Looking for some activities for the weekend?  Here's some news courtesy of Marche' Brown and Tara Sad. CCB

A “Ring The Bell Bash” will be hosted at the Walpole Historical Society on Saturday, May 27^th – Memorial Day Weekend.  This day will celebrate the completion of the repair work to the Academy Building that houses the historical society, and the first day that the BONG BONG of the bell will be heard in years.   The celebration will also mark the opening of the Historical Society Museum for the season, the unveiling of new exhibits, and introduction of new docents to the public. 

            The “Ring the Bell Bash” will take place on the lawn of the Academy building from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.   Snacks, refreshments and surprises will be offered under a tent in case of inclement weather.  The once in a lifetime chance to be the first person to ring the bell this century will be offered to the highest bidder.  Come prepared to bid high and often!  Proceeds from the auction will go toward the remaining costs of the repairs.

It has been many years since the people of Walpole have heard the old bell in the Academy Building tower ring.  The bell is dated 1840 and marked George H. Holbrook, a foundry established in 1797 in Medway, Massachusetts whose founder apprenticed with Paul Revere.

            For over a century, the ringing bell would signal the start of a new school day for students at the Walpole Academy, later named the Walpole School.  Few people remember the sound of the tolling bell echoing throughout the town, because for years it has remained silent.  It has hung in a rickety, crumbling tower that was so precarious the bell might have crashed to the ground had someone tried to ring it.  So this fine bell hung motionless and toneless.

            On May 27, 2006, all that will change!  One lucky person will be the first to ring the bell that is now firmly secured in a shiny, new bell tower!  Thanks to the kindness of the townspeople, a generous private grant, and a very big mortgage, the Walpole Historical Society, working with the MacMillin Company, has completed the desperately needed repairs to the roof, columns, portico – and the bell tower!  The public is invited to join in the celebration.