St. Joseph, Maumee Bells

In March 2024, the pastor at St. Joseph Church in Maumee gave me access to the bell tower. It was really cool to see the bells up close and I also got some photos as well. 

The Church has 3 bells. First is the bourdon bell (on the right). It rings a D# tone. Next is the middle bell (on the left). It rings a G tone. Finally the smallest bell (below) It rings an A# tone.  

Bell towers were not intended on being climbed up by normal people like me. That is why the staircase is so steep. The wooden square in the middle is a hatch door and is what I would assume the way they got the bells up in the tower before cranes were invented. The wall at the top of the image houses the organ blower.

 

On the left is the ladder that leads to the belfry. The concrete pile on the wall is the spot where the St. Joseph statue is. At the bottom of the image is the air conditioning for the church.

The view of Broadway St. from the belfry

Additional photos of the stained glass

The Bells of St. Mary's: Real and fake

Here is a video of the real bell at St. Mary's and the digital bells playing.

Bell Concert

This Sunday, 3:00pm @ St. Mary's in Norwalk, there will be a free public concert featuring our new Digital Carillon. The Performance should be about a half hour, and you can even sit in your car and listen!

The Hidden Treasures of St. Paul, Norwalk

Yesterday i had the opportunity to go up in the bell tower at St. Paul's here in Norwalk.

First let's start off with the windows you pass on the way up. The two big windows in the center of the picture above are what i will have pictured here.
With exception to the Sanctuary windows, and the windows in the sacristy, these are the only other original windows in the place. (remember, everything was replaced by those horrid beer bottle fragments) These windows aren't much exciting, but they were still way more than i expected, especially in a place where no one can see them, and you can't make out detail from the outside.
(at one point in time, the room that the large window is in probably housed the blower for the old organ, maybe could have been visible from inside the church? no one really seems to know...)


The organ was where that crucifix (that should be in the front of the church) is. Now there is a ventilation system behind that wall. Behind the vent system, is a ladder, then the window.
moving on up...we pass the top of the main window. Not sure if there is any symbolism in it, but still a nice mix of colors.
The next room we come to houses that top window. Again, makes you wonder why they replaced the windows in the church, when they had windows similar to this.

Now onto the bells.
They have 10 bells. The three swinging ones are the ones they normally use. The others are rarely, if ever used. Maybe Christmas and Easter. Glorious sound, another pity that they aren't used as much. This photo was taken sometime before they were installed around 1906-07.

These three are the ones they mainly use.

The rest hang, and are rang by clapper only. All motorized now, of course.

Of course i have many more pictures. If you are interested in more, please let me know.