William T. Turner didn’t leave his farm Sunday morning as he normally would to attend Liberty Christian Church.
But from his home several miles south of Hopkinsville, the Christian County historian joined church members across the state in a simultaneous bell-ringing on the first Sunday that churches have been banned from in-person worship because of the coronavirus.
Gov. Andy Beshear had suggested a statewide, simultaneous ringing of church bells after he and state health officials decided it was too risky for churches to hold services.
When Turner heard about the plan, he knew he wanted to participate even though he and his wife, LaVena, are sticking close to home to lower their risk of becoming ill.
So Turner, wearing a coat and tie as he would for church, stepped outside and began ringing a large antique bell some 40 feet from his farmhouse at 9 a.m. His wife captured the moment for history in a photograph.
The bell on Turner’s farm is more than 100 years old. His grandfather bought it at an auction around 1900.
“The bell has been here my whole life,” Turner said. “It was used to call the family to dinner and for emergencies.”
In town Sunday morning, Russ Hayes answered Turner’s request to climb into the clock tower above the old fire station.
It also carries important history, said Turner.
The city purchased the bell from Baltimore in 1887. It first hung in the courthouse cupola but was moved to the fire station in 1905. When the Night Riders attacked Hopkinsville, a city fireman rang the bell to call for help, and a Night Rider shot into the tower to stop him, said Turner.
The bell also rang to mark milestones for the country and the community.
It rang at the end of World War I, and probably at the end of World War II, said Turner.
In 1924, the fire station burned and the bell crashed through to the ground floor. It was not damaged and was installed in a new tower when the fire station was rebuilt.
In recent history, the bell rang at midnight 1999. The late David Riley, a Kentucky New Era journalist, had the honors of ringing the bell that night.
On the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, the street in front of the clock tower was blocked for a brief ceremony led by city firefighters. It concluded with the bell ringing.
Sunday morning, Hayes said he and his wife, Jincy, rang the bell for three minutes in recognition of the three Kentuckians who have died from COVID-19.
Nearby the sound of bells also lifted from two of the city’s oldest churches.
Wayne Goolsby arranged for his church, First Presbyterian, to use its recorded bells.
At Grace Episcopal Church, Joe and Pam Vance took turns pulling a rope to ring their church’s bell.
Turner said he hopes the practice continues for a while. The times call for it.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
