Moose Jaw's downtown area could soon be receiving another impressive piece of history in the near future.
The Heritage Advisory Committee is hoping to have the bell refurbished. City council discussed the project at the Dec. 10 Executive Committee meeting.
The original City of Moose Jaw bell – weighing over a ton and purchased around 116 years ago at a cost of around $100 – was 'rediscovered' in the city yards in the spring of 2017 and is currently undergoing refurbishment in preparation for display in the downtown area.
While some welding work to repair vandalism damage has already been conducted by volunteers from Sask. Polytechnic, executive committee approved the allocation of $2,500 from the Heritage Reserve for sandblasting and painting of the bell by I&E Sandblasting and Painting.
“This is to actually have it painted in it's original format, which is sort of a matte black cast iron,” explained Coun. Crystal Froese. “It weighs over a ton, it's a large bell, and the idea is to install it somewhere in the downtown area. We're hoping to line up the location with the Downtown Local Area Plan and there have been a few locations that feature historic things like this, so we'll use that to decide where it should go.”
The bell has had a long journey. Once used to single curfew times for prohibition, the bell was originally located in the old city hall, now a parking lot across from the Land Titles building. It was then donated to St. George Church before being given to the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery, which installed it in Crescent Park.
“It was on display there for awhile, but due to a lot of vandalism – people liked to hop and jump on it – there was severe damage and then it was taken and put into the city yards,” Froese said.
Coun. Brian Swanson pointed out that the funds for the project would come out of an account originally dedicated to the restoration of the Natatorium, with that account created in order to spur on what they hoped would become a community project.
Further costs for the bell's display will be determined at a later date.
