90 PERCENT

The Bell Tower was installed yesterday without a hitch. Well, there was one hitch, but I'll get to that.

Early yesterday morning I saw a full crew descend upon Christ Church and I heard the rumble of a truck that had the two pieces of the bell tower in tow.

They finished roofing the section under the tower in the morning, then took a break for lunch. After lunch, it was time to get down to some serious work.

The main structure was the first to go up. Lifted by the Gradall, swinging not to precariously as it was guided by a couple of men on the ground, up it went, slowwwwwwly, past the star window, over the roof, and gently set down with precision exactly where it needed to be.

The roof was the next piece. Tied to the boom, it took the same route as the main structure, until it settled down exactly where it was supposed to be.

Then the bell went up. First the support for it, and that was anchored in place. Then the bell went up and cradled in place. The rope was attached, and they gave me the go ahead to give it a ring.

So I walked into the church, grabbed the rope and pulled . . . thunk!

Okay . . . so all of this intense work, and when it comes to the end, the bell won't ring. Not good.

Apparently, when then re-set the bell on the new tower and got it all level (as opposed to tilting like it used to), it caught one of the cross-supports. Luckily this particular piece wasn't necessary to the bell, so it was taken off. Once that was done, it rang perfectly. And it pulls a whole lot easier than before.

Monday will see the completion of the project when all the decorative pieces are installed.