Karen Kistler
karen.kistler@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Bells were ringing on Sept. 17 in the Bell Tower Green joining with others across the nation for the Bells Across America Celebration.
Organized by the Daughters of the American Revolution, this celebration commemorates the signing of the Constitution and begins Constitution Week, and the local Elizabeth Maxwell Steele DAR Chapter joined in the celebration as members of the local chapter, along with two elected officials, gathered in front of the tower for a brief ceremony, which began with prayer by the organization’s chaplain and followed by remarks by Linda James, regent of the local DAR.
She welcomed everyone who had come to celebrate this annual tradition and shared some history as she said that during the early days of the country, multiple kinds of bells had been used to call people together when they heard the Declaration of Independence read for the first time publicly on July 4, 1776.
It was on Sept. 17, said James, 11 years later, that bells were used once again to call people together for the first reading of our new Constitution.
“The most significant statements they heard were in the Preamble of the Constitution,” she said, “which outlined the organization of our Republic and the rule of law that would hold the country together.”
Noting that many had to memorize this Preamble in school she asked how many there had memorized it with multiple raising their hands. The group was given a copy of the Preamble printed on a bookmark with a small bell attached and this would be read together to conclude the ceremony.
In a release from the DAR, it was noted that on Sept. 17, 1787, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution of the United States of America.
In 1955, according to the release, the DAR spearheaded an effort to set aside one week annually when Americans would celebrate this iconic signing. After petitioning Congress to set aside the week of Sept. 17-23, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Constitution Week into law on Aug. 2, 1956.
James said that “this afternoon marks the 238th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, which is commemorated annually by the ringing of the bells across America.”
Following her remarks, two proclamations were read, the first by Mayor Pro Tem Harry McLaughlin on behalf of Salisbury Mayor Tamara Sheffield and the Salisbury City Council and the second by Greg Edds, the chair of the Rowan County Commissioners on behalf of the Rowan County board, proclaiming the week of Sept. 17-23 being Constitution Week in Salisbury and Rowan County, respectively.
While some came with their own personal bells, some were provided by the DAR to use for the celebration.
The bells were to be rung across the country simultaneously at 4 p.m, Eastern Time, and at that time James instructed the 16 in attendance to began and continue for one minute.
James said that for her, being able to participate in this ceremony and hear the bells “makes me have a sense of freedom knowing that our ancestors did that same thing.”
“Remembering this country,” is what McLaughlin said about participating in this event, as he noted he had spent approximately 18 or 19 years “using my life to protect this Constitution, for the Secret Service,” adding that “you’re protecting what it represents, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and everything this country stands for so we will be able to come out here and to celebrate. It’s wonderful.”
