Union Church Bell tolls again

After being silent for several weeks, the Union Church bell is again ringing in Hardy.

Members of the congregation are not certain when the bell was installed on top of the frame church located across the street from the community hall, but it was a longtime ago and may date to the early days of Hardy.

The bell was silenced earlier this year by a broken rope. In August, Jason Gillilan had a large telehandler in town to help with a roofing project, After the owner of the machine agreed it could be used to reach the bell and replace the rope, Gillilan took it to the church to see about fixing the silent bell.

Gillilan is uncertain of the height of the bell tower but estimated it to be about 25 feet as the machine specs indicate it will go 30 feet high with a 30-foot reach

Jim Miller, a longtime member of the congregation, said about every 10 years it is necessary to replace the rope.

The rope was replaced a few days prior to the congregation celebrating Loetta Pedersen's 97th birthday and so a new tradition was begun that day. Whenever a member celebrates their 97th birthday, they get to ring the bell.

Current members we talked with were not sure when the church was built but a 1902 Hardy publication said the congregation met every Sunday, alternating morning and evening services. While the building has undergone remodeling in more recent years, the booklet includes a picture which indicates the building was built prior to 1902.

In 1902 the community had at least four general merchandise stores, grocery, harness shop, meat market, two restaurants, hotel, lumber yard, three coal dealers, three barber shops, three shoemakers, three blacksmith shops, elevator, two drug store, two hardware stores, two furniture stores, photography gallery, two tin shops, two lodge rooms, feed store, livery barn, flouring mil, post office, glove factory, implement dealer, bank, newspaper, public hall, two churches, broom factory and a produce dealer.