Effort seeks to raise $50,000 to fix beloved bells at Trinity Episcopal Church

From Toledo-

It is a haunting, tender moment: A 16-year-old girl from another era manually manipulates the giant church bells that chime to the melody of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

The moment was recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorder on June 2, 1945. The location, a bell tower at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Toledo.

Installed in 1943, the The Gardner Chimes — 12 bells weighing 9.6 tons — eventually fell into disrepair and have remained silent for 20 years.

Those bells may ring again this spring if the Old Trinity Foundation can raise $50,000 to pay for repairs. The grass-roots organization launched its fund-raising campaign Friday.

The organization hopes to raise the money through corporate and private gifts, organizers said.

“It’s very hard to put a value on this project,” said the Rev. Elizabeth Hoster, rector at Trinity Episcopal Church. “When you think of the soundscape of the city — when you enter the city and hear something like this — it says you have more than just cars driving by.

More here-

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/12/01/Effort-seeks-to-raise-50-000-to-fix-beloved-bells-at-Trinity-Episcopal-Church.html