An old church bell, that hung on the corner of Highway 795 and Township Road 482, known as “Bell’s Corner,” is missing.
“It’s too bad. It was a real shock because it was a tribute to my grandparents,” said Bob Bell, the owner of the bell.
“It was emotional, it really was. It’s just a shame that there’s people out there that have to destroy other people’s, the good that other people are trying to do,” he added.
“Bell’s Corner” is where his family has farmed for more than a hundred years, known as a local landmark for decades.
“It was always known as a landmark and known as Bell’s Corner because of the big barn that had the sway back. And when the oil field industry started moving in in the 50s, it was a landmark so that they knew where to turn to take their drilling rigs.”
Sometime between April 25 and April 27 the bell was stolen.
“The bell that’s hung there for the last 11 years with no incidents, and all of a sudden last Friday night the bell went missing,” said Bell.
He reported the theft to RCMP.
“This is the first time that I’ve heard of a theft of bell,” said Const. Cheri-Lee Smith with the Leduc RCMP.
“It’s definitely out of the ordinary theft it obviously has some sentimental value to the owner,” she added.
The bell was built in 1903 and Bell said it was used at several churches.
“And there was a fella that rang the bell faithfully for 50 years and they were always concerned about it cracking because of the cold weather and finally it did crack and it didn’t have the ringtone that they wanted,” he said.
It was then used as a planter on the front lawn of the church. When it came into Bell’s possession in 1988, it was rusted and pitted.
“So I had it sandblasted and refurbished and painted,” Bell said.
He hung it outside his car dealership until it closed in 2008.
It weighs about 700 pounds and Bell said it wouldn’t have been easy to steal.
“Two men could not move that bell, they could not cut it down and slide it onto the truck. They would have had to have a hydraulic picker of some type,” Bell said.
“And the marks show that a truck had backed up, moved some rocks and they would have used something because if they would have cut the chain that it was hanging on it would have just fallen down. And if it would have fallen into an ordinary pickup, it probably would have gone right through it,” he added.
Police are asking anyone with information about the theft to contact them.
Bell has also reached out to businesses that pay for scrap metal, asking them to watch for the bell.
“I would say to whoever’s got it, ‘If you’d like to bring it back, set it back underneath where it was originally and I’ll find a picker truck and a welder to come out there and hang it back up,’” he said.
