Bell installed at St. Edward Catholic Church; blessing service is Sunday

Tom E. Puskar, Ashland Times Gazette
·1 min read
Father Rod Kreidler sits on a bench and watches as workers from Simonson Construction and Verdin Bells & Clock Co. install the bell on Tuesday at St. Edward Church. The cross leaning against the pillar to the left of Kreidler was to be installed at the top of the tower.
Father Rod Kreidler sits on a bench and watches as workers from Simonson Construction and Verdin Bells & Clock Co. install the bell on Tuesday at St. Edward Church. The cross leaning against the pillar to the left of Kreidler was to be installed at the top of the tower.
Todd Hultzman, a contractor for the Verdin Bells & Clock Co., makes adjustments to the ball as the bell was installed at St. Edward Catholic Church on Tuesday. A blessing of the bell will be held Sunday.
Todd Hultzman, a contractor for the Verdin Bells & Clock Co., makes adjustments to the ball as the bell was installed at St. Edward Catholic Church on Tuesday. A blessing of the bell will be held Sunday.

ASHLAND − Crews from Simonson Construction, Strong Electric and the Verdin Bells & Clock Co. installed the restored bell at St. Edward Catholic Church on Tuesday. Father Rod Kriedler said there will be a blessing of the bell at noon Sunday.

The bell was manufactured in 1924 by the Vanduzen bell foundry in Cincinnati; and by 1945, someone in Ashland acquired it.

Records of it were destroyed in a flood at the foundry, Kreidler said in December, and examination of available documentation has so far turned up nothing. When the new church was built in 2000, the bell was put into storage.

Kreidler describes the St. Edward bell as a striker with a slightly different sound from a swing bell. The clapper inside hits the bell, which stays stationary while the clapper moves.

It is tradition to name a bell, and St. Edward's bell is named Mary, our Lady of Lourdes in honor of the church's former priest of 30 years, the Rev. James Cassidy, who had a great devotion to the saint, Kreidler said.

Kreidler, who came to St. Edward in 2010, wanted it brought back to life and made operational once again. That task has been accomplished and will be recognized at Sunday's service.

Todd Hultzman, a contractor for the Verdin Bells & Clock Co. makes adjustments to the ball as the bell was installed at St. Edward Catholic Church on Tuesday.
Todd Hultzman, a contractor for the Verdin Bells & Clock Co. makes adjustments to the ball as the bell was installed at St. Edward Catholic Church on Tuesday.
The bell at St. Edward Catholic Church in Ashland was installed on Tuesday.
The bell at St. Edward Catholic Church in Ashland was installed on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: The bell tolls: Blessing service is Sunday at St. Edward Church