Ringing In History
Members of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Loogootee recently brought a piece of the community’s history back to life. The bell that used to toll in St. John School has been found and restored to its original glory.
In addition, local artist Pauline Hotz has contributed to the celebration with an original painting of the school.
The current St. John the Evangelist Parish formed in July 2014 through the merger of the four parishes in Martin County – St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph in Bramble, St. Martin in Whitfield and St. Mary in Shoals. The parish also includes a chapel in Barr Township.
When given the task of finding a name for the new parish, community members chose to retain St. John because of their ties to the school once associated with the parish.
“Everyone wanted the name St. John retained because of the affinity and the love they had for St. John School,” said Father Kenneth Walker, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Parish and Diocesan Judicial Vicar.
St. John School, started by the Sisters of Providence and built in 1887, served grades K-12 until 1968, when a fire destroyed the structure. Though the school no longer stands, many members of the community still fondly remember hearing the toll of the school’s bell.
One such resident is Ann Ackerman, a parishioner who played a large part in the rescue of the St. John bell.
After discovering the bell that used to ring in the local public school while substitute teaching one day, Ackerman was inspired to search for the St. John bell. About four years ago, the bell was found in a storage space near where the school once stood.
When Father Walker became pastor of St. John Parish, he granted permission to take the bell out of storage at Ackerman’s prompting. He also came up with the finances needed for its restoration. “Without Father Walker, it would still be in the garage,” Ackerman said.
The bell’s badly charred surface was cleaned and restored primarily by two high school students who are members of St. John Parish — the boys cleaned and polished the bell during shop class at Loogootee High School for the majority of the school year.
The bell was also missing a yoke and clanger when it was found. Loughmiller Machine Shop in Loogootee made new parts using molds from the public-school bell that was previously restored.
While the bell is certainly beautiful for its color and shine, it boasts one particularly unique and striking feature: the top is lined with images of angels holding musical instruments, books and painting sets.
Father Walker said the bell is “unique because of the angels; obviously it was made for a Catholic school.”
The bell now sits on a stand with wheels so that it can be moved and used during various celebrations. “It gives us a little more versatility,” said Father Walker. “We can even take it outside.”
Along with putting the bell on display, the community is commemorating this exciting discovery in another way. Father Walker asked Hotz, an 89-year-old local artist, to create a painting of St. John School.
Hotz, who began painting in 1960, started the painting in May 2015 and finished in June. Though she painstakingly painted each brick by hand, she finds such an exercise relaxing. She says of her process, “The beautiful thing about my art work is I live by myself. I can work all night if I want to, and nobody bothers me.”
Creating this painting was also special for Hotz because she began school at St. John in eighth grade. “The more I painted it, the more I felt at home,” she said.
Next for Hotz is to create a painting of Father Louis Gueguen, who built St. John the Evangelist, St. Martin, and St. Mary churches. “He’s really a tie between parishes here,” said Father Walker, who is Gueguen’s great-great nephew.
The portrait will hang in St. John church, along with the painting of the school. Already in the church is a painting Hotz created of the five steeples of the parish’s worship sites. Father Walker commissioned the work when the parish came to life, and the image now serves as the parish logo.
