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The two largest bells in the carillon of the First Plymouth Congregational Church.
From the intersection of Ran
dolph Street and Capitol Park
way, the Nebraska State Capitol
Building and the carillon or bell
tower at First Plymouth Congre
gational Church look like parent
and child.
This is attributed to the over
powering size of the State Capi
tol building in contrast to the
small, but equally beautiful car
illon at the Plymouth Congrega
tional Church, 20th and D
streets. In fact, the two are more
like siblings since they were
built about the same lime, the
1930s.
“It’s almost like they belong
together,” said Ray Johnson,
who plays the bells in the caril
lon.
Along with the church, the
carillon, or “singing tower” as it
is nicknamed, was Duilt in 1930
and dedicated in 1931. The
architect was H. Van Buren
McGonigle of California.
Deemed as one of the most
unusual pieces of architecture in
Nebraska, the carillon is the only
one of its kind in the Midwest.
With the exception of smaller
carillons in Western Nebraska,
Lawrence, Kan. and one at the
University of Nebraska-Omaha,
no other bell tower has the re
quired 26 bells to be called a
carillon. First Plymouth has 48
bells in its carillon.
From the inside out, the struc
ture has six levels. The basement
area contains classrooms, the
second level holds the pastor’s
office. A television studio is lo
cated on the third level. The
fourth level is open.
“The winding steps to the
fourth level could be sort of bad
if you’re afraid of heights,”
Johnson said.
On the fifth level, Johnson
plays the bells, which were cast
in the Taylor and Sons Foundry
in Loughborough, Kngland The
bells are on the sixth level.
On the outside of the 171 -foot
brick tower, the intricate 20
sided structure looms to the sky
amongst the huge trees that give
the neighborhood its historic
character.
The weaved iron-like grill,
near the top of the tower, allows
passers-by a peak at what the
bells look like. Sculpted figures
of biblical evangelists Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John are at the
four corners of the tower.
The elevation of the charac
ters is symbolic of paying hom
age to the four authors of the
New Testament, an integral part
of Christian worship and life,
Johnson said.
Part of this worship, Johnson
said, includes the playing of the
bells.
Even for the least religious
oriented folk the structure com
mands authority and a certain
amount of respect.
If one is driving in the vicinity
of 20th and D streets on Sunday
morning, they may catch an ear
ful of the thunderous chiming of
hymns, Bach and Mendelssohn.
Johnson, once a University of
Nebraska-Lincoln student, has
been playing the bells at Ply
mouth’s carillon for 27 years.
“Myron Roberts, an organist
at the church here, asked me to
play the carillon,” Johnson said,
“I asked what was that (a caril
lon).”
Roberts, who was a professor
at UNL, told Johnson that a caril
lon was a bell tower which
contained at least 26 bells. The
carillon at the church contains48
stationary bells.
“I said sure, I’m willing to try
anything once," Johnson said of
his invitation to play the carillon.
“I must have enjoyed it be
cause I’m still doing it,” he said.
Johnson has been playing the
carillon for Plymouth Church
longer than anyone.
Although he gets a token
payment for playing, Johnson
said his reward is more spiritual.
“It (playing) is part of my
worship,” Johnson said.
It’s nice to know, Johnson
said, that “it (the bells) calls them
(the congregation) to church. It
gets them into the right frame of
mind."
Besides the regularly sched
uled playing fifteen minutes
before and alter the two Sunday
services, Johnson plays for
weddings, funerals and any
special events at the church,
upon request.
An automatic clock plays the
Westminster chime every quar
ter of the hour and chimes at the
top of the hour.
The bells, made of bell metal,
copper and tin, are tuned ac
cording to the chromatic scale so
they can make music.
The carillon is going to be
redone this fall at a cost of
$250,000. Some of the bells,
Johnson said, will be taken out
of the frame, by lifting the top of
the tower off with a crane. The
top 24 bells will be replaced with
See BELLS on 6
