Moose Jaw councillor wants city hall bell to ring again

It will take more than a bolt of lightning to bring the bell inside Moose Jaw’s clock tower back to life.

While no one is passing out flyers to save the clock tower itself, council is trying to fix up the bell inside, which hasn’t rung since the 1960s.

The Heritage Advisory Committee revealed to council on Monday that the bell is in need of repairs.

Moose Jaw City Hall was originally built as a post office in 1911. The bronze bell that still sits in its small enclosure at the very top was made in 1913. It’s still held in place by its original bolts.

A view from under the bell on top of Moose Jaw City Hall (Submitted by City of Moose Jaw)

“The bolts, I believe, are completely rusted so there is a safety issue with that,” said Councillor Crystal Froese.

While Froese is thankful for the Heritage Advisory Committee drawing attention, she explained this issue should have been discovered by city staff. She said there has been no mandate led by city council to look at these types of things.

“It hasn’t been cared for and looked at as other assets in the city. It hasn’t been properly inspected and maintained,” said Froese.

To make repairs, workers will have to maneuver the very tight area at the top of the dome with expertise. The heavy bell is held in place on a big wooden beam by two bolts. The idea is to replace that with stainless steel components.

Council decided to make the necessary repairs to address safety concerns but Froese was disappointed that restoring the bell to ringing capacity was not supported at this time.

Side view of the bell on top of Moose Jaw City Hall (Submitted by City of Moose Jaw)

Councillor Froese argued there is significant heritage value in restoring the bell with an electronic clapper. She plans to revisit this issue after safety repairs are made, which may involve community input.

“Besides Mac the Moose and the Snowbirds, our city hall is probably the most photographed landmark in our city,” she said.

Back in its ringing days, the bell would chime with the clock on the hour. Froese said if restored with an electronic clapper, they could make it ring whenever they want. It may not ring every hour, but on special occasions instead like Remembrance Day or Christmas.

The clock is one of the few in the province which are still manually wound by staff every few weeks. The Heritage Advisory Committee is also recommending to restore the glass on the face of the clock.

Councillor Froese wants to see the city treat heritage buildings as assets, include them in budgets and assure that they’re maintained.

“It’s almost as if you have to wait until things are in the very last stages of their life in order to get attention.”