Back in 1897, the original schoolhouse rang it. But then a principal gave it to a mother of eight, and about a century passed until it showed up Monday at Morton Grove's village hall. Here's the story.
A school bell that called children to class back in the 1800s was brought to Morton Grove's village board meeting Monday, where Park View School Superintendent Phil Collins and members of the Morton Grove School District 70 board came to the podium with smiles on their faces to accept it. Bill Sonne, whose family has been in Morton Grove since the 1870s and whose relatives have held onto the bell these many decades, came to the meeting to see it handed off to the school. "The principal of the school gave the bell to my grandmother and when she passed away, my dad (born in 1908) got the bell," Sonne said. "I knew what my dad's wishes were." Mayor Dan Staackmann, who has a keen interest in Morton Grove history, prepared the following …
steve
2:51 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
My children attended Park View School and I always wondered about the bell on the school's letterhead and documents like report cards. Now I know! Thanks, Pam, for sharing this story. And thanks to the persistence of Mayor Staackmann (and kindness of the Sonne family) for bringing the bell back to the school! I hope the school's administration finds a special spot to showcase it. more ›