Carillon rings again

The FHC carillon rings again! Thanks to a gift from the estate of Sue Reitan, the church’s carillon is restored and ringing again.

The original carillon, running with cassette tapes and belt-driven players, was a gift decades ago from Evylyn and Jerry Palmer. Parts were no longer available. The three loudspeakers on the roof were originally mounted on a wooden sawhorse that rotted out and collapsed. That caused one of the speakers to fill with water!

A new iPad-driven system has replaced the cassette tape unit. Now we have hundreds of new musical options. We removed the speakers earlier this month and Metro Sound & Lighting restored them to original specs. Simultaneously, Alex Olsen fabricated a custom steel hanger to mount the speakers that allows them to be aimed more broadly than before.

Currently the carillon rings at 8 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. As we move through the liturgical year, we’ll add music (e.g., a Fourth of July concert and a Christmas Eve ringing).