OPINION | Phil Paleologos: Save the Church Bells of St. Lawrence Martyr

Apologies to Hemingway, but I had to change his classic title to get the attention of the community and ask out loud if the historic church bells of St. Lawrence Martyr will be saved or not? These landmark bells deserve to stay in the city that welcomed them over a hundred years ago. They chimed for whale ships, textile factories, World Wars and at the turn of 2 centuries.

The effort to raise money to save the bells, led by Fairhaven resident Suzanne Sullivan, has been met with the misconception that there's a fight between the Diocese and the folks who want to save the bells. There's no fight. On my morning show, Suzanne called in and said not only is there no quarrel but there's hardly much time left to raise the $75,000 to purchase the 14 bells from the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.

After I mentioned that the residents in Scituate, RI had just restored the bell tower of the Old Congregational Church, in time for Christmas, another listener chimed in to complain that the church bells of Mount Carmel are out of tune, and drive him nuts, going from a major to a minor chord. Ouch!

I've always agreed that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. Well what do think about saving the bells?

Editor’s Note: Phil Paleologos is the morning talk show host on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6am-10am. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.