”
Belle’s Bell
”
sounded for the first time at the Morgan Hill Centennial History
Trail as 101-year-old Belle McCormick gave the metal instrument its
first clang Tuesday afternoon at a public ceremony.
Morgan Hill – “Belle’s Bell” sounded for the first time at the Morgan Hill Centennial History Trail as 101-year-old Belle McCormick gave the metal instrument its first clang Tuesday afternoon at a public ceremony.
“I am thrilled to be giving the bell to Morgan Hill,” said McCormick, a retired teacher and longtime Morgan Hill resident. “It’s meant so much to have children come and ring the bell” over the years.
For decades, “Belle’s Bell” – originally salvaged from a 1906 locomotive – hung in McCormick’s front yard on West Edmundson Avenue, where she’s lived since 1951.
Now she’s given the heirloom to the public for future generations to enjoy.
About 15 people gathered to watch McCormick unveil the antique on the grounds of the Hiram Morgan Hill House.
The history trail lies in front of the Monterey Road house, commemorating 90 events in Morgan Hill’s past on tiles and marble stones. Volunteers broke ground on the project last year as Morgan Hill celebrated its 100th birthday.
“We built the Centennial History Trail to commemorate Morgan Hill’s past, and now we’re adding Belle’s bell as a crowning achievement,” said Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate, who led the ceremony.
The story behind “Belle’s Bell” begins on the sprawling plains of Montana, where McCormick grew up fishing, hunting and riding horses on her father’s ranch. The bell, originally built for a Baldwin railroad engine, was part of the ranch as a signal used to call in workers from the fields.
McCormick said her father later gave the bell to her when she married Bill McCormick and moved to Red Lodge, Mont., at the foot of the Snowy Mountains about 30 miles east of Yellow Stone National Park.
After enduring enough of Montana’s freezing winters, McCormick and her family hauled the bell out west in 1951 to San Jose and then to Morgan Hill.
McCormick found work in the local school district and the old-fashioned bell found a place in her front yard.
“We had all the room in the world to ride our horses,” McCormick recalled of those early days in Morgan Hill. “Of course, there has been an influx of people, but I still love Morgan Hill.”
McCormick, who celebrated her 101st birthday May 2, mustered the strength she needed to give the heavy bell its inaugural ring at the history trail.
“It won’t be hard, I’ve rung it plenty of times on New Year’s Eve,” she joked to the small crowd as she stood and yanked a yellow rope tied to the black bell, sending loud reverberations throughout the courtyard, filling the air with thoughts of the old pioneer economy.
But future public ringing will be rare; the bell will be padlocked in place to prevent abuse.
“If someone’s having an event and wants to ring the bell, they can always ask permission,” said Roger Knopf, co-chairman of last year’s Centennial Project Committee, which helped design and build the history trail.
At least with its new home and historical plaque, the story of “Belle’s Bell” will always be loud and clear.
