Ring the Bell

There are some who might say that a church isn’t complete without its bell. According to Dolores Smyth’s article, “What Is the Origin and Purpose of Church Bells?” church bells have been associated with churches since the fifth century, when they were used to call the community together for church services, as well as to alert for danger, births, and deaths.

“The church bell has been a part of the Free Methodist Church in Colville since 1898,” said Elly Huguenin, who is a member, a volunteer, and subject matter expert on her church’s history. She has also been the church’s children’s ministry director. “Our church was founded in Colville in 1895 with only six members. In 1898, Mrs. Dingle raised the money to buy a church bell.” The woman who raised  money for the church bell – known only as Mrs. Dingle – supplied the remaining money herself. According to Huguenin, “No one knows what the original cost of the bell was or where it came from.

“On June 6, 1966, just after midnight, the church caught fire and burned to the ground,” said Huguenin. “The bell fell clear through to the basement, but it wasn’t damaged. We thought that in the fire, it had lost its sound. It was saved through, and wasn’t hurt. We think that the furnace caused the fire.”

The church, erected after the fire of 1966, was built between 1966 and 1969 and is located on the corner of Elm and First Street. The Colville Free Methodist church occupied the building until 2019, when it purchased what is now the current location on the corner of Hawthorne and Madison. Restoration on the current church site was completed in 2022, according to Huguenin. The Elm and First Street location still stands today, and it is now owned by another congregation.

“Restoration was completed in time for Palm Sunday Service,” said Dale Kaufman, pastor of the Colville Free Methodist Church. “This was also my first service as pastor. More additions have been completed since, and in the next several years, the hope and plan is to construct a Ministry Center with a gymnasium and more classroom and worship spaces.”

“We finally hung the bell this spring,” said Huguenin. “Why did it take so long? Well, there’s been a lot of questions about that. Mostly, it’s because there have been other priorities.”

“These other priorities were that our building needed complete restoration and renovation before it could be occupied,” said Kaufman. “Also, the field where the bell sits was overgrown with weeds, so it needed to be brought into shape before the bell could be displayed in a good manner. All of that takes time and money, which needed to be raised and the work completed, all of which was done without our church going into debt or borrowing any money at all. Our people are pretty proud of this.”

“Our church bell is restored and hanging outside of our building,” said Huguenin. “The only thing missing is a clinger. We are not allowed to put a clinger inside of the bell. The city won’t let us ring it.” She added, “We restored the bell quietly, without celebration or honors. We just wanted people to know the story of the bell.”

“The church has plans to erect a plaque memorializing the bell in the next couple of months,” said Kaufman.