President Graham Spanier, representatives of the Senior Class Gift Committee and members of the classes of ’05, ’08 and ’09 gathered this morning to officially dedicate the senior class gift of 2009, restoration of the Old Main Bell.
‘It’s hard to believe that a bell this beautiful was hiding up there dormant since 1929,’ said Avery Peechatka, communication chairperson of the senior class gift committee.
The 139-year-old, 1,200-pound bronze bell was cast in 1871 and has a lot of ‘colorful history,’ which Spanier shared with the crowd. Spanier said the clapper was stolen from the bell then unknowingly bought by a man who kept in his garage for years. His son, Skippy Smith, who was also in attendance, made the connection between the Old Main Bell and the clapper and returned it to Penn State.
Two other gifts were dedicated along with the bell: the Student Life Promenade by the HUB, donated by the class of 2005; and the Atherton and Curtin Gateway, from the class of 2008.
‘We hope that our gift will leave a long-lasting positive presence and inspire other classes,’ Peechatka said to a group of around 40 spectators, mostly alumni. Peechatka said he is proud of the ‘philanthropic spirit and generosity’ of the Penn State students thus far and is excited to see the 2010 senior class gift, a boardwalk over the Marsh Meadows at the Arboretum.
The bell will remain on the Mall between Old Main and the Willard Building, where Penn State has built a permanent home for it. Spanier noted that the clapper will be removed and only put back for special occassion to avoid being stolen again.
‘Or it could be ringing all day long,’ he joked.
