MANSFIELD Why did the 500-pound church bell cross the street in a forklift, causing police to close off East Main Street in Columbus due to traffic?
By:David Koch
It was headed for a soap and water scrub-down as part of a restoration project.
The bell was carried from a garage near the municipal building to another garage in the Wesleyan United Methodist Church across the street. In this rapidly growing community, the Rev. Neill Tolboom of the Methodist Church hopes to preserve a small bit of its past.
"I think it’s sad that no one remembers there was a church here," said the Rev. Tolboom. "I think the community with all its growth needs to remember its roots."
The Presbyterian Church used to stand in front of the current township municipal building. The church was founded in 1835, and a final church was built in 1882. The municipal building itself is actually the church’s fellowship hall that was built in the 1960s. All that remains from the original church are a few steps, some stained glass windows and the bell.
The bell was cast in 1850 by the J. Bernhart company of Philadelphia. The Rev. Tolboom found it sitting in a garage near the municipal building.
"A lot of the locals remember ringing it (the bell)," he said.
The church closed in 1972 due to a lack of funds. Many of its members moved across the street to the Methodist Church which was founded in 1849. The Presbyterian Church was demolished in 1981 for being structurally unsafe.
The Rev. Tolboom said he hopes to put the bell on display where the church once stood with a plaque. A dedication for the bell may happen in June during the town’s annual "rally day" if cleanup is finished.
The Rev. Tolboom said he hopes that much of the funds needed for the cleanup will be donated by local businesses. Use of the forklift and operator was donated by Stevenson Lumber of Columbus.
A local Bordentown business, Huber-Moore Funeral Home, also has agreed to contribute funds for the cleanup.
Preservation began with a soap and water cleaning by the church’s youth group. While cleaning the bell, a special award inscribed on the bell from the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania was found. The Rev. Tolboom said he believes it may be an award the bell won from a trade show.
The bell, found to be in good condition, is to be restored to "a condition to which it could stand outside for a long time," he said.
The Rev. Tolboom said he also hopes to restore the stained glass windows from the Presbyterian Church. They are being stored in the upstairs of the municipal building. Restoration of the stained glass windows would be costlier and take more time, he said.
