April 1,1991
The Lance Page 3
The Belk Tower: Will it Ever
Ring Again?
By Jennifer Woodward
Editor
It stands alone. Silent. A symbol
that oversees the happenings of a
college campus. However, not all has
been silent in its short lifetime. There
once was a time when the 16 bells of
the Katherine Whitner McKay Belk
Tower charmed the St. Andrews and
Laurinburg communities.
The Belk Tower was dedicated
April21,1978.The tower was named
after Katherine Whitner McKay Belk,
a member of the Board of Trustees at
that time. She served as the chairman
of the Trustees Student Affairs Com
mittee, where she took a: very active
interest in the student life of the col
lege. The Belk Tower was given in
tribute of his wife by Thomas M.
Belk, also a former chairman of the
St. Andrews Board of Trustees.
The Belk Tower rises 60 feet above
the surface of Lake Ansley Moore and
includes a carillon of 16 bells. They
range in size from a 10-inch bell
weighing 30 pounds to a 23-inch bell
weighing 260 pounds. The carillon
may be played from a keyboard or
from a timed automatic roll player.
The bells were cast and installed by
VanBergen Bellfoundaries, Inc., of
Greenwood, SC. The tower was de
signed by A.Gi Odell and Associates
of Charlotte.
John Williams, a former associate
professor of organ and resident of
Laurinburg, played at the dedication
of the Belk Tower in 1978. He ex
plained that he was asked to play at
the last minute simply because, “I was
the only one who knew anything about
bells.” However, Dr. Herbert Horn of
Laurinburg, and former professor of
music, was the official player of the
bells during the eight years it worked,
1978-1986. He would play the bells at
graduation, baccalaureate, and any
other gala occasion which usually
existed of a processional across the
lake. Horn explained that the key
board could play a variety of melodies
including single and chords.
But the keyboard only worked well
for two or three years, “It gradually
got worse and worse until it no longer
worked.” Hom blames the problems
on neglect, adding, “Presumably, St.
Andrews didn’t have a maintenance
contract with the company that in
stalled the bells.” Hom pointed out
that the problem with St. Andrews is
that everything is great when it is new
but, as the years go by they soon
deteriorate.
Many members of the St. Andrews
community would like to hear the
bells ring again on a regular basis, as
evident by the petition posted outside
President Reuschling’s office with ap
proximately 230 signatures.
Tom Wilson, resident director of
Granville, has led the effort passion
ately throughout the year. He and
others, including Professor of Chi
nese Gordon Wang, Albemarle’s
Resident Director Carl Mayes, and
students Bill Peters and Chris Hock,
have been working hard cleaning out
the interior of the tower. “Bill Peters,
alone, has scooped 100 gallons of
pigeon droppings," stated Wilson sig
nifying the horrendous mess that has
accumulated.
Wilson has invited members of
the administration to see the damage
that has evolved over the years. “There
are no administration officials here
when the Belk Tower last rang. ” Presi
dent Reuschling visited last semester
admitting, “It was pretty bad in there.
I wanted to take a shower right away
after I got out of there.” Purchasing
agent Jim Blue added, “Honestiy, I
was embarassed to even show it to the
people who were repairing it.”
At the moment, the electrical de
vice is in the shop at a Charlotte firm.
The device has been at the firm for the
past one and a half months. With the
Easter Season and many bells in for
repairs, there hasn’t been much time
for the firm to concentrate strongly on
St. Andrews’. Blue is hoping to hear
from them again on Wednesday as to
their latest findings. “We’re pushing
them to get back to us,” adds Reusch
ling.
Obviously much damage has been
caused by the bird droppings, how
ever, it is now believed that the tower
may have been struck by lightening.
If so insurance may be able to cover
some of the costs. “There are some
indications of surges but, it’s not defi
nite. “ states Blue. Until word is re
ceived by the Charlotte repair firm, no
one knows what the problem is and
when it can be resolved.
Expenses have been a major con
cern. Estimates of total renovation
have been $72,000. But, as Wilson
describes, “That’s the cadillac ver
sion.” He believes that the entire reno
vation of the tower could be $5,000-
$15,000.
For now the administration is only
trying to fix the clock so that it will be
able to ring on the hour and quarter
hour. “We’re presuming it’s a small
fee to get the basics done,” Reusch
ling explains. “Every dollar is a pre
cious dollar on a small campus.” He’s
hoping that the initial costs will only
entail $1,000-$ 1,500, “One way or
another we can finessese such a small
sum.”
Reuschling realizes that the Belk
Tower has been important concern of
the community and he stresses that
the administration has taken the mat
ter seriously. However, he points out
that the Belk Tower is a matter of
priority, “Is it more important to put a
roof on Granville or fix the Belk
Tower,” he asks. He adds, however,
that the bells are on the list, “We’re
closer to it now than ever before.”
Reuschling is hoping that by the
time school is out, there will be a full
update has to the development of the
tower’s renovation.
In regard to graduation, “One way
or another, they will hear the bells
ring on graduation, even if it means
just tapping out the hour,” he prom
ises. “If we have to, we’ll just have
someone crawl up there and do it.”
Tower's Carrilon - Tom Wilson points out the
carrilon, which is the main device that allows
the tower to ring.
What a mess! - This is only a small view of the interior of the Belk
Tower, Tom Wilson and others, have been working hard this
year to clean it out.
The ringing of the bells is a very
important issue to many, and most
people would like to hear it on a daily
basis rather than just on graduation.
Blue who lives a mile from the St.
Andrews campus recalls, “I used to sit
in my yard and listen to the bells
chime and it was absolutely beauti
ful.” Horn adds, “A bell is a pleasant
sound. It was always pleasant to hear
when across the lake.” Wilson, how
ever, speaks for all, “This is the sym
bol of our school, the pinnacle of the
city. We see the Belk Tower on every
thing that symbolizes St. Andrews.
We must restore it back to working
order again, as soon as possible.”
Baker Retires After 30
Years at SAGA
By Sharon Frain
Assistant Editor
A unique aspect of St. Andrews is
how everyone contributes in some
way, no matter how small or big it
may seem. This factor extends to all
parts of the community, from the
faculty to the students to the admini
stration to the staff. Everyone has
some hand in making the community
Retiree Honored - Elizabeth Leak gets a warm hug from Jeannie Coy survive.
following the ceremony honoring her 31 years of service at the St. Students have to admit that survival
Andrews cafeteria. (Photo by Rooney Coffman) even depends on the Marriott
Corporation, bet;er known as SAGA.
Every moming for the past thirty years
, Elizabeth Leak has been making sure
there would be enough food to feed
the starving students, since the
beginning of St. Andrews. After thirty-
one years as the college’s baker, Mrs.
Leak has retired in order to “take life
easy.”
On March 8, Mrs. Leak was
honored with a retirement dinner. The
Director of Dining Services, Steve
Tuchten, presented an engraved
plaque recognizing her years of
dedicated service. Other Marriott
workers presented red and yellow
roses, a cash gift, and a gift certificate.
Reflecting on her years at the
school, Mrs. Leak said, “Not all that
much has changed since the college
started.” Though she said that she
would miss getting up before dawn,
Mrs. Leak can sleep a little later. Mrs.
Leak added another thing that she will
miss in her retirement,” I will miss the
people I worked with because they
mean so much to me.”
Fellow worker Vinnie Johnson
praised Mrs. Leak as a great person.
Vinnie jokingly added,”If the students
wonder where the doughnuts are, the
doughnutbaker retired!” Don’t worry,
Vinnie assured that Steve Tuchten is
looking for another doughnut maker
for SAGA.