Our 12 tower bells have a digital programming controller but can also be rung manually from the organ console. The bells are mounted on a steel framework and weigh between 250 and 2000 pounds each. Standard chimes consist of 10 bells. Our two additional bells add greatly to the scope and variety of music that can be rendered.

Musicians will note that the chime combinations permit the playing of music written in three keys, namely F, B flat, and C. All of the music is transposed into one of these keys and the bells are capable of rendering hundreds of religious, secular, and patriotic airs.

The bells are made of the finest brands of Lake Superior copper and new block tin, forming what is known as “bell metal.” No other metals enter the composition of high grade bells. Silver and gold, if used in any quantity in the casting of bells, deaden the tone. The belief that bells of especially fine tone have quite a large percentage of silver in their composition is probably due to the fact that in the earlier days of bell founding it was a tradition to flip a silver coin into the metal to “sweeten” the tone.

The same company that made our chimes in 1930 also made our church bell in 1895.

Dedication of the Chimes newspaper article
Rev. Allan Lorimer Sermon of Dedication of the Chimes, 1930