THE TIME WAS RIGHT TO BUILD SOMETHING MORE PERMANENT, MORE PROMINENT
For
over seventy years, the Cuyahoga Falls City Fire Bell held a position of reverence in Oakwood Cemetery. In 1948, after years of sitting unused in the basement of the former City Hall, several firefighters decided to create a makeshift memorial with the bell in the Cemetery, near the south entrance off Oakwood Drive. The bell was mounted on a large wooden beam that was supported by sandstone blocks on either side.
By 2019, however, after decades of exposure to the elements, the City Fire Bell had begun to show significant deterioration. The cannons and crown (the parts atop the bell from which it is suspended) had considerable rust and aging. The clapper was missing, having been lost long before being placed in the cemetery. And the bell itself had numerous dents in it, the result of a hammer being used to toll it in the absence of a clapper.
It was in 2019 that the idea for a permanent Firefighter Memorial for the City of Cuyahoga Falls had begun to take shape. During this conceptual period, the idea of restoring and somehow including the City’s old fire bell into the Memorial was one that was immediately settled on. Soon after, the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation was formed and the work began towards designing the new memorial.
One of the first steps in this process was the removal of the City Fire Bell from the cemetery, for preservation and eventual restoration back in Cincinnati, where the bell was originally cast. On August 21st, 2021, members of the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation, along with Cuyahoga Falls Firefighters Local 494 assisted in removing the bell from position in the cemetery.
Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters, Fire Chief Chris Martin and Local 494 President Mike Stanec were on hand to watch the momentous occasion. Firefighter Richard Patterson was able to record video footage of the bell removal via a drone. A short clip of this drone footage is on the homepage of the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation website.
After some opening comments to memorialize the occasion, heavy equipment was used to stabilize and lift the 600-lb bell onto a specially made platform. It was then lifted onto a trailer and secured for transport.
The bell was moved temporarily to Fire Station #3 on Portage Trail to be displayed at the First Annual Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation Pancake Breakfast, where it was on display for all to see. The bell is now secured at Fire Station #1, with plans to send it down to the Verdin Bell Company in Cincinnati in late summer 2022. Once restored, this unique piece of Fire Department and City history will return back to Cuyahoga Falls and be placed in the new memorial when completed.
