Two St. Lawrence
Traditions Merge
By Varick Chittenden ’63
When ninth-grader Elyse Merrell first went up the bell
tower in Gunnison Memorial Chapel with her brother Alex
’13, chief ringer in his senior year, she was already hooked
on a St. Lawrence tradition, the ringing of the bells at the
end of the work day and on special occasions. It’s a cherished
tradition in the Merrell family as well. Elyse’s father, Charles
’81, his uncle Nathaniel Merrell ’51, and his cousin Dr. John
Miller ’48 were ringers, too.
The Merrells – past and present and all from Lowville,
N.Y. – represent at least several dozen St. Lawrence alumni
and current students who have played the bells during
their years on campus. As a group, the ringers were selected
by Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) for a
2013 North Country Heritage Award “for their significant
contributions to the living cultural heritage of the region.”
TAUNY’s criteria for this annual program include “evidence
of maintaining traditions, mastery, and creativity; a commit-
ment to the art form over time; and a commitment to the
community and to the teaching of others.”
Ironically, the decision to recognize the bell-ringers had been
made earlier in the year and announced a couple of weeks
before the October 6 fire in the chapel. TAUNY’s celebration
of the awards – the annual Salute to North Country Legends
– went on as usual on Sunday, October 13, and included
music by the Laurentian Singers and a presentation on the
history and traditions of the Gunnison bells by Christopher
Kenney ’96, himself a ringer and now director of education at
the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in
Canton, Ohio. Only a special concert to be played by return-
ing alumni ringers later that afternoon had to be cancelled.
‘A depth of meaning that transcends efficiency’
While relatively anonymous on campus in their student
days, the bell-ringers have been a select and exclusive group
since only two or three students are chosen to play each
year and often have played all four years. It comes as a
surprise to many on campus when they learn that the bells
are still played manually and by students. Over the years,
suggestions to automate them have been rejected, making
St. Lawrence one of the few remaining campuses to main-
tain the playing of the bells as they were first played when
the chapel opened in 1926. Chaplain Kathleen Buckley says,
“It’s a tradition that may not be the most efficient but it has
a depth of meaning that transcends efficiency.”
Charlie Merrell – now Lewis County Judge and a New York
State Supreme Court Justice – described bell-ringers for the
Watertown Daily Times
as sharing “a wonderful camarade-
rie.” He says those from whom he learned, those whom he
trained, others he’s met at reunions and he himself all agree
that it’s the best job on campus. “It’s hard work but it adds
so much meaning to the experience of life at St. Lawrence
for most everyone,” he says. He remembers stories of the
“I received a call from campus security
one evening about 10:30 p.m. inquiring
as to who was playing the chime. After
investigation it turned out to be Presi-
dent Gulick. He and some friends would
often come up and play."
–Lynn Stacy ’88
As a group, the ringers were selected by Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) for a 2013 North
Country Heritage Award “for their significant contributions to the living cultural heritage of the region.”
Bell ringers enjoying a reunion during Commencement Weekend 2013
included, front from left, Danica Cunningham ’13, Kathy Quick Montan ’71,
Patty Garland Croteau ’96 and University Chaplain Kathleen Buckley, and back
from left, Eric Sievert ’14, C. Alex Merrell ’13, his father Charles Merrell ’81,
Robert Gould ’55 and Cody Witherell ’11.
Photo by Martha Cooper, courtesy of TAUNY Archives
University Chaplain Kathleen Buckley, left, and Richard Watson of Meeks, Watson & Company, Georgetown, Ohio, one of the nation’s handful of experts on bell
restoration, discuss the condition of the Bacheller Memorial Chime. The bells have been pronounced in good condition, and are protected from the weather for
the winter, the roof above them having been destroyed in the fire.
Janel Smith ’99 first became involved in ringing the bells
when her friend brought her up to the bell tower in 1996
and told her to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on the
chime.
“My friend said to me, ‘Good, now you can take over for
me when I graduate,’” Smith says. “That’s pretty much
how I became a bell-ringer.”
Smith was a music minor and a member of the Lauren-
tian Singers. So, music was something she already knew
and appreciated.
“The first time I knew the bells weren’t just automatic
was when I heard someone play a wrong note,” she says.
“I knew music well enough to know that something
didn’t sound quite right. But that’s also when I knew
there were real people up in that tower playing.”
Once a bell-ringer, always a bell-ringer, they say. Smith
has played the chime at least once every year since she
graduated. She has played for Reunion Weekends and
the Service of Remembrance, and was present when the
ringers were presented
with a Heritage Award
from Traditional Arts
in Upstate New York
(TAUNY) just one week
following the fire at Gun-
nison Memorial Chapel.
“When I read that the
bells were still in place, I had a profound sense of relief,”
Smith says. “But then my thoughts turned immediately
to the music, which was all hand-written, and the names
of the ringers, which were chronicled on the walls of the
bell tower.”
Later, a firefighter emailed her a picture of her name
still etched into the wall, and she could see the names of
other bell ringers around hers.
“There are names there dating back to 1941,” Smith says.
“It’s a piece of our history, and we want to hold onto it.
Seeing my name there and the names around mine was
very heartening.”
–Ryan Deuel
Ringer's Tale
winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine 21
20 winter 2014 | St. Lawrence University Magazine
