CANTON, New York (WWNY) – Ten years ago, fire hit Gunnison Chapel on the campus of St. Lawrence University – silencing the chimes. On Friday, we met current chime-players who reflect what happened a decade ago, and how what they do today is important.
Every weekday afternoon at 5 o’clock the Bacheller Memorial Chimes can be heard coming from Gunnison Chapel.
Sophomores Hayden Beyer and Lila Fenn, and junior Amanda Gagne are responsible for ringing the 10 chimes Monday through Friday – a long-held tradition that has continued since the chapel was built in 1926.
“It kind of feels like a mini-concert because you can play whatever songs you want. You can find songs and transpose them into the key that can be played on the bells, so it is really like a mini-concert,” said Fenn.
Since the memorial chimes were installed, they would play every day until they were silenced on October 6, 2013, when the chapel bell tower caught fire.
University Chaplain Rev. Shaun Whitehead still remembers how many rescue crews showed up.
“It was Canton, West Potsdam, Potsdam, Rensselaer Falls, Heuvelton, Gouverneur – firefighters from all those regions who came to help and really fought this fire 100 feet up,” he said.
Recordings of the bells were played for the next two years. In 2016, the chime-players returned.
Gagne says playing the chimes is part of Canton’s identity and brings about a sense of pride for herself and those who played before her.
“Whenever like I’ve talked with some people how I ring the bells, they’re always like, ‘Oh, I thought they were automated?’ I’m just, like, nope. This is long-time tradition that I absolutely love being a part of,” she said.
Loud and proud as ever, the bells are important to the identity of the Canton community.
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