(7/1) Fairfield Borough officially dedicated its restored community school bell on display in front of Village Hall. The former schoolhouse bell was restored and put on display in front of Village Hall in September and an official dedication welcomed the new-old addition back into the light of day in the borough.
At the dedication, Fairfield Borough Council President Patricia Smith welcomed supporters to the completion of a lengthy community project for the return of the bell. "It’s been a long time in the making," she said.
In 2007 when the Village Hall roof was being replaced, the borough council had arranged for the former bell tower to be reconstructed and erected with the possibility of one of the school bells in borough storage being rehung, Smith said. James Landis Jr., former mayor and council member was invited to observe the placement of the tower by crane. At that time the council discussed the desire to have one of the bells restored and placed for the public to see. Landis was enthusiastic about the project, as his grandfather Charles A. Landis had been named principal of the Fairfield schools in 1884 and later the first superintendent.
James Landis aimed to help fund restoration of the bell, although he passed away before the project could move forward, according to Smith. The council eventually allocated Pippinfest proceeds for the restoration and Landis’s nephew David Sites jumped into the project in commemoration. Charles Landis was also Sites’ great-great grandfather, Smith said.
Sites’ generosity funded not only the bell’s restoration, but the brick pedestal as well. "It’s an opportunity our family can provide, that’s the main thing," Site said.
The bell was restored by Premier Metalworks and mounted on a brick pedestal constructed by Gary Rebert Masonry. A commemorative plaque details the Fairfield School Bell as circa 1905 and credits the restoration in honor of the Landis family.
The bell is erected at ground level so that the public can better view it from the sidewalk and will be devotedly used in observance of memorials and other ceremonies, Smith said.
As Sites rang the first ceremonial gong of the bell, the bells echo could be heard throughout Fairfield, proclaiming the reunion at last of Village Hall and the Fairfield community’s most prized historic artifact.
As those in attendance at the dedication marveled at the restored slice of history on display, everyone was encouraged to check out local legacy collections acquired over the not-so distant years through the Fairfield Area Historical Society (FAHS).
History enthusiasts behold artifacts offering a glimpse into the Fairfield past included everything from varsity athlete jackets, graduation pamphlets, a water cooler from the Mount Hope School and yearbooks as far back as 1938.
A headline from a 1946 Weekly Reader article read "Telephones are Starting to Travel," proclaiming the innovation and convenience of car phones. "It is all interesting, it is all history," FAHS secretary Nancy Wenschhof said. More information about the FAHS can be found at fairfieldpahistoricalsociety.org.
