The Tintinnabulation of the Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells, Bells.

Any Edgar Allen Poe fans out there? If so, you will recognize this title from one of his greatest poems…The Bells.

But those aren’t the bells I am writing about today. I am writing about a nice memory from my youth in Slatington. The bells I refer to are the sounds of  The Chimes coming from Citizens’ National Bank.  I believe it was something that was unique to our town. Oh…and London, England.

Our town chimes were controversial at the time. I was about nine years old when they were installed. As I remember, they were controversial for two reasons. The first controversy was that people didn’t want this noise foisted upon them, especially if they worked night shift and had to sleep during the day. Air conditioning then was not ubiquitous and we often slept with windows open in the summertime.

The other controversy , and I don’t know if there is any truth to this, was that the borough was spending money on these chimes instead of the swimming pool we so richly deserved. Maybe someone who knows the details of this can comment if The Chimes were a borough thing or a Citizens’ Bank thing. Enquiring minds want to know. We did get a pool just a few years later.

The Chimes, recordings from Big Ben in London, would ring out loudly at 9 in the morning, noon, and 5 in the afternoon. You could hear them all over town. I think I may have learned punctuality from The Chimes. Especially the 5 pm chimes…playing on the Lincoln playground, wrapped up in a game of strike out or basketball. The Chimes would start to sound (always the ringing of the hour followed by music, or maybe the other way around) and we all made a mad dash for home. Dinner is about to be on the table!! Better not be late! There is no excuse…The Chimes!

Here is a side note about The Chimes that animal lovers may not want to hear.  We knew that when The Chimes rang out, all of the pigeons of Slatington would try to escape the sound.  Their refuge was a slate quarry just outside of town. They would hide on the slate ledges until The Chimes were done, then fly back to town. We would sit next to the quarry, with our 22 rifles, and wait for their approach. The pigeons needn’t worry though because it is almost impossible to hit a flying pigeon with a 22 rifle.  I am probably 0 for 250!

I don’t know if the chimes still exist in Slatington. I hope so. It was a quaint recognition of the need to add the beauty of music to our lives.  It was also a good way to teach punctuality and, therefore, responsibility. Two things we need much more of today.

I woke up early today, checked my phone, and the temperature was 11! Too soon!