13 Had a Nice Ring to It...

Above, rear, Gary Borchard and bell ringer, Steve Kinson, along with Alan Mercer and Sue Borchard in the foreground. Kinson had just finished pealing the historic Franklin Federated Church bell 13 times in honor of the original 13 colonies, at 2:50 pm on July 4.

The event was part of the National Bell Festival which nvited bells across America to ring out together on Independence Day, creating a canopy of sound to mark our nation’s 250th birthday. Cathedrals and churches, community organizations and historical structures, national parks and memorials, and people from coast to coast were encouraged to gather and contribute to the sound.

The Federated Church traces its roots to the earliest religious institution in Franklin, the Congregational Church,  which existed in an earlier building during the Revolution. At the time, however, there was no bell. The town ended up waiting decades to finally acquire a bell.