IRON MOUNTAIN - The Iron Mountain High School Class of 1960 will dedicate the former Iron Mountain Fire Department bell and its enclosure at new Iron Mountain Police & Fire Department building.
The public dedication is set for 11 a.m. Friday.
This will serve as a permanent resting place for this piece of history.
Research on the history of the bell was contained in the Iron Mountain city records and news archives.
The bell weighs 464 pounds and was originally purchased in 1885 by the Chapin Mining Company from the McShane Bell Company of Baltimore, Md., which was one of the nation's oldest bell manufacturers.
It was installed on the north side of Iron Mountain at the Chapin Mining Company Main Office and Fire Station on Second Street.
Because the telephone system was not yet fully developed, the bell was used to notify the community of fires and other emergencies near the mining operations.
The summer of 1900, the city of Iron Mountain purchased the Woods Sandstone Building on Ludington Street, which began the process of establishing a fire station at that location.
In January 1901 the fire chief was given authorization to hire someone to tend the building boiler, until the firemen moved into their new quarters.
In March 1901, the brass pole the firemen used to slide down from the sleeping quarters on the second floor to the first floor was purchased.
This pole currently in storage and many other restored artifacts were moved to the new fire station in 1993.
The city paid $3.75 for work on the bell tower so a bell could be permanently installed in March 1901.
The Chapin Mining Company sold the bell to the city of Iron Mountain for $17 in May 1901. The bell was then placed in the Bell Tower of the Woods Building Fire Station where it remained for more than 90 years.
It was used to alert firemen and notify the community of fires and other emergencies.
It was also rung to commemorate other significant events, such as the ending of World War I and World War II and to notify the community of curfews that were in place during the 1940s and 1950s.
Modern communication systems lessened the importance and use of the bell.
In 1993, the Police and Fire Departments moved from the Ludington Street facility to a modern facility at 101 East Fleishem Street.
The bell was taken down and placed in storage at the new location on East Fleishem Street.
Here the bell has remained and almost forgotten.
In 2009, the members of the Iron Mountain Class of 1960 started to plan their 50th class reunion. They considered projects which would benefit the community and to show their appreciation for the education and upbringing they have received.
Retired Fire Lt. Bill Gammey, a 1960 class member, suggested the bell as a project for the class. Gammey had discussed the bell with Iron Mountain Fire Chief Dan Johnson, who was interested and expressed support for the project.
Sharon (Khoury) Swanson was enthusiastic about the idea, and with Gammey, they became co-chairpersons.
Swanson concentrated on fund-raising and communicating with class members and Gammey focused on getting labor, materials and obtaining the approvals to the job done.
Fire Chief Dan Johnson assisted Gammey with this task. From rough pencil drawings on a napkin, the project emerged.
The force behind the project was the Class of 1960, the task would not be completed if not for the donations and materials from local companies and professional labor from local tradesmen, obtained by Gammey.
A few class members also put in hundreds of hours working on the bell. Jim Webb lives in Houston, Texas, and came back and worked for three weeks to co-manage the construction.
The construction includes the original cement brick, facing the street with the inscription "No 1 Fire Dept." This large cement block came from the Woods Fire Station building.
The stone used inside the new structure is made of sandstone, reminiscing prior history from the Woods Sandstone Building.
The ceremonies on Friday will including a short dedication program followed by the ringing of the bell.
Angie DuBose's e-mail address is adubose@ironmountaindailynews.com.
