21.6 degrees, and there's no precipitation right now.
The world seems to be back on schedule,
and I've found no announcements of
cancellations or closings.
********
THE WCS HOLIDAY CONCERT
has been re-re-scheduled for
7:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY
*****
The world seems to be back on schedule,
and I've found no announcements of
cancellations or closings.
********
THE WCS HOLIDAY CONCERT
has been re-re-scheduled for
7:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY
*****
- Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a few flurries. High: 30
- Tuesday night: Partly cloudy. 23
- Wednesday: Chance of snow showers. High: 32, Low: 23
- Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Chance of a snow shower. High: 30, Low: 18
Yesterday morning.
But Sangerfield had our streets plowed ........
......... and the sidewalks (all fifteen or so miles of them) were cleared early in the morning.
Out in the country, the wind had whipped up the first drifts .......
......... and snomobilers lost no time taking to the trails.
In the Park, there were only three Christmas Trees left!
There's no end to bright decorations!
*******
Remember: Lighting displays will be judged after dark on Thursday!
Starting tomorrow,
Nancy Ayala will be playing the Masonic Temple Bells at about 5:30 every afternoon until Christmas and again on Christmas morning.
(A good place to hear the bells without interference from passing traffic is in the Firemen's Field parking lot - OR - up in the tower, with Nancy!
Phone her ahead of time if you want to go.)
**********
*******
Remember: Lighting displays will be judged after dark on Thursday!
Starting tomorrow,
Nancy Ayala will be playing the Masonic Temple Bells at about 5:30 every afternoon until Christmas and again on Christmas morning.
(A good place to hear the bells without interference from passing traffic is in the Firemen's Field parking lot - OR - up in the tower, with Nancy!
Phone her ahead of time if you want to go.)
**********
This story of the bells has been printed several times, but - if you're new to Waterville or the blog - here it is, again:
I met Gerald Coggeshall in 1971, at the time of the Village's Centennial Celebration. He was a little gnome of a man, descendant of illustrious ancestors, who had lived in Waterville all his life. I don't know how many years he had been playing the bells, but it was probably something in the neighborhood of fifty, and he did so without music and with never so much as a frown on his face.
The way he told the story of the bells was fun, memorable and only slightly inventive! Stephen Gates (an historian who was also a chime afficianado and could play using a regular hymnal) complained bitterly that it was inaccurate and no way to record history, -------however ---- here it is!
Once upon a time a rich man named Ruben Tower decided to build himself a house across the street and, therefore, away from his parents’ home! And wanting to make sure that everyone knew that this new building was HIS house, he decided to put a tower on the front of it.
He knew, right away, that there should be a large clock in that tower, one that had a bell that would sound the hours, and so he wrote to the Seth Thomas Clock Company and asked them to make him a suitable clock.
“Of course, Mr. Tower. We’ll be glad to design an appropriate clock for your home, with visible faces that may be seen by all around the village. May we take the liberty of suggesting that a Mr. Meneely, of Troy, New York, be engaged to cast just the right bell so that it may be heard across the land when it strikes out each hour?”
Tower thought this was a dandy suggestion, and wrote straight ‘way to Mr. Meneely asking for a perfect bell.
Mr. Meneely not only knew his metels, he knew his money as well, and said to Mr. Tower,
“Why, sir - with such a magnificent clockworks one really should have four bells so that a tuneful chime such as that heard at Westminster Cathedral in London may likewise signify each quarter-hour in Waterville.”
Mr. Tower thought it anther marvelous idea and so, bit by bit, the tower rose; the clock faces appeared* and - finally - four enormous bells were lifted to the topmost canopy of the tower. His dream was complete!
Only to one such as Mr. Meneely would it occur that there was still a potential profit to be seen:
“It has occurred to me, Mr. Tower, that you now have four bells and that number is, of course, just one half of a full scale of notes! It would be so easy for us to cast the remaining bells - don’t you see? - and then entire tunes could be played and enjoyed throughout the community.”
Another chord was struck -- Mr. Tower agreed with the proposal (which actually included 5 more bells) and so we have it that in mid-July, 1889, the day after Mr. Meneely left, Miss Flora Garvey came by train from Utica and played the “chime” for the very first time.
*The Seth Thomas clockworks were actually installed a few weeks after the chimes were complete.
I met Gerald Coggeshall in 1971, at the time of the Village's Centennial Celebration. He was a little gnome of a man, descendant of illustrious ancestors, who had lived in Waterville all his life. I don't know how many years he had been playing the bells, but it was probably something in the neighborhood of fifty, and he did so without music and with never so much as a frown on his face.
The way he told the story of the bells was fun, memorable and only slightly inventive! Stephen Gates (an historian who was also a chime afficianado and could play using a regular hymnal) complained bitterly that it was inaccurate and no way to record history, -------however ---- here it is!
Once upon a time a rich man named Ruben Tower decided to build himself a house across the street and, therefore, away from his parents’ home! And wanting to make sure that everyone knew that this new building was HIS house, he decided to put a tower on the front of it.
He knew, right away, that there should be a large clock in that tower, one that had a bell that would sound the hours, and so he wrote to the Seth Thomas Clock Company and asked them to make him a suitable clock.
“Of course, Mr. Tower. We’ll be glad to design an appropriate clock for your home, with visible faces that may be seen by all around the village. May we take the liberty of suggesting that a Mr. Meneely, of Troy, New York, be engaged to cast just the right bell so that it may be heard across the land when it strikes out each hour?”
Tower thought this was a dandy suggestion, and wrote straight ‘way to Mr. Meneely asking for a perfect bell.
Mr. Meneely not only knew his metels, he knew his money as well, and said to Mr. Tower,
“Why, sir - with such a magnificent clockworks one really should have four bells so that a tuneful chime such as that heard at Westminster Cathedral in London may likewise signify each quarter-hour in Waterville.”
Mr. Tower thought it anther marvelous idea and so, bit by bit, the tower rose; the clock faces appeared* and - finally - four enormous bells were lifted to the topmost canopy of the tower. His dream was complete!
Only to one such as Mr. Meneely would it occur that there was still a potential profit to be seen:
“It has occurred to me, Mr. Tower, that you now have four bells and that number is, of course, just one half of a full scale of notes! It would be so easy for us to cast the remaining bells - don’t you see? - and then entire tunes could be played and enjoyed throughout the community.”
Another chord was struck -- Mr. Tower agreed with the proposal (which actually included 5 more bells) and so we have it that in mid-July, 1889, the day after Mr. Meneely left, Miss Flora Garvey came by train from Utica and played the “chime” for the very first time.
*The Seth Thomas clockworks were actually installed a few weeks after the chimes were complete.
****************
Have a Great Day!
