The Bells of Town
The many
bells that were located around town all had a different sound
and everyone could recognize any one of them when it rang
and know what it was ringing for, weather it be for court in
session, a Masonic Lodge meeting, or maybe church time.
In the old Methodist Church, there was a bell for church time, but there was a rope that
hung outside the door that anyone could reach and it was fixed somehow to the tapper. It
was fixed like that so the rope could be jerked fast and the tapper would only hit one side of the
bell, making it ring real fast and that was the fire alarm for the town. The fire bell, as we called it, was
recognized by everyone and taken seriously. I don't ever remember anyone ringing that bell unless there was a fire
and I would bet if anyone had been caught clowning around with it, they would have been in a heap of trouble.
(c) copyright by Melvin "Bubbie" Martin 2001