Historical Society members Paul Schumann, Bob Lamb, and Stephen Knowles, metropark architect, give an inaugural re-ring of the bell after it is fixed in place. (Photos by Larry Bennet)

Bell back in historic church’s tower
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published Feb. 15, 2006

Solid ground for the first time in several weeks allowed the Olmsted Historic Society to hit the right note and get the bell back in the tower of the historic Barton Road Church on the Frostburg Museum campus last weekend.

“Everything went just right and once it started moving they were able to get it done pretty quickly,” said Paul Schumann, vice president of the society. “We’re just glad to have it back in the bell tower.”

Society officials have been wanting to make the move since Jan. 21, but wet ground prevented it. Officials from Leimeister Tree and Crane service of Berlin Heights did not want to make the move when the ground wasn’t firm for fear of the crane sinking into it and getting stuck.

Workers guide and settle the final piece in place.

“They did a great job in doing it so efficiently,” Schumann said. “We couldn’t have done this without them.”

He said the Leimeister officials agreeing to do the job for costs instead of charging their normal rate was a big help to the Society.

“We have to watch all our costs closely since we don’t have a lot of money,” Schumann said. “By not having to pay them a large amount we can focus funds on another area which needs help.”

Even though there wasn’t much advance notice that the move would take place Saturday morning, Schumann said a crowd did end up watching the move.

“We did it on short notice since we were watching the weather and ground conditions closely, but we had about 60 to 70 people there for the move,” Schumann said. “We’re thankful that there has been a lot of community and interest and support in the project both for when we first moved it and for continuing parts of the project like getting the bell taken care of and put back into the tower.”

Last year, historic society officials obtained the historic church built by Methodists in the 1840s when its previous owner, the Resurrection Ukrainian Orthodox Church donated it to the society so it could be moved. The city of North Olmsted waived several thousand dollars in permit fees for the June move via area roads and provided a police escort to help ensure its safe arrival at the campus of the Frostville Museum run by the society on Cedar Point Road.

Schumann said with the move of the bell back into the tower additional renovation work on the church will continue throughout the year as the weather improves. The next step is for additional repairs and refurbishing portions of the roof. He said the society also wants to do siding and other structure work by the end of the summer.

“We ultimately want to get a good air system operating in the building to help maintain and preserve it,” he said. “We want to have it in the best condition possible so people can come and see it in good condition.”

Michael Gareau Jr., chairman of city council’s building, zoning and development committee,  said he’s thrilled that the move went well.

“They’ve been doing a great job at the society in getting the church put back together and restoring it into something which the entire community will be proud of,” Gareau said. “I’m looking forward to getting to see it when its all done. They do a lot of good things at the society which help us preserve important parts of our community heritage.”

Members of the Society have been steadily putting together various exhibits and historical items at the site for the last several years. Another recent project initiated last year is the restoration of an old city fire truck from the 1930s.