Dateline: June 26, 2008

Historic bell gets new perch

Members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church joyously rang in the completion of a three-year construction project this past week with a new 20 ft. bell tower.

“I’m thrilled,” said parish member and project chairman Chris Clifford. “This has been a project our parish has been working on for a while now, and it is good to see it finished.”

The bell was originally situated above of the church, which was built in 1892 as the Panhandle’s first Catholic church. More than 60 years ago, however, the bell was removed to Amarillo after a storm damaged the building.

Three years ago the bell was returned to Clarendon, but it was only installed on a temporary platform at ground level.

A generous donation of time by Earl Britten of Groom resulted in engineered drawings that were necessary to start the bell tower project. Mike Keotting of Keotting Construction in Amarillo constructed the tower.

Made of solid steel construction, the tower stands 20 ft. tall from the concrete base to the Celtic cross that tops the tower. Arches within the tower’s construction mirror those of the church’s windows, and the structure is painted light green to match the church trim.

The tower was built in Amarillo and then trucked to Clarendon, where members of the parish painted it along with the church bell. Keotting Construction erected the tower last Thursday, and parish members made final touches in the painting.

“A lot of people have worked hard to make this happen,” Clifford said.  “Support for the project has been tremendous.”

Clifford explained that Keotting, who often attends mass in Clarendon, donated much of the concrete work for the tower. Funding came through not only individual donations but also parish fundraisers. Chief among the fundraisers has been the concession stand at the city ballpark, which members of the parish have operated the past two years.