in turn were attached to the strikers of each individual bell. To strike a note on a bell, the chimer would press down firmly and rapidly on the appropriate lever. This system was in use from 1876 until 1947.

     In 1947, three bells were added to the chime and the ringing action was electrified. The new bells were cast by the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York. Meneely also provided the electrified ringing mechanism. Accounts from the period state that the original nine Jones bells were removed from the tower and taken to Meneely's foundry to be re-tuned. Chime experts tell us that Meneely did not tune bells, but relied upon precise casting techniques to produce the desired tone. Be that as it may, the 12 bells were returned to the tower in November of that year and hung in a new steel frame. As in the original installation, the tenor bell was hung above the rest and swings freely.

     The three new bells were dedicated to the memory of Mary Packer Cummings. Mrs. Cummings had been a great benefactress of the parish and had given many memorials to others, but there was no fitting memorial to this great lady. They are inscribed as follows:

No. 5 -	1,000 pounds -	" To the Glory of God and in loving memory of Mary Packer Cummings. This bell is presented by the congregation and friends of St. Mark's Parish deeply grateful for the benefits that have been derived from her generosity." (this bell is referred to as "the Peoples' Bell")
No. 11 -	275 pounds -	"To the Glory of God and in loving memory of Mary Packer Cummings. This bell is presented by her beneficiaries in appreciation of the benefits received. Mauch Chunk Borough, Mauch Chunk Borough School District, St. John's Episcopal Church East Mauch Chunk, Pa. 1947." (this bell is known as the "Other beneficiaries Bell")
No. 12 -	225 pounds -	"To the Glory of God and in loving memory of Mary Packer Cummings. This bell was presented by the following organizations of St. Mark's Parish, The Altar Guild, The Daughters of the Church, The Daughters of the King, The Hacklebernie Mission, The Junior Congregation, The Pearsol Guild, The Upper Mauch Chunk Mission, The Women's Auxiliary, The Young Peoples Fellowship." (this bell is called "the Organizations Bell")

In the September of 1998, the vestry signed a contract with Chime Master Systems of Lancaster, Ohio to add automated control to the chime. Included in the contract is the replacement of the existing mechanical keyboard with a new MIDI keyboard. The new system is controled by a microprocessor and can be set to play concerts at any desired time. The system memory contains several hundred hymns and has the capability for the chimer to record many more into memory for future playback. Installation of the new system was completed in December of 1998, just in time for the Christmas season. St. Mark's chimes will enter the new millennium ringing as they have since 1876.