City to hold dedication ceremony for first school bell

Mayor John Marchione and other City of Redmond officials invite all Redmond residents to the dedication ceremony for the city’s first school bell at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 on the Redmond City Hall Campus, Public Safety Building Plaza, 8701 160th Avenue NE.

At the May 19 Redmond City Council meeting, the mayor will proclaim May as National Preservation Month in the community.

This first school bell was mounted on a new one-room school built in 1892 at what is now Anderson Park. The small Redmond community, comprised largely of farmers and loggers, showed they placed great importance on schooling by raising the money to purchase the bell.

When the school moved to the Redmond School on Northeast 80th Street in 1929, the bell went missing. In the 1940s, it was located on the property of Al Hollingsworth near Redmond Way and 148th Avenue Northeast, mounted on top of an out-building with a plaque describing it as Redmond’s first school bell. Long-time community members remember it being rung at a rally held for the 1952 election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

By the 1980s, the bell had made its way to Montana. While still in Montana, the bell was donated to the City of Redmond. The Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce helped transport the bell back to Redmond where it was presented to the city in a ceremony on July 15, 1988. The bell remained on display on the front steps of City Hall until 2000. It was then refurbished and moved to its current location at the Public Safety Building in 2008.

In celebration of National Preservation Month, Redmond residents and workers are encouraged to participate in the "This Place Matters" activity sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Download a "This Place Matters" sign from the Web site,

www.preservationnation.org/take-action/this-place-matters/ and have a photo taken while holding the sign in front of a local place that matters to you. Then post the photo and a description of why that place is important on the National Trust's Web site.

"We are promoting this campaign along with the Redmond Historical Society, which has agreed to post Redmond-related photos and stories to their Web site," said Jayme Jonas, senior planner for the City of Redmond.

E-mail info@redmondhistoricalsociety.org or visit www.redmondhistoricalsociety.org to learn more about the Redmond Historical Society.

For more information about the school bell dedication ceremony, contact Jayme Jonas at jjonas@redmond.gov or (425) 556-2496.